Vine Weevil help neededWell
By Somhairle
Renfrewshire,
Scotland 
Vine Weevil help needed
Well, it is almost that time of year again when I have to drench the roots of some shrubs in an attempt to control the larvae of these pests.
But is anyone aware of any insecticide that will kill the adults? I know that several insecticides will control other weevils and beetles, so wondered if anyone had had any success. I have in the past tried the 'shake the shrub after dark' thing but it was not a great success.
29 Jun, 2019
Answers
Perhaps a product that has nematodes that kill vine weevils...if available in the UK.
29 Jun, 2019
The Nematodes (Nemasys) only kills the grubs not the adults.
I am in the middle of repotting my Auriculas in compost which contains a fungus which is supposed to kill the grubs as well. Very expensive stuff it is too.
Never tried these and they seem a bit rpicy, but if they work.
https://www.nematodesdirect.co.uk/vine-weevil-killer-nematodes/92-adult-vine-weevil-trap
29 Jun, 2019
Yep, I know about the nematodes but they are expensive and this is for treatment of shrubs in the garden. So, it could take quite an investment.
I know what you mean about the bees. It really troubles me to use insecticide but other than this, the plants can end up looking pretty sorry for themselves. And I don't simply mean this issue regarding vine weevils.
29 Jun, 2019
You get traps for adults: Nematop. Not sure how pricey they are though.
29 Jun, 2019
I had forgotten about those. If you needed only one, they would probably not bee too expensive at £23. However, if you need to put them throughout the garden, it does work out expensive.
29 Jun, 2019
Found them at £20 but that is still pricey to me.
29 Jun, 2019
Yikes! That's expensive
29 Jun, 2019
Apparently ground beetles predate on adult vine weevils, so it is a good idea to encourage them. See the below article.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/gardening-a-natural-born-killer-that-fears-no-weevil-1141878.html
30 Jun, 2019
Hmm, that is an interesting article. I am not sure that I have come across too many common types of beetle in the garden, but then I was not looking. However, now that am aware of this I can re-home them around the affected plants whenever I do find some.
I treated the affected plants this morning around the roots and will keep an eye on things. I maybe should have been more ruthless in cutting out the damaged foliage last year so I could tell how bad the damage was this year.
Which now leads me onto another topic about which I will need assistance. That is hard pruning rhodies!
2 Jul, 2019
Bit hard to kill. I have had one swimming over night, in pure bleach. It survived. We would not have done.
The only stuff which did kill them was so toxic to all other life that they banned it pretty quickly.
Some of the modern insecticides do claim to kill it, but since we do not spray because of the bee problem, I cannot say if they are effective.
29 Jun, 2019