Weevil on strawberries: how to fight?

Weevil: about the pest

Weevil on strawberries: photo

Weevil is a pest that can often be seen in strawberry beds. It can cut yields by up to 70%. The first wave of insect control is recommended to be carried out in the spring, during the period of flowering and the formation of buds in plants. At this time, the insect wakes up after winter and causes maximum damage to the plant.

It is very easy to identify weevils on strawberries by their appearance. It is a small, no more than 3 mm in length, black or dark gray bug, with an elongated nose on the head. The larvae of this insect are white with a brown or yellow head. In the future, the larvae form pupae, also white or yellowish in color. During the transformation, the larvae darken into a bug.

This insect has many other names among the people: strawberry weevil, raspberry weevil, strawberry-raspberry weevil. As you can see, this beetle gets its popular name from the name of the plant on which gardeners most often meet it in their plots.

Weevil on strawberries: harm

Weevil on strawberries: photo

The first bugs can be seen in the spring, in warm weather, primarily in strawberry and strawberry beds. The pest feeds on the leaves and petioles of plants, and lays its eggs inside the buds. After the fruiting period of these berries comes to an end, the bugs move to the bushes of other berries, for example, raspberries or blackberries.

The new generation of beetles usually appears in the second half of July. And by mid-August there are fewer weevils - the insect is preparing for wintering. The weevil lives under dried foliage or hides shallow underground. It also prepares a place for wintering and hibernates. Strawberries with an early period of growth and ripening suffer most from the negative activity of the weevil. Late ripening strawberries are less susceptible to beetle attacks.

One female insect lays up to hundreds of eggs. With a long proboscis, she pierces the bud when it rises above the foliage, and they lay eggs there. Most often, the weevil beetle lays one egg in one bud so that the offspring have enough nutrients from the inside of the bud for full development.

After 7 days, larvae begin to hatch from the eggs. They are just the most harmful to the plant. After 20-25 days of life, the larvae begin to pupate and after 1-2 weeks a new generation of beetles appears.

Weevil on strawberries: how to fight?

Weevil on strawberries: photo

A weevil on a strawberry, being in the state of a larva, bites the peduncle of a plant with a bud. Damaged branches begin to dry out and completely lose the ability to bear fruit. Such buds can often be seen in the strawberry beds where the weevil lives. If you open a dried bud that lies between the beds, then inside you can find a pupa or weevil larva.

To save the buds of the plant from damage, it is necessary to carry out the treatment before the weevils had time to lay eggs. Experienced gardeners believe that the spring treatment of plants from the pest should be carried out when the peduncles, on which the buds have already appeared, have almost completely risen above the base of the plant rosette.

You can start preventive measures when the peduncles have risen no higher than the leaves. And also when the buds are still collected in a group, but not isolated.This is a number of external and visual factors, when the plant itself suggests that it is ready to start the first preventive measures against insect pests.

If you start processing plants with already raised and spreading peduncles, you should not expect much benefit from such actions. It should also be taken into account that plants are not sprayed with already blossoming flowers, especially with chemicals. This negatively affects the yield of the plant.

How to treat strawberries from weevils?

Weevil on strawberries: photo

The second half of spring is the time for the awakening of insects that pollinate the plants. Therefore, when choosing a means for the destruction of weevils, this fact should be taken into account. For the destruction of weevils, a little dangerous drugs are recommended. When choosing an insecticide, that is, a chemical agent for pest control, it is worth paying attention to at what temperature regime it must be applied.

For those gardeners who do not like "chemistry" in their plots, there are folk remedies for prophylaxis against weevils. It is worth noting that, unlike specialized drugs, most of them scare away the beetle, and do not destroy it.

How to deal with weevil folk remedies?

Weevil on strawberries: photo

• Weevil strawberries can be treated with an iodine solution: 1-2 teaspoons of iodine per 5-6 liters of water. Plants should not be watered with such a liquid on sunny days, so as not to damage the foliage of the plant.
• Mustard powder will also help repel the bug. To do this, add mustard powder to the water (for 1 liter of water 30-40 grams of powder), let it brew for 2 hours.
• Wood ash is a versatile product. She will not only scare away pests, but also fertilize the ground if you sprinkle the beds on it.
• Among folk remedies, you can find a recipe from onion peels and celandine. A solution is prepared from them, with which the plant is sprayed. To do this, pour boiling water over the herbs. The aroma of onions and the bitterness of celandine scare away pests from the beds.
• A solution of garlic infusion and coniferous extract has approximately the same properties. Garlic is crushed and insisted in a small amount of water for 3 to 5 days. The resulting garlic infusion is diluted with water (100 grams of garlic per 10 liters of water). Add 300-400 grams of coniferous extract and 50 grams of boric acid.
• As a folk remedy for combating weevils, ammonia is used. For 10 liters of water, dilute two tablespoons of ammonia.
• You can also make a soapy solution. Grate laundry soap or cut into small pieces. Dissolve in warm water. The resulting solution is sprayed on the bushes of the plant.

Prophylaxis

If you find that the weevils have already laid eggs on the strawberries, be sure to tear off the buds. This will help improve your strawberry yields in the coming year.

Also, do not be lazy at the beginning of autumn to loosen the ground, cut the foliage and burn it. The bugs spend the winter in the upper layer of the earth and under the dried leaves of plants. It is recommended to plant onions and garlic between the beds, which, with their smell, can scare away the pest.