Vine Weevils attacking rose

Uhtred · 28 Jul 2013 at 15:41

Has anyone else had problems with these little ****?

In the last 4 nights i've picked off over 50 from my rose. The poor thing has a bit taken out of every leaf and some at the back are almost stripped bare. It was doing quite well until it started to get attacked.

Nothing else has been touched and I don't understand why there are so many? Is it possible the grubs were in the root of the plant when we bought it?

We bought it a few months ago in a pot but planted it straight away. I wouldn't have expected it to survive if the grubs had been eating away at it all this time?

Any tips appreciated.

Uhtred · 28 Jul 2013 at 20:07

Here we go. It's interesting that Vine Weevils don't feature in that link. After picking off 50 of the adults off i'm convinced they are doing the damage and that there could be grubs attacking the roots

http://www.greengardener.co.uk/product.asp?id_pc=22&cat=46

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tarbkona1stkmds/2013-07-28%2019.05.57.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/u1s9o0t5e9scmvv/2013-07-28%2019.05.52.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nfv7ut0puvvts8s/2013-07-28%2019.05.41.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nszp2h7fc3ka4ro/2013-07-23%2023.04.40.jpg

Uhtred · 30 Jul 2013 at 23:10

Just an update, my garden is invested with the damn things! They were even eating the sage tonight! I must have killed 100 of the things over the last week which, in a garden as small as ours, must be some sort of record.

I do think the rose is ground zero, the adults just seem to come up from the soil around the base and it does not look well at all. I've treated the rose and every pot plant in the garden with nematodes.

I will keep checking the garden after dark and repeat the treatment in September.

Horrible little ****

Uhtred · 1 Aug 2013 at 22:05

Rose clear has worked wonders for me before, but doesn't help with this pest. Soapy water would help but I prefer the satisfying stomping approach

Notches taken out of the leaves are the thing to watch for, and indeed any potted, or recently potted, plant that suddenly starts to wilt could have the grubs present in the soil (the real danger)

Uhtred · 7 Aug 2013 at 09:44

Best solution is to go out after dark with a head torch, pick them off and crush them. They are quite easy to catch.

I'm finding fewer now per night so I think things have improved. The rose looks like it will survive, there are new shoots coming up still. Hopefully the grubs will be dying now after the nematode treatment.

Uhtred · 12 Aug 2013 at 21:51

Thanks but I'm only finding 4 or 5 not each night now so I think it's under control. The rose itself did actually come from a garden centre and it's tempting to go and speak to them about it.