Weevil Watch

In this family pecan business I know the role I play. My job is to sell pecans to customers both local and (at times) world wide. I am to create a store and a marketing plan that helps to promote the Pecan Shed...who we are, what we do, and how great we do it. My main objective (along with the help of Mom and all my employees) is to sell as many pecans as possible and I really do love what I do.

Jake's job is to make sure I have pecans to sell. He and Dad take care of the pecan orchards. They worry about spraying schedules, irrigation, weather patterns, crop forecasts, etc.

I have a business degree from Midwestern State University. Jake has a horticulture degree from Tarleton State University. (Mom and Dad have an "experience" degree from The School of Life.)

I have a limited amount of knowledge as to what actually happens in order to get the pecans from the tree to my store. I just know what to do with them once I get them.

So today when I called Dad to ask what he was up to he said they were spraying the orchards for pecan weevils.

I asked why when we were so close to harvest. He said that a bad case of weevils at this point could wipe out our entire pecan crop. I am smart enough to know that would be a bad thing.

I thought weevils were a problem early on. I didn't know they could be bad right now. Dad informed me that pecan weevils come out when the ground gets damp and this allows the weevil to climb up out of the ground and then infest the pecan trees.

Who knew?!

I pointed out that we had not had rain in the last few days but according to Dad since it rained last week we were still spraying in order to keep those "bad bugs" at bay.

Note: Mom will tell you that she knew we were spraying for weevils based on our chemical bills. Another reason why pecans can seem expensive at times and why we never claim our pecans are organic.

So for those of you out there with a pecan tree, or two, or two thousand you might want to be on a weevil watch. The good news is you still have time to put out some preventative spray if you don't see any. The bad news is if you DO see one or two you might have already lost the battle before you knew there was a fight.