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Since Baptisia species attracts weevil’s ,
Has anyone successfully controlled weevil eggs or larvae in Baptisia species? If so, what methods were effective?Hi Lina!
Assuming you’re asking post collection- we at NCBG typically seal the collection into a plastic tote with a RAID pest strip in 24 hour increments until we are no longer seeing activity. If you mean for living plants, organza bags could be useful to attempt to keep the weevils out after anthesis?
Best Wishes,
Brandon Wheeler
Hi Lina,
I second Brandon’s suggestions. This is the standard protocol employed by the Seeds of Success program for their collections as well. Just be aware that you’ll want to keep the tote in a cool, but very well ventilated place if using pest strips as the fumes are quite potent. Good luck!
-Kay Hankins
Lina,
If you are trying to inhibit the weevils from laying the eggs, stopping the females from getting to the pods just as they begin to swell is key (that’s when the females oviposit). My understanding is that the weevils crawl up the stems from the base. Bags might help, but the weevils could crawl into small openings. I read somewhere that sticky traps wrapped around the stems is effective, but have never tried it. A labor intensive solution but avoids insecticides. On our preserves we thought fire could help, but have not really seen that, yet. Timing of burning to reduce adult weevil populations and not deter flowering/fruiting of Baptisia may be key. Anyway about it, they can really ruin a seed set. Hope you find some solution that works for you! And do share what you try.
Cheers,
Mike
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