Boll Weevil Control: How to Get Rid of Boll Weevils

This page is an expert guide on removing boll weevils using the products and methods our experienced pest control specialists suggested. Follow this guide and use the recommended products. We guarantee you will successfully remove boll weevils from your home.

Have you come across little black bugs in your home? Or maybe you have a garden or crop area and have noticed them there. They very well could be a rare infestation of boll weevils.

Boll Weevils are notorious pests that cause significant damage wherever cotton is growing. They are a damaging pest on croplands and eat into farmers' profits by feeding on cotton plants. While it may be unlikely that you will have cotton plants growing in your yard or home, boll weevils occasionally end up in homes, usually by accident, during their search for cotton.

If you are worried about the threat of boll weevils, follow our DIY boll weevil control guide, which will give you some insight into this pest and how you can eliminate its presence.

Identification

Before you can proceed with a treatment program, you must be sure that your pest is indeed a boll weevil. Misidentification can lead you to use the wrong treatment products and waste time and money. Below are some characteristics of boll weevils to aid in identification:

• Boll Weevils are a beetle species in the weevil family of pests. They are very small, measuring about 6 mm long (a 1/4 of an inch), and are colored either black, reddish-brown, or gray. They have wings and a unique curved snout.
• Boll Weevils are mostly found in North America, particularly the United States and Mexico, and are most known for invading croplands to infest cotton plants and feed on cotton. Female boll weevils lay approximately 100 to 300 eggs inside cotton buds, grains, barley, rye, and fruits. The infestation of this cotton-eating pest causes much damage and loss every year for farmers. Less often, the boll weevil can also be found in gardens, orchards feeding on plants and, at times, entering homes.

Use the description and image above to help you properly identify whether the pest you notice is a boll weevil.

Inspection

You can proceed to inspection once you have confirmed the infestation is boll weevils. During this phase, you will locate the areas where boll weevils are infesting and observe the conditions allowing them to thrive. This information will help you determine where to apply pesticide applications.

Unlike rice weevils and grain weevils, which commonly infest pantries, the boll weevil is a species you are less likely to find in your home or garden and more likely on crop sites where cotton grows. It is totally by accident if they find their way into a residence. That's because their main source of food is cotton.

While their affinity for cotton may make homeowners concerned for their clothing and furniture, you may be relieved that boll weevils only like eating cotton straight from the cotton plant. That's bad news if you are a farmer that is growing cotton.

Where To Look 

In residences, start by inspecting any clothing or items that were recently brought into the home. Boll weevils can attach themselves to clothing, boxes, or equipment that have come from somewhere else and accidentally ended up in your home. 

On croplands, you should observe your crops, particularly where you are growing your cotton plants and any crops adjacent to the cotton plants.

What To Look For

The main sign to look for if you have an invasion of boll weevils is the boll weevils themselves. They will only breed and feed where they can find cotton plants, primarily cropland. If your home has no cotton plants, they have no business there and will be looking to find a way outdoors. 

Treatment

Boll weevils are a major problem on croplands and a minor issue in or around residences. In this treatment section, we will present treatment options for both farmers and homeowners to eliminate Them.

For boll weevil infestations on croplands, we recommend a broadcast treatment of Malathion 57 Insecticide. For boll weevil invasions in homes, a simple vacuuming clean up and laying traps should eliminate the invaders. 

For Farmers:

Step 1: Apply Malathion 57% To Cotton Crops

Malathion 57% is an organophosphate insecticide that can be applied to crops and non-crop plants to kill various insects, including boll weevils. Malathion is primarily used with a professional skid sprayer or boom sprayer for large croplands.

Determine how much Malathion 57% you will need by calculating the acreage of the treatment area. To do this, you must measure the treatment area's length and width in feet, then multiply them together (length x width = square footage). For acreage, divide the total square footage by one acre (square footage / 43,560 = acreage).

To treat for boll weevils, you will need to mix 2 to 4 pints of Malathion 57% per acre in at least 200 gallons of water.

Apply at least three times per year with a 7-day interval between applications. Apply in a fan spray setting to obtain uniform coverage of the cotton crops, spraying to wet but not to the point of dripping or runoff.

For Homeowners:

Step 1: Vacuum Up The Boll Weevils

It is highly unlikely that you will find a full-blown boll weevil infestation in your home. If a couple you have found scattered around, a simple vacuum may be able to do the trick in eliminating the invasion.

Vacuum the area where you found them and the entire house, just to be on the safe side. Vacuum your furniture using the crevice attachments. As for clothing, go ahead and put suspected clothing in the wash.

Step 2: Set Up Glue Traps

For boll weevils you have not been able to find but had seen at one point, you can try to capture them by setting up glue traps. Apply Solutions Pro Glue Boards in suspected areas.

Solutions Pro Glue Boards are ready-to-use, pesticide-free traps that can be laid out to trap weevils. Simply remove the protective paper from the pre-baited glue and fold the trap into a pyramid shape. Then, place baits strategically around suspected areas in closets, under furniture, in bedrooms, on shelves, etc.

Monitor the glue traps periodically to see if boll weevils have been captured. If they have, dispose of the trap according to the instructions to remove the insect. 

Prevention

Once the boll weevil infestation has been eliminated, you should ensure you don't accidentally bring them back into your home.

• Check any items you have purchased and brought in from another place, especially if they are second-hand. Aside from that, it should be unlikely that you will suffer another infestation from boll weevils as long as you don't grow cotton plants in or around your home.
• Farmers can apply Malathion as a preventative measure to keep boll weevils away, but as noted on the label, cotton crops can be sprayed no more than three times a year.

Key Takeaways

What Are Boll Weevils?

• Boll weevils are a notorious pest on croplands due to their affinity for eating and breeding cotton plants. They are very rare in or around homes.

How to Get Rid of Boll Weevils

• Conduct a thorough inspection to locate the item the boll weevils have infested, and then thoroughly clean and vacuum your home. 
• We recommend controlling boll weevils infesting cotton fields with Malathion 57% Insecticide.

Prevent Boll Weevils Reinfestation

• For homeowners, set up a glue trap like the Solutions Pro Glue Boards to trap Weevils that may be straggling around. Preventatively, thoroughly inspect outside items before bringing them into the home.