7 home remedies for black weevils

Black weevils are one of the most feared pests in the garden because of their appetite. 7 natural home remedies can be used to control the black weevil.

Black vine weevil: 7 home remedies

Collecting

Collecting the adult specimens is one of the best ways to get rid of black weevils. The method is particularly effective because you remove and dispose of the bugs directly. Although this method involves a great deal of effort, the removed beetles do not return in most cases. You will need the following utensils to collect the pests:

• flashlight
• big sheet

Ideally, you will have a helping hand available, as the sheet is difficult to use with one hand. Of course, you can clip it on when there is no help in sight. Wait for the late evening or night to arrive. The beetles are nocturnal and only come out of their hiding place in the dark. For this reason, they cannot be collected during the day. Proceed as follows:

• Examine plants for black weevils
• Place sheets under the infected plant
• shake the plant vigorously
• Beetles fall in shock
• land on the sheet
• Check the plant for more beetles after shaking the plant several times
• repeat if necessary
• then dispose of the black weevil
• the organic waste bin is suitable for this
• never dispose of on the compost (beetles get back into the garden via the compost)

Black Weevil Trap

If the collection is too much of a hassle for you, you should use a vine weevil trap. This is a temporary shelter where the beetles retreat during the night. You can empty the traps during the day and dispose of the adult beetles without any problems. All you need for the trap is a flower pot or similar container, which you fill with wood wool or mulch. Then place the trap upside down in close proximity to the infested plant. The beetles will choose these as hiding places, making it easy to collect them the next day.

Neem products 

The natural home remedy is offered in two variants that you can use:

• Neem oil
• Neem press cake

The ingredient azadirachtin of neem tree seeds (Azadirachta indica) is poisonous to beetles and other annoying pests such as Sciarid gnats. It ensures that they no longer feed on the plant and is therefore a good home remedy for this Black weevil Furthermore, the larval development is restricted, which means that the number of adult beetles is significant is restricted. Neem press cakes are the residues left in the process of making the oil and are just as effective. Depending on the size of the infestation and the number of plants, they are easier to use than neem oil. If you choose the press cake, the application works as follows:

• Use 50 g per m²
• Do not crush the press cake
• work into soil
• repeat every 8 weeks

If you want to use the oil instead of the press cake, you have to proceed differently. So that the neem oil does not harm the plant, it must be diluted beforehand. This can be done in the following way:

• Mix neem oil with water
• 2 teaspoons of neem oil in 1 liter of water
• Transfer to a spray bottle
• Spray the plant vigorously
• do not use during lunchtime or when it is raining
• the midday sun could cause burns
• Rain washes the oil off
• repeat every 7 to 14 days

Coffee grounds

Coffee grounds are one of the supportive measures that you should use in combination with the other home remedies. Coffee works best for prevention so that the adult specimens cannot lay their eggs or directly against the larvae in the soil. The active ingredients within the coffee drive away the pests, which means that the plants are permanently protected. Coffee grounds are used as follows:

• Dry the coffee grounds
• otherwise the substrate will go moldy
• carefully work into the soil
• use every 4 weeks

garlic

Similar to coffee grounds, garlic can be used to control weevils. The spicy tubers have certain ingredients that have a repellent effect on the beetles and numerous other pests, so that they stay away from the plants. A great advantage of using garlic is that it is easy to use:

• use one clove of garlic per plant
• crush
• work into the soil around the plant
• renew every month

Tip: You can boil garlic with water to make tea. Let it cool and either water or spray the plants with the garlic tea to increase their resistance to the pests.

Tansy manure

Tansy manure is an excellent home remedy that you can use to strengthen the natural resistance of plants to the vine weevil. At the same time, tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) has a deterrent effect on animals and can therefore be used in a similar way to garlic and coffee grounds. You can make the liquid manure yourself without much effort, for which you need the following ingredients and utensils:

• 1kg tansy
• 10l water
• optional: rock flour to bind odor
• Barrel or container made of plastic, glass or wood

Do not use metal containers as these can be attacked by the liquid manure. As a result, harmful substances are released from the material and get into the plant. Once you have what you need, do the following:

1. Fill the container with water
   
2. use cold water
   
3. Clean and shred tansy
   
4. put in the water
   
5. optional: cover
   
6. Place in a shady place without direct sunlight
   
7. Location should be warm
   
8. Let ferment for 10 to 14 days
   
9. Stir liquid manure daily
   
10. add rock flour if necessary

It can be used when it no longer foams. After that, you can use them right away. This can be done in the following way:

• dilute with water (10 parts water to 1 part liquid manure)
  
• undiluted it damages the plants
  
• Spray plants with liquid manure (works against adult specimens)
  
• pour with liquid manure (works against larvae)
  
• apply regularly

Note: Instead of tansy, you can use wormwood for tea to control the black weevil. For this you need either 30g dried or 300g fresh wormwood, which is prepared in the same way as the tansy tea.

Predators

An effective method is to attract or settle predators that feed on the larvae and beetles. This home remedy can be used to fight the black weevil without you having to do anything yourself. Black vine weevils have numerous enemies, and proper gardening will take care of the pests for you. These include:

• Hedgehog
• Shrews
• moles
• Birds
• Toads
• Lizards
• other insects (e.g. B. Earwigs)

In order to attract all these animals, you need to make the garden close to nature. This means that elements such as wild corners, trees and hedges with sufficient hiding places or piles of leaves help to attract predators against the beetles. If you don't want to wait that long and are mainly looking for a home remedy for the larvae, you can use useful birds. For these you only need a stable so that they can move freely in the garden. They look for the larvae and make short work of them. Well suited for this purpose are:

• Chicken
• Ducks

Tip: In addition to the feeders, you can use nematodes to effectively combat the larvae of the black weevil. They are incorporated directly into the soil and from there penetrate the larvae, whereupon the pests quickly die.

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