Root weevil - Garden Root Weevil

Adults are small, gray black beetles, 0.13 to 0.38 inch long, with curved snouts and elbow-shaped antennae. Mature larvae are up to 0.38 inch long, white or pink, C-shaped, and legless.

Identification of species | Life cycle

Damage
Adults generally feed on foliage. Leaves appear notched or ragged and may be clipped from twigs. The most serious damage is done by larvae, which feed on roots and can destroy root hairs and chew the bark and cortex off larger roots. Some may tunnel into the crown and destroy crown tissue. In vegetables, damage is usually first seen as wilting and dying plants in a localized area of the garden.

Solutions
Destroy adult weevils to prevent more serious damage. On trees, trim branches that provide a bridge to other plants or the ground. On strawberries, destroy all affected plants, then move outward in a circular pattern, removing plants that appear healthy and examining roots and crowns for larvae and pupae until you no longer find weevils. Replant if necessary after working the soil well. Set up a sticky barrier with Tanglefoot around trunks or around the planting area. Apply commercially available parasitic nematodes when larvae or pupae are expected to be present (in midsummer to fall). Soil must be warm and moist. No effective insecticides are available for larvae.

Statewide IPM Program, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California
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