Strawberry Weevils A Big Problem When Growing Strawberries

Readers strawberry plant with damage

Q. A friend of mine has recommended that I contact you regarding a problem I’ve got with a newly planted garden in my back yard.  These beetles are devouring my strawberries and I’m even seeing them on my other veggies in the same planting area.  I tried the water, soap, baking soda, cayenne pepper spray solution but it’s not seeming to make much of an impact, if any.  I really don’t want to use pesticides. 

A. What you have is most likely one of the vine weevils. Because it is on strawberries I would like to think it is the strawberry vine weevil but there are other vine weevils as well. Regardless of the name the problem and controls are similar. Difficult.

Vine weevil on readers plants, picture magnified and cropped

            Probably one of the more effective ways is going to sterilize the soil. This can be done without chemicals. This will require you to remove the plants from their home, wash them thoroughly and replant them in soil that has been sterilized through solar sterilization. This is a bad time of year to do this however. You could do this this fall.

            You will sterilize the soil by tilling or digging the soil so that it is loose to a depth of 12 inches. Water the soil. Place clear plastic over the top and seal the edges with soil and rocks so the wind does not blow it open.

            Leave it covered so that the soil "cooks" for two hot days. After two hot days you can uncover it, let it cool and plant again with clean plants. Use clean mulch that is free of critters as much as possible.

            There are baits you can buy but the bait must say it controls pill bugs and sow bugs , not just snails and slugs. The bed will get infested again and you will have to go through the same scenario to clean up the bed.

            There are some insecticides you could use but check the label and make sure they can be used on fruit and see how many days you have to wait before you pick the fruit after you apply it. this is called the "re-entry period" sometimes on the label.