Vine weevil help!

[mancity68]

I seem to have a vine weevil infestation in my garden pots - some but not all. As I have lots of pots, though, this is a pain. Noticed it when all of my heucharas suddenly came apart from their roots and can now see lots of the creamy bugs in the soil.

It's now too cold for the chemical soil drench. Is my only answer emptying all of the soil out and crushing all of the bugs I find? Any other thoughts on how to treat the soil? There's way too much to just send to landfill.

Feels like there is an ever decreasing number of plants I can have in my garden once I've factored out those that slugs and snails like and those that vine weevils like! Trying not to get dispirited. Any words of wisdom welcome.

[SpringTime]

See if you can a get a batch of little nematodes in and some fungi types to kill them off. Or at least dampen their spirits. Do it now to get the numbers down before (probably mild) winter hits and then again in February/March. You can re-pot or plant out as part of the process. That's what I'd try, hope it works if you do.

[Sue]

Empty out all the compost in the pots that the heucheras are in, or any other pots with vine weevil damage, and dispose of it (not in your garden).

Wash every speck of compost from what's left of the roots of the heucheras.

Wash the containers very thoroughly indeed.

Hopefully you have now got rid of any remaining grubs or eggs.

Replant the heucheras in completely fresh (new) compost and cross your fingers that they have enough roots left to grow. You might be better planting them in smaller pots to start off with.

Heucheras are unfortunately prone to vine weevil, so unless you are very attached to them you may be better cutting your losses and starting completely again with something else.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

ETA: I know you said you had too much soil to send to landfill, but so far as I know, there are no chemicals available for non-commercial gardeners to treat vine weevil.

I don't have a solution unless you bag it all up and take it to the tip a bit at a time 😭

ETA: Nematodes are fine at the right time of year but expensive, especially if you have a lot of pots to treat.

Personally I think it would be much safer in the long term to get rid of any compost which may have eggs in (which I don't think the nematodes can treat until they have hatched into the vile grubs, but I may be wrong).

[Sue]

Oh! Just seen you said the heucheras had actually come apart from their roots.

Not much to save then possibly 😭

I just googled, and I haven't read all this, but it might help?

http://www.lifeinplants.com/life-in-plants/pest-alert-vine-weevils-about-and-many-sad-heucheras

[mancity68]

Thank you Sue and Springtime. I'm going to try a combination of the two approaches. Will do my best to empty soil from pots but a couple are giant planters so will be tricky. And I don't have a car so taking to landfill is nigh on impossible! So will do as much sifting and squashing as I can. All plants destroyed and off to the great compost heap in the sky. And then will add nematodes with an application. Ow and in spring. I've also found a chemical drench for soil but too,late to use now. Really appreciate the advice. And sadly, no more heucharas.

[Mr. Foote]

When I've seen plants suddenly look sickly and have discovered the grubs at the roots, I remove the grubs, put them in a plant tray and watch as the Robins have a feast. More satisfying than than squashing them!