Thanks Berndoodle. Interesting and good information. I am going to wait. I'm completely spraying challenged anyway. I have only sprayed once (for blackspot) and I successfully got more on me than the plant. That was like two years ago. I like to keep my garden as chemical free as I can so I think in the short term I'm just going to have to be more vigilant about checking the KO's and seeing if I can find the uninvited guest(s). Kate

If these are really black vine weevils, you have my sympathy. I've been battling them for a very long time, and, no, have not had much luck. I've tried nematodes, maybe 3 or 4 times. Timing is critical, as is maintaining the right moisture level after application. Not sure if this treatment didn't work for me because of something like too much or too little water after I applied the nematodes, or if they just aren't that fast to work, or ... what. Two years ago I did a comparison, with one shrub treated with nematodes and one with Bayer. I couldn't really see any difference, and these are two identical old rhodies growing on opposite sides of the front entrance to my house, in literally identical situations. The recommended "hand control" method is to lay folded burlap under the shrubs (or, I guess, between strawberry rows) and carefully remove it in the early morning when the buggers have gone back to sleep. They're night-feeders, and hang around in their PJs in the daylight hours in the leaf duff under the plants. I admit that I've never figured out how to do this, so I don't know if it works. The most horrid thing about them is not that they notch the leaves of their targets, but that the youngsters feed on the roots before they morph into adults. Even with a large, healthy rhodie, the results are yellowing leaves and overall loss of vigor. If your were going to toss your strawberries because they've stopped fruiting, the weevils may be the cause of the problem. I'd pull the plants now, if I were you. The eggs will not be on the plants, they'll be in the soil, and will be impossible to get rid of. Next year you may find notches on yews, rhodies, willows, and who knows what else. Removing the berry foliage may at least disrupt the life cycle before the adults have a chance to lay those eggs. There are some very good fact sheets on these devils, on several university web sites. The more I learn about them, the less confident I am that I'll outlive them.

The timing of your treatments is essential with weevils and in checking GrubEx, while it may have been helpful, seems you have missed the boat so to speak.:) Grub/larvae control should have taken place before Aug 1 with GrubEx if I'm reading the product correctly. Much the same with treating adults before they've laid eggs - that's been accomplished by late August too. You may not solve your problem this year, other than reducing adults to minimize any more notched foliage. Here is a link that might be useful: Rhododendron.org - weevils advice

Wow, they had a feast, huh? I did some research today, and asked around ... found out that Cankerworm might be the culprit. I've been lucky in never having had to deal with them. There are specific sprays for them, but I have no experience with that. I wouldn't shear them this summer, just let them recover. Yours is pretty thinned out, so I can't predict what will happen, but they're normally pretty tough plants. Also, I see a few dark brown leaves in there, and can't tell if that's related, or something else is going on. I don't know where you're located, your growing conditions, etc. You might want to take these pics and a cutting (both eaten and brown parts) to a trusted local nursery and see what they think.