Weevils in Hibiscus seeds.....

I have a Red, tall Perennial Hibiscus...not the usual one, but one that grows about 6' tall and the blooms only have 5 single petals. Will post picture...

It makes a gadzillion seed heads and I end up gathering piles and piles of seeds.
Nothing shows right away, but after a few weeks, all of a sudden, there are hundreds of these tiny, black weevils crawling all over.
I go through this every hear! It is a pain--as I share a lot of the seeds, and these bugs eat a hole right through the center of the seeds....now they look like beads....

Last might, I noticed them. So I poured all the seeds on a plate and sprayed it all down with a Rose and flower spray I had on hand......Well--they were coming out in hordes! You could see the whole surface of the plate of seeds alive with these bugs.....

While I watched the Presidential debate, I was picking them off the edges of the plate and putting them in a small cup--lots and lots of them--to die in the spray at the bottom.
Then it got too late to fool with it. and I gave the seeds another good spray and covered the top ov the plate with plastic wrap and then put all that in a veggie bag.

This is what greeted me this morning.....And many of them were still moving around....

Gita

Here's another view...many of them had made their way out from under the plastic wrap and were now inside the veggie bag....

Here's a pretty good close-up of these weevils....WHAT ARE THEY??????

-What can I do to get rid of them and WHEN in the plant's growth season?

--Should the plant be sprayed at some given time? I sprayed it once with Neem when the plant was just growing. It is impossible to spray the buds as they do not all grow, or bloom, or set seeds at the same time.

I am at a loss........I just don't have the time to go through this bug-killing every time.
Besides--I cannot sort through some 1000 seeds to get rid of the ones with the insides chewed out! At the best--I can write a short note to any of the recipients of these seeds that I have sprayed and washed the afterwards and to not plant the seeds with the holes.....

I DID wash all the seeds in a colander this AM and then rinse them all in some warm water with a few drips of dish soap in it. Dried them on paper towels and that is all I am doing.....If there are any more bugs hiding in some seeds and will crawl out later--I will screem!!!!

H-E-L-P!!!!! Gita

Here's the close up.

Her's the Hibiscus. It is a really nice bloomer--and so eye-catching!

I don't know Gitagal if it were me I'd consider this year's seeds a wash and would'nt trade. They have probably laid eggs on the ones that may still be viable. Next year however you may want to consider a weekly spraying of the hibiscus with Neem (and a few drops of dishwashing liquid) that will probably keep them away next year and you'll have a good set of seeds. Neem is organic so it'll take more than just one spraying at the beginning of the season to protect the plant for the summer - otherwise you could use say sevin spray every couple-3 weeks (in the evening since you don't want to kill the bees). Up to you but that's my 2c worth - good luck!

ultimate---

This has happened EVERY year! Not just this year!

If I can make the time--I try to weed through the seeds and remove the ones with the holes in them. OR--write a not to the recipient to not plant any seeds with holes in them. I send plenty of seeds--so there is NO problem with that.
In intact seeds--there can be no "invasion".....

The problem I am having is this-----At WHAT point in the plant's growth do these weevils "make themselves at home" in the seed pods/seeds?????

Need an expert to help me find an answer to this. If I do not know--I do not know at what stage to spray.

Funny thing..............Just last week--all of a sudden---there were these very same weevils all over my kitchen window! I sprayed them all and they died--but would these have come from last years seeds and hibernated and proliferated in my house?????

A lot of questions, I know---but I need an answer!

Gita

I pick mine then put them in the freezer for about 36-48 hours. First year I've tried it so I'm not sure what will happen. I do know the weevils are dead. I haven't tried to germinate any seeds yet. Actually this thread got me thinking that I should get some going now to see if the freeze did anything bad to them.

Putting the plate of seeds in the freezer was my last attempt also--but I only left it in there for maybe 45 minutes. Even then, when I took it out, there were a few straggler weevils in a couple of hours groggily crawling about.

Core,
So---you are also having this weevil problem? I wonder it it is wide-spread??????
Anyone else???? Please share your solutions.

Thanks, Gita

Today--I was trying to get the dried Thai basil seeds out of the bloom-twigs I had picked off of the plant. Still not dry enough to rub the seeds out of their protective, little cocoons----
BUT--there they were again----these little black, Weevils crawling out all over my plate I was using.

WHAT ARE THESE THINGS???????? Same as in my Hibiscus seeds in the above Posts.

Something from Haides???? Do they infest everything????? Are they ravenous infesters of any and all seeds to munch on?

Gita

They seem to only get certian seeds. That's all I know. Eastern redbud seeds will get the same little guys.