Palm Weevil Treatment

The Red Palm Weevil (Picudo Rojo) a headache in our gardens. 

The Palm Weevil has rapidly infested many palm trees across Spain, leaving devastation in it´s path. You don´t have to look far to see the lasting devastating effects that the weevils have left behind after devouring one palm tree, then flying onto to another and so on, successively. 

So how do you know if a palm tree is infected?

 A tree can be infested for several months before the symptoms of infection start to show, this 

sometimes makes it difficult to diagnose infestation. The major damage is caused by larvae when normally feeding on the inside of the palm tree´s crown. Females normally have several hundreds of eggs, laying them in the palm´s crown at the base of the fronds. The emerging larvae then proceed to eat their way out of the crown area, attacking all the soft new fronds around the center on the palm. 

What are the visible effects of infestation?   

The visible effects and symptoms are normally frond, leave related;  Scissor like cuts to new central fronds, dried out fronds, that have gone straw colored, fallen external fronds.

The ministry of agriculture recommend that preventative treatment against the Red Palm Weevils should only be carried out by qualified professionals due to the toxic nature of the insecticide.  

Red Palm Weevil Spraying Treatment.

We recommend our spraying treatment every six weeks from the beginning of March to the end of November. This is the time when the Weevils are most active and fly from tree to tree. During the winter months they lay dormant. The crown of the palm tree is well showered, approximately 20 – 25 liters of liquid is required per palm depending on the diameter.    

Our success rate.

We have found our palm spraying treatment to be highly successful over the last decade, in some cases not only irradicating the Red Palm Weevils and its hundreds of larvae, but in time, also restoring many palms back to their former glory.  

Why is my Palm Tree Infected?

Pruning sends out a very strong smell to the insect world and the Red Palm Weevils are attracted by the pheromones given off by a freshly cut palm tree. It is always recommended to spray the freshly cut wounds with insecticide. Safe to say, only ever cut palm trees that are being protected. It would also make sense to have your palms cut between the middle of December and middle of February, traditionally in these colder months the palm weevils lay dormant, so less likelihood of infection. It is also recommended that pruning is done once, and thoroughly, rather than cutting the odd frond off from time to time, as each cut is likely to attract weevils to the area.

What type of Palm Trees are effected?    

The main types of palm trees that are affected by Red Palm Weevil most commonly in Spain are Canary Island and Date Palms, these are the Phoenixes type of palm trees. These are much more prone to this type of infection than the common Washingtonian Palms which are far less likely to be attacked.

What do Red Palm Weevils look like?

The adult Weevils are a vivid red, with black striped wings, a pointed head and vary in length from 2cm to 5cms. The eggs are very small, and are hard to see, being only 1-2mm long, but once larvae hatch, which are ivory colored and pear shaped, they can grow to 5cm in length. Although rarely seen, living inside the trunk and at the base of the fronds in the crown.

Once full size is reached, the larvae weave themselves cocoons from the palm fibres, emerging as adult weevils. Evidence of the activity taking place are cocoons often found around the base of a palm tree.    

Don´t wait until your palms are infected by weevils and risk losing your entire palm tree(s).