Weevil: how to get rid of it, how to deal with the pest

Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/ru/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19 Category: Plant Pests Published: December 27, 2016Last edits: October 28, 2020

The weevil (lat. Curcullionidae), or elephant beetle, belongs to one of the largest families, numbering more than 70,000 species, and most of them inhabit the tropics. About 5,000 species of weevils live in the middle zone. The weevil insect is a plant pest, and each species has its own preferences - one variety damages forest plants, another vegetable, a third garden, a fourth variety of beetle damages the growing point of a palm tree, as a result of which the plant dies.

Description

Weevils range in length from 1 to 30 mm, while tropical species grow up to 5 cm in length. The body shape of beetles of this genus can be flat and oblong, cylindrical, rod-shaped, rhombic, spherical, convex hemispherical or pear-shaped. The color varies from yellow to black, there may be spots on the body, and it may have a metallic tint. The insect's legs may differ in color from the body.

The upper part of the weevil's body may be hairy or bare, and may be covered with an earthen crust or glazed brown scales. A characteristic feature of the insect is the elongated front part of the head - the rostrum, from which the genus of insects got its name.

Weevils are divided into two subspecies - short-proboscis and long-proboscis, differing from each other in the length of the rostrum. The larvae of long-proboscis species usually develop in plant tissues, consuming them as food, while the larvae of short-proboscis species live in the soil, feeding on plant roots.

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Weevils living in the middle zone prefer to live on berry crops, and they are attracted not by fruits, but by flower buds in which the female lays eggs. The larvae that emerge from the eggs eat the flower from the inside, and if there are a lot of weevils, you may not get any berries at all. However, there are also types of weevils such as house weevils and barn weevils.

Rice weevil with long-term consequences

I cooked porridge from this rice for the first time two months ago. The granddaughter ate with pleasure. Then I diversified the menu, and the bag of rice for porridge was placed in another bag and tightly tied with an elastic band so that it would not fall apart... And as it turned out later, my habit of neatness saved all the other cereals stored in the cupboard, and the cupboard itself from contamination.

But first things first. I will remember this day, when I again decided to cook rice porridge for my granddaughter, for a long time. At first I noticed some dark sticks in the cereal. Having poured the cereal onto the table, I suddenly saw how one “stick,” as it seemed to me, “opened up” and, releasing six legs from itself, quickly crawled. Then the remaining “sticks” began to “open up”. I barely remember how I scooped up the cereal with the crawling “sticks” into a bag, put this bag in another bag, then in another... Thus took place the first meeting with a rice weevil, then unknown to me.

The next night I didn't sleep. I was deciding what to do with the rice for porridge. Throw it away? But I don't know what will happen if the robotic "pop-up sticks" possibly end up in the soil. What if she gets infected? I will be guilty before future generations. What if this is enemy food and environmental sabotage? In the morning I called the Rospotrebnadzor department, from there they sent me to Rosselkhoznadzor, and here I am with “sticks” in the office of the veterinary and phytosanitary supervision service.

There, still in a slight nervous shock, she handed the package to the specialist. “It’s a weevil,” the department inspector said calmly. It turns out that the first time I didn’t notice it in the cereal, because there wasn’t much of it there, but it multiplies very quickly. The inspector continued: “If you threw it in the trash, the pest would definitely die soon.” Then I learned about the weevil that, biting into a rice grain with its powerful jaws, it sucks out all the useful substances from it, leaving the grain empty. Grain ceases to be a nutritious product. The rice weevil multiplies, very quickly becomes an adult and quickly affects all rice, as well as other cereals that are nearby.

“But we can speak responsibly about the fact that this is a weevil,” continued the employee of the Rosselkhoznadzor department, “we can only speak after the examination is carried out by the laboratory. Write a statement."

Barn weevil

The barn weevil is a small dark brown bug about 4 mm long with underdeveloped wings. This is a dangerous pest of grain crops. Moreover, archaeologists have established that it has been engaged in its destructive activities for a long time: in the 20th century, scientists discovered traces of the weevil in excavations of ancient Egyptian burials, and in Ancient Rome the insect was known as a pest called Curculio. An adult insect damages grain and products made from it, and larvae from eggs, which the female can lay up to 300 eggs in one clutch, develop in the grains of millet, wheat, rice (rice weevil), oats, barley, buckwheat, and rye.

The weevil also lives in flour and pasta. Grain infected with weevil larvae becomes unusable, causing digestive disorders in people, as it becomes hygroscopic, heats up on its own and rots.

Who will you have to fight with: photos and descriptions of weevils

This insect, known since the times of Ancient Egypt, belongs to the order Coleoptera beetles, and is a very serious pest that destroys vegetable and fruit crops, as well as various types of grain.

Weevil is a dangerous pest

Currently, about 50 thousand varieties of weevils are known, among which only a few can become uninvited guests of your home and garden. These include:

• The granary weevil prefers to live in the kitchen and is the most voracious of all species.
  The favorite delicacies of this insect are cereals and flour products. Granary weevil
• The rice weevil is also a frequent visitor to our homes.
  He is unpretentious in nutrition, loves baked goods and cereals. Rice weevil
• Walnut weevil - this type of insect prefers to live in places where hazel and walnut are stored.
  Nut weevil
• Oak weevil - the favorite food of this type of bug is acorns, however, in homes it does not disdain any other food products.
  Oak weevil
• The beet weevil prefers to settle in gardens and vegetable gardens, eating vegetable crops.
  Beet weevil

Despite the presence of wings, some types of weevils cannot fly at all, while others, on the contrary, use this skill perfectly. These insects also reproduce at tremendous speed. So, for example, a female granary weevil is capable of laying a clutch of 300 eggs. It is for this reason that the appearance of these bugs in your home requires their prompt destruction. Otherwise, they will ruin all your cereal stocks in a very short period of time.

The weevil is capable of destroying household stocks of cereals, flour and pasta

House weevil

The weevil in the apartment is the same granary weevil in the grain, which gets into the apartment along with the purchased cereal. The female lays each egg in a cave gnawed out in the grain and seals the hole with her secretions. There, after 6-12 days, a larva emerges from the egg, which feeds on the inside of the grain, and then gnaws through its shell and comes out. How to get rid of weevils in grain? It is difficult to combat the pest precisely because the larva cannot be detected while it is in the grain, and yet there are ways to combat the weevil.

Features of insect reproduction

Representatives of the rice weevil species are characterized by complete transformation. The female gnaws a hole in the grain and lays eggs in it. The fertility of one female is estimated at 300-500 embryos. After laying eggs, the beetle covers the hole with its secretions. Embryo development lasts from 6 to 12 days.

Rice weevil larvae

Newborn larvae are white in color without any pattern. The size of the young is 2.5-3 mm and their development continues in the grain. The larvae eat up all the nutrients and after 20-30 days, when they have gained the necessary mass, they enter the pupation stage. Initially, the pupae are white, but at the end of the phase they become yellow.

If weevils infest rice, the grain loses 30 to 70% of its original weight.

The adult lives no more than 6 months. The full development cycle ranges from 25 to 210 days. The determining factors for generation are humidity and temperature. If the temperature is below 12°C, the development of rice weevil embryos and larvae stops. From 2 to 4 generations develop per year.

How to get rid of weevils

Ways to fight

This dangerous and polyphagous pest must be combated with all available means - preventive, physical-mechanical, chemical, biological and folk.

As a preventive measure, before receiving and placing grain, you should disinfect storage facilities from the granary weevil - wet or aerosol, and then treat the grain - dry it, clean it of debris, cool it as much as possible and, if necessary, treat it with contact insecticides.

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In summer cottages where other types of pests are common, for preventive purposes they use loosening the tree trunks, removing fallen leaves, dry and diseased branches, plant pest-repellent crops in the rows, carry out preventive treatment of plants with the biological preparation Fitoverm, attract birds to the area by hanging birdhouses and nest boxes for trees, and when weevils appear before mating and laying eggs, they are collected by hand or shaken off onto a thick cloth spread under trees or bushes, after which the pests are destroyed.

If the invasion of weevils is widespread, you will have to resort to folk remedies or to treating plants with potent chemicals.

Remedies and preparations for weevil

It is dangerous to use chemical weevil control agents at home. But in the garden or garden, their use is quite justified. The best drugs for weevils:

• Kinmiks - plants are treated with a solution of 2.5 ml of the drug in 10 liters of water;
• Decis - 2 ml of the drug is dissolved in 10 liters of water for spraying plants;
• Fufanon, Iskra-M, Kemifos, Karbafos-500 - 10 ml of any of these drugs must be diluted in 10 liters of water;
• During the growing season, plants are treated with a solution of 20 ml of Fitoverm in 10 liters of water.

In the summer, bugs on tree crowns are treated with a solution of Bazudin or Fozalon, prepared in accordance with the instructions, and against the larvae of leaf pests, the soil can be treated with Bazudin or Diazinon.

Why do rice get bugs?

Let's say right away - bugs in cereals are not a sign of unsanitary conditions in the kitchen. Even in sterile conditions they start up with enviable regularity.

If manufacturers do not comply with sanitary standards, if they do not process cereals in accordance with established rules, it will not be possible to avoid the appearance of uninvited guests.

But, even if the cereal is of the highest quality and absolutely clean, beetles can still appear in it. They come from neighboring products (tea, coffee, pasta, dried fruits, etc.) and multiply very quickly.

Fighting with folk remedies

Since the use of chemicals can be harmful to human health, it is best to destroy the weevil using non-toxic folk remedies. For example, during the period of bud formation, you can treat plants with the following preparations:

• dissolve 10-13 g of powdered mustard in 10 liters of water;
• dissolve 40 g of grated laundry soap in a bucket of water;
• dilute 2.5-3 kg of wood ash in 10 liters of water;
• stir 5 g of potassium permanganate in a bucket of water;
• grate 80-100 g of laundry soap, dissolve them in warm water, add 20 g of borax, 200 g of kerosene and stir the mixture intensively until an emulsion is formed, which must be immediately treated with the plants.

Tips for specific situations

In some cases, special methods should be used to combat weevils.

How to treat plants during flowering

At this time and during the fruiting period, it is better not to use chemicals. When the buds begin to form, you can treat them (with the pests inside) with infusions and solutions. Effective means for spraying buds:

• Dilute 15 g of mustard powder in a bucket of water and add a little liquid soap to better fix the composition on the foliage.
• You can infuse 2 kg of wood ash in a bucket of water (for 10 hours), strain the composition and add liquid soap.

During flowering, manual collection of beetles is recommended. You can also treat plantings with biological preparations. Only when plantations are massively affected by pests is the use of chemicals allowed.

Beetles on stone fruit trees

Different types of weevils cause great damage to garden trees. Stone fruit crops are very susceptible to their invasions. On plums, cherries, cherries or apricots you can find various representatives of a large family: trumpetworm, fruit beetle or goose. They are able to harm all parts of plants. As a result of their activities, you can lose not only the harvest. The tree itself may die. What can be done to combat parasites:

• Before the onset of cold weather, dig up the soil near the trunks.
• Remove fallen leaves from under the plants and burn them.
• In the fall, remove loose areas of bark and whiten the trunks with a solution of freshly slaked lime.
• If beetles are found, collect them manually (shake them off).
• Attach insecticide-impregnated belts with an adhesive layer to the trunks.
• Hang bottles with bait.
• Spray with Karbofos or Actellik.
• Treat trees by spraying with folk remedies, for which use infusions of tomato tops, tobacco or tansy.

Weevil on currant bushes

These plants are most often attacked by gray bud weevils.
Beetles are not very picky. In addition to currants, they settle on apple trees, raspberries, apricots and strawberries. Insects mainly damage leaves, buds and buds. The fight against weevils is somewhat complicated due to the rather deep burial of the pest larvae. They can be located at a distance of 0.5...0.6 m from the surface. The most effective method of controlling parasites is spraying black and red currant bushes with Fitoverm. But this should be done during bud break. Folk remedies help get rid of elephants, especially a decoction of tomato tops and garlic infusion. It is recommended to plant currants away from wild trees.

Pest on roses

Weevils also harm ornamental plants. They are also dangerous for roses, especially those grown in violation of the rules of agricultural technology: thickened, planted in the shade of trees, weakened due to lack of nutrition. At night, beetles eat plant leaves. A small number of elephants can be collected by hand (at night). But only insecticides will save you from a colony of parasites. Rose bushes are sprayed with them in the evening hours.

Weevil in the kitchen

If pests are infested at home, all stored supplies will have to be thrown away, since checking all the products is very problematic due to the fact that it is not so easy to see the larvae. In addition, a number of measures should be taken:

• All storage areas should be washed with soapy water and then treated with a vinegar solution. The room and cabinets should then be ventilated.
• It is possible to cope with a large number of pests by spraying a product in which the active ingredient is pyrethrin.
• Foods that do not appear to be contaminated are best placed in the freezer for several hours.

To prevent contamination of bulk products, it is recommended to store them in jars with tightly closed lids.

How to fight in an apartment

How to get rid of barn weevil after finding it in an apartment? There are simple and effective ways to combat the pest, based on the characteristics of its life and reproduction:

• check all stored cereals, tea, cocoa, coffee, pasta and flour in which weevils can settle and, if you find traces of their presence, get rid of these products, since the secretions of weevils and their larvae are carcinogenic;
• since weevils and their larvae die already at -5 ºC, you can place not yet infected products, in which pests can settle, in the freezer for 2-3 days. For preventive purposes, you can do this with all the cereals, flour and pasta that you buy;
• Weevils also die when heated to 40 ºC for two days, and if the heating is increased to 60 ºC, then in six hours, so it makes sense to heat the cereal in the oven;
• It is better to store already disinfected products in glass or plastic, hermetically sealed containers that will be difficult for the beetle to chew through. Place whole, peeled cloves of garlic into jars with cereals and pasta, you can put 2-3 nutmegs in the flour, and sprinkle a little hot pepper into the peas and beans;
• shelves and surfaces on which there are containers with cereals, flour or pasta are treated from time to time, first with a soap solution, and then with water and table vinegar, and after treatment, cloves, bay leaves or lavender flowers are laid out on them;
• To make it easier to monitor the condition of the products, do not stock too much unnecessarily.

Methods for controlling weevils in indoor plants

Methods for controlling these pests can be divided into two main groups:

• mechanical;
• chemical.

Mechanical methods are the most harmless for the flower and the inhabitants of the room, because no chemicals are used, but this method is not the most effective. Chemical ones are much more effective, especially since they are not so harmful

There are also folk remedies that you should also pay attention to, because they are effective.

If the mechanical method is chosen, you need to place the plant in a well-lit place and carefully examine it. You will need to look for bugs and collect them manually. Also, if there are damaged buds affected by larvae, they will also need to be picked and thrown away. You need to throw away the collected bugs carefully, placing them in a sealed bag or jar, tightly closing the lid so that they cannot get back out.

How to get rid of weevils on your property

Weevil on strawberry

The strawberry weevil is a gray-black long-proboscis bug up to 3 mm in size. In the spring, individuals mate in flower buds, in which the larvae then develop. How to deal with weevils on strawberries? Today, there are many ways to destroy the pest, which can save up to 40% of the crop even with total damage. The sooner you start your fight against the beetle, the more chances you have to emerge victorious.

• How to deal with bean pests

In the spring, when the air temperature is uncomfortable for the pest, treat the area with strawberries with the following means:

• iodine solution - dilute a teaspoon of iodine in a bucket of water;
• dissolve 3 Intra-vir weevil tablets in 10 liters of water.

Carry out the first treatment 5-6 days before the start of flowering, the next time spraying is carried out in mid-summer. Biological preparations Antonem-F and Namabact can be used to process strawberries or garden strawberries. Until the end of spring, it is permissible to use the drugs Fitoverm, Iskra-bio and Akarin. It is advisable not to resort to stronger means, for example, insecticides such as Karbofos, Actellik and Metaphos.

Cherry weevil

The cherry weevil, also known as the cherry trumpet weevil, also known as the cherry weevil, affects not only cherry trees, but also cherry, plum, apricot, cherry plum and even hawthorn trees. This is a golden-green bug, 5.5 to 10 mm long, with a purple metallic tint. The larvae are white, dotted with sparse red hairs, with a brown head and brown mouthparts.

Weevils cause damage to the generative organs of stone fruit crops even before sap flow begins - tree buds dry out and crumble. An invasion of the cherry borer can lead not only to loss of fruit yield, but due to the death of leaves, the trees themselves may also perish.

The fight against the cherry weevil should be carried out by all possible means - preventive, agrotechnical, folk, biological, and if necessary, then chemical:

• in the fall, clean the tree trunks of old exfoliated bark, then burn the plant remains and clean the trunks with a solution of lime;
• Also remove fallen leaves from under the trees into a compost heap or burn them;
• Be sure to dig up the soil in the tree trunks;
• during the period of swelling of the buds, shake off the beetles onto white paper or cloth spread under the tree and destroy them;
• during fruit ripening, collect and destroy carrion so that the larvae do not go into the soil;
• immediately after flowering, if you find more than 8 beetles on the tree, treat it with any of the chemicals we described.

Plum weevil

This bronze-colored bug with a metallic sheen, up to 45 mm long, all covered with short thick hairs, is also called the copper pipe worm due to its appearance. Not only plums suffer from it, but also thorns, apricots, cherries, sweet cherries, and sometimes apple trees, hawthorns, rowan berries and even currants. Harm is caused both by adult insects, which consistently damage buds, buds, flowers, pedicels, young fruits and leaves, and by larvae that develop in fruits.

The fight against copper pipeweevil is carried out in the same ways as against the cherry weevil, and among the chemical preparations, pyrethroids and organophosphorus compounds are most effective against it - for example, Actellik, Fufanon or Bazudin.

Raspberry weevil

Raspberries are damaged by the same type of weevil as garden strawberries, and the main damage is caused to the plant by the female weevil, which can damage up to 30 buds in one season, laying eggs in them, from which larvae appear after 6-7 days, devouring the flowers from the inside within three weeks You can prevent weevils from appearing on raspberries by following the preventive protective measures that we have already described to you, but if preventive measures do not produce results, proceed to treating raspberries with folk remedies.

How to poison a weevil if the number of its individuals on raspberries threatens to destroy the crop? During the period of bud protrusion, treating the bushes with Taran will be justified. Before flowering and after harvesting, it is better to spray raspberries with insecticides Fufanon Expert, Karbofos, Iskra-M or Novaktion. Throughout the growing season, Alatar copes well with weevils on raspberries. Before using toxic drugs, carefully read the instructions and do not neglect safety precautions.

Nut weevil

The nut weevil, or nut weevil, is a brown bug 7-10 mm long. At the end of April, its females lay eggs in unripe hazelnuts, and the larvae, while developing, feed on their pulp, as a result of which half the harvest can be lost. Favorable conditions for the appearance of weevils on nuts are high humidity with an average daily temperature of about 19 ºC.

As a preventive measure, you can consider digging up the soil in the tree trunk to the depth of a spade bayonet, collecting fallen and wormy nuts, and you can destroy weevils on the nut before oviposition by treating the plants along the ovaries with a two percent solution of Fufanon or Actellik.

Pine weevils

The large pine weevil, or ancient spruce weevil, is a dark brown beetle 7-14 mm long. They damage three to six year old pines and spruce trees exclusively by mature individuals, eating their bark down to the sapwood. The wounds from these gnaws merge, becoming covered with resinous juice, as a result of which the entire trunk becomes tarred, and the tree dies. The pine weevil is also dangerous because it also damages deciduous trees - oak, alder, birch and others, if they are located near a pine or spruce forest.

Two more types of weevils damage coniferous trees - pine and blue pine. The pine weevil, also known as the pine weevil, is a dangerous pest of coniferous forests that damages the bark of trees, which can cause the plants to die. This is a brown beetle with yellow dots forming two longitudinal stripes on the body. The blue pine weevil is a beetle with a bluish tint that eats holes in young coniferous shoots and lays eggs in them. The larvae of the blue pine weevil eat into the wood, make tunnels there and pupate. Coniferous trees suffer from both adult blue weevils and its larvae.

Natural enemies of all types of pine weevils include rooks, crows, starlings, woodpeckers, magpies and jays, which can be attracted to the garden. Ground beetles and black beetles also eat weevils. How to remove weevils from coniferous trees using insecticides? Treat the plants with Karbofos, Metafos, Actellik or another preparation during the period of mass pest infestation.

Damage caused by pest

Bugs, which many seem cute because of the bizarre structure of the front part, can cause a lot of problems for owners of suburban areas. Of course, there are insects that are more voracious and dangerous, but weevils are also capable of destroying most of the crop. Among the variety of species of elephants (as pests are popularly called), there are those that prefer fruit and forest trees, those that feed on stored grain and flour, and lovers of berry crops, and connoisseurs of growing cereals, legumes, herbs and nuts, and those who use food house plants.

• If fruit weevils have settled in the garden, the apple, pear and plum trees are primarily at risk. But other types of trees and shrubs are also at risk: cherry, peach, cherry plum, quince and other garden trees and shrubs.

Pests that appear on the site first of all pay attention to the buds of plants.
The beetles pierce them with their proboscis, as evidenced by the drops of juice that appear. As a result, the buds turn brown and begin to fall off. In some cases, leaves and inflorescences still develop from them, but they can no longer become full-fledged. In buds and blossoming flowers, weevils eat away the leaf and generative parts. While the perianth has not unfurled, the pests gnaw a small hole in the bud and lay an egg in it. The emerging face feeds on all parts of the bud and leaves its waste products in it. As a result, the flower does not bloom, it turns brown and dries. The dots on the bud should prompt the gardener to take immediate action to eliminate the parasite. The beetle that emerges from the pupa eats the remaining flowers and does not disdain the young shoots of the fruit tree and foliage. As a result of damage by weevils, plant leaves become brown, begin to wither and crumble. This shedding of foliage can usually be observed in the first half of June. Large colonies of pests can cause defoliation of almost all fruit trees. Dropping leaves greatly weakens garden crops, leading to a decrease in the growth of new branches and the formation of fruits. Moreover, the impact of insects destroys not only the current season’s crop, but also has a detrimental effect on the formation of next year’s buds. Some species of weevils use set fruits to lay eggs. This usually happens in June-July.

The hatched larva develops by eating stalks, fruit pulp and seeds. As a result, part of the crop falls to the ground. During the years of abundant fruiting of garden trees, the damage caused by the weevil to the crop can be assessed as insignificant, since, by and large, excess ovaries are destroyed. But if the flowering of fruit crops is weak, you may not get any fruit at all. Weevil larvae that hatch from eggs laid by females in the soil can cause serious damage to the root system of plants. Fruit bark beetles, or more precisely, their larvae, are capable of gnawing tunnels in the bark of garden trees, which leads to drying out of plants.

• Many owners of houses, apartments or warehouses from time to time find small bugs in their stocks of cereals, beans or flour. Barn weevils are the most common type of such pest. Insects are able to damage stored products in a short period of time, which can no longer be used as food.

Pests enter the house along with products purchased in a store or market. It is quite difficult to immediately detect them, because the grains in which the female has laid eggs are sealed with her mucus. The hatched larvae are almost impossible to notice in the flour with which they merge, but in nuts or buckwheat the parasites are quite visible. Barn weevils, nut weevils, rice weevils, or oak weevils can live indoors. They not only spoil bulk products, but a composition is released from the glands of insects, the unpleasant odor of which is transferred to the products. Pest waste can cause allergic reactions in people that are hazardous to health. Excretions and particles of chitinous cover that get into food lead to infection of the body and disruptions in the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, beetles carry fungi, bacteria and other types of pathogenic microorganisms. Measures to destroy weevils indoors should be taken immediately, preventing them from multiplying.

• Beetles also do not ignore beds with berry crops. If they appear in the garden, you can lose half the harvest.

As a result of the invisible activity of weevils, seedlings wither, buds are damaged and fall off, berry ovaries die, and leaves dry out. Elephants gnaw the mustache of wild strawberries and strawberries, damaging the root system. Voracious insects are often not limited to berry bushes; they also move to other plants. They can quickly spread to neighboring areas, which greatly complicates pest control. Also, various types of elephant beetles can cause serious damage to tuber and legume crops, vegetables and industrial plants, grapes and ornamental plantings.

Features of the insect

Today there are more than 50 thousand varieties of this pest. The insect prefers a warmer climate, so it mainly lives in southern countries.

This name was given to the pest because of its location. The insect was identified by Carl Linnaeus in rice. It was later discovered that the weevil feeds on this crop and reproduces in it. It is believed that the country of origin of the insect is India. Later, the weevil was brought to Europe along with food supplies.

In addition to rice grains, pests live in crops such as:

In the apartment, the rice weevil “settles” in flour products and pasta. In summer, insects mainly live on the ground, and in winter they take refuge in underground tunnels or under grain (in a barn).

Appearance

The pest is not very large in size. On average, its body length varies from 23 to 35 mm. Rice weevils are usually dark brown in color.

The body of the insect is matte and has an oblong shape. The anterior part of the head capsule of the pest is elongated and thin; red spots are visible on the elytra. These insects are excellent fliers, so they can easily move around in nature.

Nutrition

Rice weevils feed on cereal crops.

Thanks to its powerful rostrum, the insect can easily grind rice, buckwheat, wheat and barley.

Life cycle and reproduction

Pests multiply in grains. The female initially gnaws a hole and then lays her offspring there. On average, a clutch contains from 300 to 500 eggs. Then the female “seals” the habitat of the offspring with her saliva. After this stage, the embryonic period of larval development begins. On average, it lasts from 6 to 11 days. On the 12th day, larvae are born up to 3 mm in size.

They are also found in the grain, which they feed on for 25–30 days. When the offspring have gained the required mass, they enter the pupation stage (degeneration stage). At first the larvae become white, and then acquire a yellowish tint. The time of development and appearance of larvae depends on certain indicators. The optimal temperature is considered to be 12°C, and humidity should not exceed 15°. Adults live no more than six months.

Damage caused by weevils

The main harm caused by these insects is damage to grain crops. Weevils gnaw and infect many cereals intended for sale.

Danger to humans

Rice weevils harm not only agricultural crops, but also human health. When consuming a contaminated product, there is a possibility of a severe allergic reaction, which will provoke complications of existing chronic diseases.

Harm to humans from the rice weevil also includes infection with fungal infections contained in insect droppings.

The larvae contain carcinogens, which, if they enter the body, can cause the development of cancerous tumors and the suspension of tissue regeneration.

How to get rid of rice weevil

Grain crops are affected by pests even in the fields. If the grain is not processed properly, then insects enter people's living quarters along with purchased cereals. It is not always possible to see them right away, because the eggs of the larvae are hidden in the grains.

The method of storing cereals plays a huge role in the spread of insects. If they are stored in factory-made plastic packaging, then it is not difficult for the pest to gnaw through this material and migrate to other grain crops in the kitchen. Therefore, it is recommended that all cereals, immediately after purchase and inspection, be placed in plastic, glass or metal containers with tight lids.

To prevent the proliferation of rice weevils, it is recommended to reduce stocks of cereals, that is, not to buy products for several months in advance.

Chemicals

Chemical industry products are used exclusively for large volumes of grain crops.

Note! It is not recommended to use them at home, as if used incorrectly, a person will cause greater harm to his health.

Chemicals are used exclusively at the stage of growing products, that is, they are sprayed on plants. If pests are noticed in barns, then heat treatment of the product is applied.

Varieties and orders

Researchers identify the following types of weevils that attack cereal crops:

The rice weevil has the following characteristics:

The barn weevil is a larger representative of this type of insect. The beetle reaches 3.5 mm in length. The rostrum of the granary weevil is thin, and the color of the body with a shiny surface varies from dark to black shades. This insect is considered the most dangerous, as it quickly destroys grain reserves.

The corn weevil grows up to 5 mm. The insect stands out from other representatives of Coleoptera due to its semi-matte body with slight gloss and light spots at the base of the wings. The dots on the body of the corn rootworm are red-brown.

The rice broad-mouthed weevil is not found in Russia.

What is a pest

Weevils appear in an apartment (photo) quite often, especially when cereals and pasta are stored improperly. This beetle has a long history, since the first mentions of it were found in Ancient Egypt.

Even then, the insect penetrated into storage facilities and destroyed supplies. Although the beetle primarily prefers tropical climates, some species thrive in harsher conditions. Over the years, it has not lost its activity and quite often appears where various products are stored. Therefore, it is important to know how to deal with it and prevent it from appearing where food is stored.

It is quite difficult to see what a weevil looks like, since the size of an adult insect is on average 3.5 mm. At the initial stage of its development it is light brown, but as it grows it acquires a more saturated shade. The weevil got its name because of the special structure of its elongated head, which crowns its body, which is shaped like a cylinder. The insect cannot fly, but it moves very quickly with the help of its legs.

Its distinctive feature is its very powerful jaws, so a weevil in an apartment can easily destroy the integrity of the packaging material and get to the products. For its comfortable living, the temperature should be 10-25 degrees, humidity - 65%.

The female beetle gnaws holes in the grains and lays eggs in them, from which larvae emerge after about 2 weeks. As they develop, they eat the grains from the inside and pupate. The hatched bug gnaws through the wall of the cereal and ends up outside. It is because of this that insects are very difficult to detect at an early stage. Adult individuals become noticeable.

The structure of weevils varies somewhat depending on their species. They come in short-proboscis and long-proboscis varieties. Their main feature is the length of the rostrum and the location of the mouthparts. They can also develop inside the plant or in the soil.

Bugs reproduce in warm weather. Some species produce offspring without fertilization. In a favorable climate, the reproduction process occurs all year round.

Weevil extermination services

One of the most dangerous pests is the weevil, which causes damage not only to fruits, but also renders stocks of flour, cereals and pasta unusable. The insect is small in size (only 4 mm), which makes it difficult to detect and destroy without special knowledge and tools. To remove weevils, it will take a lot of effort, so it is better to initially turn to specialists.

Price from: 1,800 rub.

You can only carry out preliminary measures on your own: examine all dry foods, cereals, tea and cocoa. Those in which the bug has appeared will have to be thrown away, as they are no longer suitable for consumption. Many housewives try to fight the insect using “old-fashioned” methods, placing bay leaves, lavender and other herbs in jars of cereals, but they do not always bear fruit. Disinfection of weevils is a radical measure, as a result of which it is possible to achieve the desired effect in a short time.

Disinsection for individuals