Vine weevil in pot plants
In pots the grubs are out of sight until the plant collapses, usually between autumn and spring, and a wilting plant in moist compost is the classic sign. Cyclamen and begonia tubers and the stem bases of cacti and succulents are bored into as well as the roots. Tip the plant out, pick out every grub you can find, and water nematodes into the compost while it is still warm enough for them to work.
At a glance
- Damage
- Notched leaf edges above, C-shaped grubs eating the roots below
- Type
- Root
- Settings
- Garden, Indoors, Under glass
- Threshold
- Grubs found in the root ball, or a pot plant wilting in moist compost
- Release
- Heterorhabditis bacteriophora
- Rate
- 250k–500k /m² of compost surface (Koppert's Larvanem rate), watered in
How to confirm it
Tip a wilting plant out of its pot. Vine weevil grubs are plump, white, legless and C-shaped with a light brown head, about 3/8–5/8 inch (10–15 mm) long when full grown, curled among the roots. Adults are dull black snout beetles 3/8–1/2 inch (9–13 mm) long that cannot fly and cut half-moon notches in leaf edges at night.
Identification, lifecycle, degree days and every control option are on the full Black vine weevil profile. Not sure it is this pest? Answer four questions about the damage.
Work it out
How many do I need?
Carries Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and houseplants through so nothing is re-entered. Open the calculator →