# Insects in grape vine branch!!!!!!!!!!



## scotty99 (Sep 14, 2008)

I have just set up a 3 ft viv for a royal python. I bought a lucky reptile grape vine climbing branch for it. I sprayed with disinfectant and boiling water before installing.

The viv has been up and running for about 3 weeks. This week i noticed a few dead flies/insects in the water bowl. The branch was my first thought, and low and behold, there was a few of these things in the cracks. I did a google to identify the little critters, and they appear to be "wood borrowing weevils" ...nice!!!!!!! which are on the move through the house!!

I bought the branch because they are supposed to be heat treated etc, free from vermin, just though Id warn everyone to double check for critters, any suggestions for a safe viable alternative to fill the viv up a bit, as its now a bit "minimal"


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## Scuwiffpixi (Nov 23, 2008)

Hey Scotty99, that's terrible about the grape vine that's supposed to be vermin free!! you could try and soak the whole thing in a bath of water and disinfectant like you did last time but soak the whole thing over night to see if that kills them?? Or maybe ring the shop and see if they will swap it for a vermin free one?

I don't have any snakes but I have got 2 arboreal critters, a veiled cham and a crestie so they have got viv's totally decked out with stuff to climb, hide and look nice. 

You could use some silk plants either foliage for cover or flowers for colour, Both are great for keeping humidity up if needs be. 

Or for climbing places you can use some exo terra jungle vines, maybe 3-4 all wound together to make thicker, textured branches to climb. a bit expensive way round it but it would work.

You could even try tall live plants (about 3-4 foot tall) with canes to strengthen the plant and give the beastie something to cling to?

I have just posted a thread selling some of these items if you fancy having a look? the thread is called FOR SALE live and silk plants PAGE1/2.

PM me if ur interested?:2thumb:

good luck


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## scotty99 (Sep 14, 2008)

*Wood burrowing weevils*

Thanks a lot for the post, i have thrown the branch out, its just not worth the risk of the weevils infesting the whole house (if they havent already). I am killing them as a find them, i really don't know how many are in the house. I spotted them pretty early after hatching i think, which is lucky. Soaking the whole branch is a good idea, if i get another branch i will do that

Regards Scott


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## Luke87 (Dec 31, 2008)

i always soak over night with a 1/10 bleech solution, then rinse thoroughly with cold water, and smack it in the over for 20mins at about 150-200, nothing lives through that trust me!


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## Reaper941 (Mar 21, 2008)

Luke87 said:


> i always soak over night with a 1/10 bleech solution, then rinse thoroughly with cold water, and smack it in the over for 20mins at about 150-200, nothing lives through that trust me!


What about a stone? surely that would remain fine. :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## oakelm (Jan 14, 2009)

What a nightmare, good luck stopping the weevils. I had a similar experience but ants in hugh piece of cork bark which I had soaked in a bleach solution but didnt bake (silly me) because it was too big. Set it up in a brand new viv a few days before the new resident arrived. Walked in my quarantine room (small ex bedroom) and ants were everywhere just couldnt believe it. I was killing ants for about 3 days and had to strip the room including flooring and everything just to make sure.
If the weevils started from one room put some fly strips around the door so if they walk that way they get stuck, if you dont have any fly strips then double sided sticky tape could work too.


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## scotty99 (Sep 14, 2008)

Cheers guys, the ant infestation sounded nasty. Well these weevils fly, so its pretty hard to stop them moving around. I would of put the branch in the oven, but it was too big. I really don't know what to do, i like the look of the branches but very wary of buying any more for obvious reasons, the snake enjoyed going in the branch while it was in, he looks a bit lost now, as the viv just has 2 hides and a water bowl in


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## Luke87 (Dec 31, 2008)

i never buy wood! i just go down to the local park wheres theres loads of trees, break myself of a nice bit, bleech and bake it and done, its also free


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## scotty99 (Sep 14, 2008)

Thanks

What type of trees/wood are safe for snakes, i know pine and cedar are, are there any others, if i get from the park?. The size of branch i need wont fit in the oven, which will be a problem


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## peacockharris (Apr 1, 2008)

Sorry for resurrecting this thread, but thought I'd mention that exactly the same has just happened to me (although thankfully I became aware of the problem before actually installing the wood as a feature in my viv)

It was a lovely piece of Grapevine too, comprising of 3 branches attached to a single stump. :flrt:

Anyway to get to the point :razz: I put the branch away until such a time as I could use them and a few months passed, and I opened it up yesterday to find that that the piece had been eaten away so much as to have fallen apart into its 3 comprising branches 

Upon closer inspection, I found it to be swarming with 2 different insects (one of which I identified as a wood boring weevil, the other being much larger and residing in bore holes around half a cm wide) 

I'm getting on to the retailer I purchased from about the problem as this was also advertised as sandblasted and pest free, and I suggest that the original poster and anyone else with this problem does the same.

If this has taught me anything, it's to never take the words "pest free" for granted and to always disinfect any item intended for your vivs regardless. I may even varnish it with Polyurethane Varnish, seeing as it's intended for a humid environment.

We'll see what the retailer says when they reply.


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## medusa0373 (Mar 18, 2008)

this also happened to me with a piece of wood, sandblasted etc, which I bought for my BRB viv.

Came down one morning to find this creature happily doing the backstroke in her waterbowl:










and the wood covered in holes. I took it back to the shop I got it from and they froze it for me for a week, just to kill off any other nasties that might have been in it!! Turns out the beetle is apparently a Bostrichid Powderpost Beetle from Africa...??


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## peacockharris (Apr 1, 2008)

Well I got a reply from the retailer I bought it from, and he said he's not had any complaints before but that he's going to have to speak to his supplier. However he did say that he's happy to replace the item free of charge.

So Anyone who's had this problem, I suggest you all do the same. I'm not going to name and shame the retailer as, to be fair, it's his supplier's fault not his.

Glad I got this sorted!


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## scotty99 (Sep 14, 2008)

Cheers ,

Sorry it happened to you as well. If it was just general insects i wouldnt be too bothered, but were talking woodworm here. I sent an email to the online store i bought from, they said they havent had any other complaints, but would contact their supplier and investigate. Not heard anything back as yet. Im guessing i wont here anything back. Im thinking trade descriptions have been breached?? "pest free" They didnt offer a refund. Im not going to name them..yet. 

ps- have bought i nice piece of Java wood, seems very dense wood.Been in for a month now. I here it is baked for a long time prior to sale, no signs of any insects...........yet!!!
peacockharris can u PM me with name of company u bought yours from?

cheers


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## peacockharris (Apr 1, 2008)

PM sent  If we've bought from the same company then they're clearly lying about not having any complaints from anyone else!

Definitely a breach of the trades descriptions act. In these sorts of situations, I find there's two magic words that tend to get results. Trading Standards


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## peacockharris (Apr 1, 2008)

Just an update: Got my replacement branch. It's quite different from the other piece, but it has its own charm, so I'm happy


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## Squirrel (Oct 23, 2007)

Do you have a picture of the offending insects? I had some come out of some grapevine in my shop which looked like wasps, after much arguing with my member off staff who was adamant they were wasps we managed to find out they were an african species ( also found in some parts of the states ) called 'Locust Borers' the don't eat locusts ( which I thought would be pretty cool!) but are actually a pest of the Black Locust Tree, i've attached a link to a pic of them, they have a bit of a bite allegedly ( again my member of staff who decided they had been bitten after I proved this non wasp was in fact sting free!)

photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2672640&size=lg


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## scotty99 (Sep 14, 2008)

Cheers Squirrel

Wow, thats quite a mad looking insect. these are what were in my grapevine. 


Wood Boring Weevil treatment and eradication - Hampshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex


Amazing what hatches from these branches!!


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## Squirrel (Oct 23, 2007)

Nice one! Bit longer bodywise than a regular weevil, pretty cool tho, we should just set up vivs of grapevine and see what we get!!!:lol2:


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## scotty99 (Sep 14, 2008)

We would have to keep the wood weevils in a metal viv though, although if kept in a wooden , they wouldnt need feeding!!:lol2:


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## GeckoLass (Nov 15, 2007)

:bash:Iv also had some sort of wood boaring insect in grapevine it was in an empty set up and didnt notice the infestation until i noticed the piles of fine dust where the grapevine had been placed , i just threw it out . Hope my house isn't riddled:whip:


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## angela__k__84 (Oct 4, 2008)

I've had this problem in the past.
Just to let everyone know freezing doesn't always do they job. If there are eggs they can some times survive the freezing process and once you take it out, put it in the viv and it heats up they can become active again.
Either bake, or nuke whatever you have. If you can't fit it in the oven then pour a few kettles of boiling water over it.
Hope this helps.


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## angela__k__84 (Oct 4, 2008)

scotty99 said:


> I have just set up a 3 ft viv for a royal python. I bought a lucky reptile grape vine climbing branch for it. I sprayed with disinfectant and boiling water before installing.
> 
> The viv has been up and running for about 3 weeks. This week i noticed a few dead flies/insects in the water bowl. The branch was my first thought, and low and behold, there was a few of these things in the cracks. I did a google to identify the little critters, and they appear to be "wood borrowing weevils" ...nice!!!!!!! which are on the move through the house!!
> 
> I bought the branch because they are supposed to be heat treated etc, free from vermin, just though Id warn everyone to double check for critters, any suggestions for a safe viable alternative to fill the viv up a bit, as its now a bit "minimal"


Also, I use rope. Very little chance of that habouring stow-aways...


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## scotty99 (Sep 14, 2008)

Thanks for your comments, the boiling water over it didnt work for me, i think the larve bury right in, i beached it and blow torched it!!! i think baking at a high temp will be the only effective treatment.

seems like these infected branches are causing a few problems


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## wolfspirit (Dec 4, 2008)

I had ants survive a bleaching on some bark i got from a rep shop.

How on earth they did i dont know, but these were young ants so they must have come from eggs, i was so shocked to see them in the viv, they could not have come from anywhere else as the viv is in my bedroom and i have no signs of anymore other than the ones i found in the viv.


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## peacockharris (Apr 1, 2008)

Just thought I better give a further update. The replacement branch I got was also harbouring woodworm. I've ended up getting a full refund for it.


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## excession (Apr 11, 2009)

I was just about to place an order for 2 bits of the grape vine and was doing some google searches and finding a few cases of things hatching from them so decided to give them a miss!

So thanks for this informative post.

I ended up ordering 2 bits of Java Wood from Evolution Reptiles (hurray for free postage over £50.00 ).

I am hopping that Java wood doesnt have the same problems...


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## scotty99 (Sep 14, 2008)

peacockharris, sorry your replacement has nasties in it too. I forgot about chasing up the company, will ask if anybody else has had any problems? See if they tell me porkies.

The java wood I got has no bugs in it.Looks good in a display. I believe the wood is kiln dried over a long period, and its very dense. If you get a sturdy piece, its good for heavier bodied snakes as it not too high and thick enough to take the weight, if grounded at 3 points.


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## andaroo (Nov 14, 2008)

GeckoLass said:


> :bash:Iv also had some sort of wood boaring insect in grapevine it was in an empty set up and didnt notice the infestation until i noticed the piles of fine dust where the grapevine had been placed , i just threw it out . Hope my house isn't riddled:whip:



I got a sandblasted grape vine online from triple 8 reptiles. I noticed weird dust in the tank of my frogs on some of the plants underneath the vine and wondered what was causing it!!! OMG so it's infested then? I had poured boiling water on it twice but didn't realise until seeing this post that these type of vines are commonly infested! It's been in my frog tank for about 3 weeks now! Will they have harmed my frogs in any way?! The tank is in my bed room too right next to my bed i haven't noticed any insects anywhere but I hope to god they haven't secretly infested my room! The vine also have marks all over the wood that that weevil link posted earlier shows, i figured it was caused by the sand blasted process! Was it Triple 8 Reptiles that u all got yours from?
I've had some problems with them and i'm already not happy with their service :cussing: and now to find out this!?


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## andaroo (Nov 14, 2008)

andaroo said:


> I got a sandblasted grape vine online from triple 8 reptiles. I noticed weird dust in the tank of my frogs on some of the plants underneath the vine and wondered what was causing it!!! OMG so it's infested then? I had poured boiling water on it twice but didn't realise until seeing this post that these type of vines are commonly infested! It's been in my frog tank for about 3 weeks now! Will they have harmed my frogs in any way?! The tank is in my bed room too right next to my bed i haven't noticed any insects anywhere but I hope to god they haven't secretly infested my room! The vine also have marks all over the wood that that weevil link posted earlier shows, i figured it was caused by the sand blasted process! Was it Triple 8 Reptiles that u all got yours from?
> I've had some problems with them and i'm already not happy with their service :cussing: and now to find out this!?


So i moved my frogs to a temp tank as it's too late to deal with it right now, I just looked at the vine through the glass of the tank and saw a little black thing wriggle out of the wood crawl over it and into another crack. The vine has had eroded track marks all over since i got it so it must be infested pretty badly! Like i mentioned before I figured this was from the sand blasting process now i feel like an idiot!:bash:


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## peacockharris (Apr 1, 2008)

Sorry for resurrecting this thread, but I just noticed the question.
Yes, it was Triple 8 Reptiles I had the problem with too. They refunded me eventually, but ignored my emails for a week until I got fed up and angrily called the shop to have a sheepish sounding man process my refund.


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