Why does a weevil appear on strawberries and fight against it

Description of the pest

The beetle got its name - weevil - due to the long elongated trunk on the front of the head (rostrum). The size of the insect is only 3 mm., The color is gray-black. There are two sections of weevils in the world - short-probed and long-probed. We are dealing with the second species, they like to settle in plant tissues.

The weevil feeds not only on strawberries, but also on raspberries, strawberries and flowers. Today there are more than 70,000 species of gray-black beetles weevils all over the Earth. And it is no coincidence, since these insects love tropical climates. The weevil spends winter in already fallen leaves. When the temperature rises, spring comes, the insect crawls out and begins to feed on fresh strawberry leaves.

In warm spring, the weevil attacks flower buds, where insects mate. A new offspring of pests develops in the flower buds; in late June - early July, the hatched guard of weevils feeds exclusively on the leaves of flowers and strawberries. Fortunately, today there are many ways to effectively combat weevils beetles, which makes it possible to save up to 40% of the harvest.

How to fight?

There are two ways to fight the weevil - chemical and folk remedies. Remember, it doesn't matter which insect repellent you choose. Where it is more important to carry out the procedure for irrigating the beds in the right period of time.

To begin with, the fight against beetle pests should begin in advance, when the soil is still covered with snow. The temperature outside is not comfortable for the weevils, and at this time they are in hibernation. The first spraying is carried out five to six days before the flowering of flower buds. In the middle of summer, irrigation is carried out a second time, which allows you to get rid of the new generation of weevils and prevent insects from overwintering.

The best way to get rid of the weevil is to irrigate the ground with a mixture of iodine and water (one teaspoon per bucket of water). A remedy such as Inta-vir in a pill will help drive the beetle out of the garden. Take 3 tablets in 10 liters of water and treat the garden bed, and after harvest, the soil too. There are biological control drugs - Namabact, Antonem - F, they can be used in early spring and late autumn. Iskra-bio, Akarin, Fitoverm are also suitable for the end of spring.

Chemicals to combat weevils include drugs such as malofos, metaphos, actellic. In general, the best remedies will be those that contain live microorganisms, due to which the percentage of insects will drop sharply. Fumigation of plants with various preparations gives not a bad result - for this procedure in the future, strawberries will delight you with their juiciness.

If you still do not trust chemicals, you can use several folk methods tested by experienced gardeners:

• the very first and most effective method to fight beetles is mechanical destruction.To do this, in the evening, you need to spread a newspaper or paper under each strawberry bush, and shake off the bugs early in the morning. After the litter with weevils must be burned. Note that this method is quite laborious, and not everyone is willing to use it. But it is manual processing that makes it possible to effectively get rid of the insect;
• not bad to fight mustard beetles. Take 100 g of mustard powder and dilute it to 3 liters. water;
• various herbs are good for fighting insects - infusion of tansy, wormwood, bitter capsicum;
• effective is the use of potassium permanganate - 5 g per 10 liters of water, the prepared solution must be sprayed with strawberry leaves. Also, tincture of capsicum will help drive the weevil away;
• processing young leaves with ammonia will make it possible to grow healthy strawberries;
• you can prepare a tincture from 100 grams of garlic, 400 ml of coniferous wood and two tablespoons of boric acid. The resulting mixture must be infused for a week in a bucket of water, and then sprayed with strawberry leaves.

Unfortunately, the action of any folk remedy can interrupt the rain, then the effect of protection from the weevil will come to naught. Rainwater will wash away any non-chemical substance. The irrigation procedure for strawberry leaves must be carried out constantly.

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Prophylaxis

If your crop is ripe, and the weevil has not been able to reduce it, you need to take preventive measures in order to get the same result next year. To do this, with the onset of autumn, it is necessary to cut off the strawberry leaves and weed the weed bed. This will prevent the weevil from staying for the winter. The weeded bed must be irrigated with any insecticide. Take preventive measures after harvest and just before it starts (early spring), and then strawberries will delight you with their fruits.

Weevil secrets

To get rid of a weevil easily, there are a couple of effective secret tips. The first is that the weevil does not tolerate the smell of onions and garlic. Plant a couple of onion and garlic beds around or near your strawberry garden so the weevil won't disturb your berry harvest.

A proven folk remedy for insect control is ordinary ash. Take some ash and sprinkle it around each strawberry bush in the spring. Observing all the rules of dealing with weevils, you will surprise your loved ones more than once with a rich harvest of ripe strawberries. Remember the most important thing - the fight against the pest must take place in a timely manner, then nothing will prevent you from getting an excellent result.

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