Strawberry and raspberry weevils are pest beetles, which are very dangerous enemies for garden berry crops. They do not spare a single berry, be it blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, strawberries and others. We will talk about how to deal with weevils on strawberries in an article.
Appearance
The body of the beetle is covered with thick thin silver-gray hairs. Its distinctive feature is a long proboscis, which later defined the name of the insect. Weevil larvae are white with tan heads, legless.
Lifestyle
A year passes, a whole generation of beetles grows and turns into a combat unit. All winter long weevils are under the fallen leaves and clods of the earth. When spring comes, they get to the surface. This is where the problems begin! Parasites feed on young leaves, cuttings, shoots and buds, piercing them with their proboscis. Then the females lay eggs in the buds. This happens shortly before the flowering of strawberries and raspberries. Larvae develop, feeding on the contents of the buds, and then pupate. Young bugs appear in June when the berries ripen.
How to deal with weevils on strawberries?
- You should grow those varieties whose flowering period is short. It is necessary to carry out the autumn collection with the destruction of plant debris with bugs wintering in the plantings of berry crops.
- One of the most famous ways to deal with weevils on strawberries, as well as with any other garden parasites, is to plant garlic and onions next to (or around) the bushes. Do not forget to cut off their arrows so that the odor repelling parasites intensifies.
- No need to plant strawberries and raspberries next to each other, because they have a common pest!
- There is a proven remedy. Weevil on strawberries can be eliminated by spraying plants with insecticides such as Inta-Vir, Gardona, Metafos. This should be done exactly one week before the flowering of berry bushes. Many experienced gardeners advise spraying plants during the period when the buds are blooming with a solution of mustard powder, which should be diluted in water. So weevil on strawberries will be exterminated!
- How to deal with this pest without resorting to chemical methods? Very simple! Shake bugs from bushes on newspapers spread on the ground. You need to do this in the morning. Then destroy the parasites.
- If we talk about chemical methods again, then the spraying of berry bushes with malathion brings excellent results. This should be done once a week, but only after the entire crop has been harvested and leaves damaged by bugs have been removed.
- Experienced gardeners who know how to deal with weevils on strawberries are not too lazy to delve into the ground once again. They say that in the fall do not forget to dig up the soil, collect and burn fallen leaves (and other plant debris), because you will destroy the weevils (and other insects) that like to winter in them.