Frequently Asked Questions

Sospalm was exclusively designed to be used on palm trees. The physiology of the palm tree, as it is a grass, is different from that of a tree, so it is necessary to be very careful when making wounds. That is why the Sospalm peg is designed to be fixed on the palm tree, which avoids the repetition of perforations.

In addition, the injection is done by gravity. This is very important because the palm material is fluffy and soft. The pressure used in tree endotherapy causes wounds and cavities that are very harmful to the palm.

Since there is no need to repeat perforations, the manpower performance is very high, improving the cost when many palms are injected.

The system has a very low cost, since we do not have to buy material again, since the peg is installed permanently.

The foliar shower is only justified if the palm tree suffers attacks on the crown. In the rest of the cases, the insecticides sprayed in the shower do not reach the area where the larvae are eating, so it loses efficacy. Another problem of the shower is the drift of insecticides that can cause intoxication to passers-by, neighbours and pets, being high the risk in inhabited areas. The cost is high because important means such as a spray tank, poles or cranes are needed. In the case of public palm trees, the streets must be cut while the work is being carried out. We have to add that the humidity in the balloon creates an optimal environment for the development of very harmful fungi and in the case of the production of dates, insecticides get in contact with the date cluster, so it is not possible to sell the dates as residues free.

The first thing is to determine the extent of the infection caused by the red palm weevil. Once the case has been analyzed, it is best to perform a foliar shower in the area of ​​the attack if it is in the crown. The purpose of this action is not only to kill the red palm weevil larvae on our palm, but also to prevent the flight of the adults of our palm to other neighbouring palm trees. After 20 to 30 days, we’ll remove the remains of dead material, inspect the area and repeat the shower so that we could finish killing the red palm weevil that may have remained.

If the red palm weevil larvae did not eat the apical bud, the palm will sprout again and will be recoverable and we can install the Sospalm endotherapy system to avoid a new infestation. If after a few months the palm hasn’t sprouted, the specimen must be eliminated respecting the protocols for handling infested material dictated by the Government.

The red palm weevil has a preference for some species of palm, although none is totally safe from its attack. In the case of indoor palms it is difficult for an adult female to lay eggs. It is recommended in all cases that the palm tree to be periodically inspected and at any detail that catches our attention (Sawdust, exudation, dry leaves, eaten leaves, etc.) to be reported to a professional to carry out the appropriate treatments.

What is the red palm weevil?
The red palm weevil is a reddish-looking coleopter (Beetle), hence its name Rhinchophorus ferrugineus (Ferrugineus for the reddish coloration of iron). Its body is elongated and ovoid, with a length that varies between 20 and 40 millimeters and a width of about 10 to 15 millimeters. The size varies depending on the food cycle, being larger those that fed for a longer period of time (from spring to winter). On the elytra and the head they have irregular spots, which do not serve to distinguish the females from the males. It is like a secondary feature. The way to distinguish sex is because males have a very easily distinguishable hair brush on their beaks.
They have a strong ability to infest palm trees so it is important to put yourself in the hands of professionals to protect your palm trees.

Oll over the world it is commonly known as Morrut Roig, Picut, Becut Vermell and in other countries it is known as Red Palm Weveel, Charançon rouge, Punteruolo rosso, Escaravello Vermelho, Susa, etc. But its scientific name is Rhinchophorus ferrugineus.

Mass trapping is a technique used to decrease the population, since females that are captured will not make spawns on the palm trees. Pheromones (sexual attraction) and kairomones (food attraction) are used to attract females and males.

The truncated cone shape of this model makes it particularly more efficient than other traps like the cube trap, since most red weevils that are attracted to the pheromone do not enter the trap by flying, but by walking. The rough surface with a smooth slope makes it easy to enter into the trap.

The recommendable thing with the plague of the red palm weevil is to combine several techniques which ensures greater efficiency. Techniques such as mass trapping, foliar showers and endotherapy combined in an appropriate way ensure encouraging results. The most important thing is to carry out preventive treatments to prevent the pest from settling in the palm tree and killing it.

Endotherapy, as its name indicates, is the technique by which we inject a specific systemic product into the trunk according to the objective to be achieved. These products can be nutrients, fungicides, insecticides, and even self-defense inducers. The technique was developed to be used on trees and began to be used on palm trees with the appearance of the red palm weevil. Traditional endotherapy is very effective on trees, but it is not so effective on palm trees for several reasons:

The injections are made with pressure, something inappropriate in palm trees because their internal material is soft and can cause irreversible damage.

It is necessary to repeat perforations and the palm trees, due to their physiology, have problems to heal those wounds.

These were the reasons that led Sospalm to develop the peg because the injection is made by gravity, without affecting the soft material of the stem and since they are installed permanently in the palm tree, it is not necessary to repeat the perforations.

The red palm weevil is a reddish-looking coleopter (Beetle), hence its name Rhinchophorus ferrugineus (Ferrugineus for the reddish coloration of iron). Its body is elongated and ovoid, with a length that varies between 20 and 40 millimeters and a width of about 10 to 15 millimeters. The size varies depending on the food cycle, being larger those that fed for a longer period of time (from spring to winter). On the elytra and the head they have irregular spots, which do not serve to distinguish the females from the males. It is like a secondary feature. The way to distinguish sex is because males have a very easily distinguishable hair brush on their beaks.

They have a strong ability to infest palm trees so it is important to put yourself in the hands of professionals to protect your palm trees.

The red palm weevil is harmless for people and animals. It is not so for many palm species.

The red palm weevil attacks a large number of species in the Arecaceas family, but it has a preference for Phoenix canariensis, Phoenix dactylifera, Washingtonia, Coconut, Butia, although if the female has a need to lay the eggs, it is capable of infesting other species like the Strelitzia.

The red palm weevil is very efficient in multiplying. Once fertilized, the female can lay between 300 and 500 eggs. The spawning is done progressively depending on the temperature and the characteristics of the palm. After 3 or 4 days, the eggs hatch and new born larvae penetrate inside the palm tree feeding on the tender material. After about 90 days, it wraps itself in the fiber that it has separated while eating making a cocoon, where it goes through several pupa stages, from which a sexually mature adult emerges, so it immediately seeks to mate. The complete cycle varies depending on the temperature and can go from 90, in warm areas, to 120 days in the Mediterranean area.

The red palm weevil, originating from Southeast Asia, arrived in the Middle East with the importation of some coconut trees and from there it was distributed in North Africa. With the importation of date palms from Egypt, it entered Europe. In the initial stages of the plague, the red palm weevil was primed particularly in the Spanish Mediterranean coast, spreading throughout the rest of the peninsula. Continental Europe is not exempt from its voracious presence despite winter temperatures are below zero degrees Celsius. Nor have the Mediterranean islands been spared from attacks, with the observation of lines of dead palm trees on the promenades of tourist cities such as the Balearic Islands, Cyprus, Corsica, Sardinia or Sicily, giving a calamitous image, not attractive for tourism.

The red palm weevil can be combated in many ways, the use of insecticides being the most common. The application method varies from the foliar shower, only in Canarian palms, to endotherapy, but in all cases, preventive treatments are the most effective.

It is recommended to consult what plant protection products are allowed in each country.

Depending on the method used, the number of palm trees, the species, the height, etc., the cost may vary. Preventive treatments are the most recommended given their effectiveness and the low cost.

You can consult us directly here.

The larva of the red palm weevil is born with a few millimeters and grows until it reaches 4 to 5 centimeters. It is brown in color with a dark head and an effective buccal system that makes it very efficient when drilling cavities. The detail that allows us to recognize them against other larvae that we can find inside the palm is that it does not have legs, compared to others such as the white worm that has several pairs of highly developed legs.

Endotherapy, as its name indicates, is the technique by which we inject a specific systemic product into the trunk according to the objective to be achieved. We can consider it a phytosanitary treatment if we inject fungicides, insecticides, but if the technique is used to inject nutrient or natural self-defense inducers, it would be incorrect to consider it as a phytosanitary treatment.

It is difficult to answer which is the “best treatment” due to the complexity of the red palm weevil pest. We have to know the extent of the infestation and the damage in the palm tree. Shock treatment (Healing Protocol) must be carried out and confirm that the attack has not been lethal for the palm tree.

All the experts agree that the technique used is infinitely more effective if done preventively, protecting the palm tree from possible attacks. Sospalm endotherapy is a sample of the effectiveness of preventive treatments.

You can consult us directly here.

There are no home remedies against the red palm weevil pest because the larvae are not in contact with the outside and to reach them we have to get deep inside of the stem. There are management rules to prevent our palm tree to become infected, such as pruning in winter times, destroying the affected material, doing preventive treatments and above all, communicating to the authorities the existence of affected palm trees in our neighbourhood so that they can notify the owners the obligation to carry out the appropriate treatments.

The red palm weevil has characteristics that make it easily recognizable due to its reddish colour and the beak on its face.

The Rhinchophorus ferrugineus (Ferrugineus for the reddish coloration of iron) has an elongated and ovoid body, with a length that varies between 20 and 40 millimeters and a width of about 10 to 15 millimeters. The size varies depending on the food cycle, being larger those that fed for a longer period of time (from spring to winter). On the elytra and the head they have irregular spots, which do not serve to distinguish the females from the males. It is like a secondary feature. The way to distinguish sex is because males have a brush of hair on their beaks.

The red palm weevil is classified as a very dangerous invasive pest, so treatments are mandatory and it is the owner who assumes responsibility for its execution and cost.

The best way to control the red palm weevil is to use preventive treatments. It is the best way to protect the palm of possible attacks. Sospalm endotherapy is a sample of the effectiveness of preventive treatments. In addition, there are management rules to prevent our palm trees from being infected, such as pruning in winter times, destroying the affected material and above all, communicating to the authorities the existence of affected palm trees in our neighbourhood so they can notify the owners of the obligation to carry out the appropriate treatments.

The red palm weevil has a very efficient biological cycle. As soon as the adult emerges from the cocoon, he is already sexually mature, so he seeks to mate immediately. Another one of the characteristics that makes it so destructive is that a female can lay between 300 and 500 eggs during her life period. This is the reason why we find many larvae when performing surgery on infested palm trees. The complete biological cycle lasts between 90 and 120 days, so we can have from 3 to 4 generations per year.

The best way to control the red palm weevil pest is to use preventive treatments. It is the best way to protect the palm tree from possible attacks. Sospalm endotherapy is a sample of the effectiveness of preventive treatments. In addition, there are management rules to prevent our palm tree from becoming infected, such as pruning in winter times, destroying the affected material and above all, communicating to the authorities the existence of affected palm trees in our neighbourhood so they can notify the owners of the obligation to carry out the appropriate treatments.

The red palm weevil is a very efficient pest. It can kill a palm tree in a few months without having observed anything abnormal with the naked eye. That is why, it is recommended to carry out preventive treatments, since the difficulty of detecting the attack in an initial phase, makes it very dangerous.

The red palm weevil does not pose a danger to people, but when attacking palm trees, leaf detachments can occur, and the fall of the crown or the entire palm if it has lateral or basal attacks. There have been accidents with personal and material damage due to this fallings.

The larvae of the red palm weevil are inside the palm tree feeding on the tender material in the central area. Removing the leaves does not solve the problem. The larvae will continue to eat in the inside and more and more leaves will be affected, reaching the death of the palm tree. It is advisable to carry out curative treatments to kill the larvae that are feeding inside.

The adult red palm weevil can be found flying near our palm tree and it is very easy to detect. This is more complicated in the case of the larvae that are inside the palm feeding on the tender material that is in the central area. But depending on the species of palm tree, the attack can be to the apical area (the crown) or to the base of the trunk, and even in the middle area of ​​the stipe.

Cutting down the trunk of the palm tree to eliminate the red palm weevil pest is the appropriate method when the palm is dead or the damage is so great that there is a risk of falling. Remember that for this material, being infested, it is mandatory to follow a protocol for destruction. This consists of the transfer of the infested material by an authorized company to an authorized landfill that will proceed to the destruction of that infested material.

REMEMBER: it is cheaper to treat and protect the palm than to eliminate it when it is dead.

In the same way that the owner of a dog is responsible for its vaccination and for the damages that it may cause, the palm tree is also his responsibility.

A palm tree infested with red palm weevil should be treated by its owner and he is responsible for the damages it may cause if leaves are detached or, what is much more serious, if the crown or the entire stipe fall due to the attack of the red palm weevil.

Control of the red palm weevil with the Sospalm system does not require the intervention of a professional, as long as the products used have a Domestic Outdoor Gardening authorization. Plant protection products can only be used by authorized professionals. Our recommendation is that you contact professionals who will advise you on the use of the technique and who will carry out the work.

You can consult us directly here.