Detailed information on Black Vine Weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus)

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coriaceous

ROSLINDALE, MA | February 2016 | Negative

One of the worst garden pests, because it has such a wide host range, and because the current landscape treatments for it are at best marginally effective.

It is native to Europe, but it is widespread in the US. It has been spread widely both here and abroad through infested plants propagated and sold by nurseries. There are treatments which are effective in the nurseries but not in the landscape, so there should be no excuse for selling infested plants.

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Terri1948

| March 2011 | Negative

Not sure if it's the same kind of Vine Weevil that we have here in the UK but the grubs are SO destructive. The parent Vine Weevil lays its eggs at the base of the plant and the grubs (white maggotty U shaped things with an orange head) nibble away at the roots of plants and then start to eat their way up into the plants themselves. They absolutely love Heucheras and will decimate any plants that are growing in pots and tubs.
Whenever I buy a new plant I always take it from the pot and thoroughly wash the roots before planting it. The reason I do this is because we have a friend who is a market gardener and who buys in lots of compost to plant Spring flowering plants. He told us that every new bag of compost contained dozens of vine weevil grubs.
I watch for notches ch... read more

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Katlian

Carson City, NV (Zone 6b) | July 2010 | Negative

These weevils (along with Otiorhynchus ovatus, strawberry root weevil) have been a major pest on my strawberries, potatoes, abelia, oregano, horseradish, and tomatoes. They haven't touched the lettuce that grows in the same beds however. The grubs (I'm not sure which species, maybe both) overwinter in the roots of my strawberries, damaging the plants further. I have not yet found a good control method.

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wildorcoast

Lincoln City, OR | March 2010 | Negative

Found notches eaten from the leaves of four of my six rhodos. Had never seen this weevil before, but am advised that it is fairly common here on the Oregon coast. It particularly likes rhodo/azalea, taxus, and mountain laurel. I will try to kill the larvae by applying nematodes to the rootballs in April.

After finding several weevils lurking in the deep, moist mulch around the rhodos, I laboriously removed it all to find and kill as many as I could. My next step will be to apply Tanglefoot to the rhodo trunks. Wish me luck!

Recommended websites for more info:
http://www.rhododendron.org (the American Rhododendron Society) and ... read more

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Hortlove

Patterson, CA | December 2009 | Negative

Oh wow, yes, these weevils have decimated my front yard for the past two years. I moved into my house three years ago and didn't have a problem with my garden the first year. I had in all annuals: different poppies, coreopsis, and some cornflowers. Then the next year, I noticed my precious scabiosa, dahilia, salvia, echinacea, and shasta daisy leaves and stems with notches, then eventually the entire plants were all gone. Eaten down to nothing. The only things that have survived (they still got attacked) have been four 'o clocks, salvia, and lavender.
I have also found these horrible weevils crawling on the trunk of my Raywood Ash tree, but can't tell if they eat that foliage as well. I have gone out on nightly hunts for the past two summers and gathered and killed hundreds, ... read more

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Peter_Paul

Reston, VA (Zone 7a) | May 2008 | Neutral

For lots of good info on these beetles and their grubs, see
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2016.html and
http://lovethegarden.com/problemsolving/vineweevil.html

They were a major impact on my gardening in Corrib Country (Connemara, Ireland) in the 1990s, hitting the Dactylorhizas particularly hard :(

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dicentra63

West Valley City, UT (Zone 6b) | June 2007 | Negative

I'm not absolutely sure I've got Otiorhynchus sulcatus on my hands, but some of my houseplants have been getting chewed on around the edges: Cordyline, Cissus, Mirabilis seedlings. They gather on the ceiling above the torchier lamp at night. They're dull black with vertical ridges on their backs.

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FishMang

Grant Valkaria, FL (Zone 9b) | September 2006 | Negative

The bug I'm plagued with is probably not a 'black' vine weevil, but a unidentified weevil, that attacks my tomatoes and peppers, boring up from the roots several feet into the plant. Plant declines half way through it's life cycle. I've had moderate success with nematodes, used against weevils.

Black Vine Weevil

Otiorhynchus sulcatus

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