I threatened handbags at dawn with those pesky vine weevils and today was the day!
I purchased two packs Nemasys Vine weevil nematodes Steinernema kraussei to stop the vine weevil from destroying the roots of my precious potted plants. These microscopic transparent worms seek out and kill vine weevil larvae – feeding and multiplying inside the larva. A gruesome thought but that’s nature for you.
The packs arrived a week or so back but the instructions recommend not using it if there is a risk of frost and so I waited until Beltaine came and went.
The pots that I most wanted to treat were my two fig trees, two olives trees and two mini lemon trees. Vine weevils have a partiality for citrus trees and fruiting trees in general and as I lost several lemons some years ago to these sneaky little monsters I have no intention of it happening again if I can avoid it! There was enough in the packs to give a couple of other pots a quick soak but those six are the ones I value most.
Why nematodes?
Because at this time of year I prefer not to use the chemical vine weevil treatments. These poison can both kill bees feeding on flowers treated with them and also be present in any fruits from trees treated by them. Even the manufacturers recommend not eating anything from a tree treated within the last six months.
I may treat the pots with the liquid killer in the autumn but only if I see any sign of weevil presence but for now I am putting my faith in those little worms.
Jan Edwards 