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Originally Posted by Cmk07c
BG did yall look at adding or getting any for your area? To kind of supplement the ones working their way in?
Anyone know if they have a similar creature for hyacinth and other invasive plants we in south deal with? From what I understand there is giant salvania and just regular, the weevil we currently have only eats one type of salvania. This is why there isn't eradication. Places like maurerpas swamp can't get a grip on their problem because it's a split invasion of reg and giant salvania.
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It has now been determined that the weevils are the same species for both common and giant salvinia. success is highly variable but there have been some real success stories. We had some put out in a lake with common salvinia. The biologist brought some giant salvinia that had weevils in it. We wouldn't accept that because didn't want to introduce giant salvinia. Later got some weevils with the common salvinia and placed those out. This was a year with a very hard freeze and it knocked the salvinia way way back (likely killed the weevils as well). The following summer it was like nothing has happened as it was everywhere. Have had the same luck with spraying it. Can knock it way back but if you do not get very but if it (which is almost impossible if you have a lot of vegetation on the banks or if you don't have a way to block it from coming in from adjacent areas) it comes right back.
As far as hyacinth biological control there is another weevil they have used in Florida with some success but haven't heard much about it in Louisiana. It seems like all the weevils are very host specific and will not feed on much else but you have to be real careful with introducing another non native to combat a non native also. McIlhenny brought in the nutria to control alligator weed and water hyacinth way back when. They escaped and now look at them.