The most effective way to eliminate red palm weevil

If you’re wondering how to get rid of red palm weevil, here we describe the four best treatment methods. As you know, this beetle belonging to the Curculionidae family of true weevils is an invasive species. In fact, thousands of palm trees die each year due to the impact of its larvae.

Most effective treatments for eliminating red palm weevil

To avoid the effect of red palm weevil on your palm trees, you can try out one or more of the following four treatments.

Endotherapy

Endotherapy is, at present, the treatment with the greatest guarantee for palm trees infected by red palm weevils. Its advantages include the following:

• It is a clean technique. It does not leave any residue on the palm tree or its surroundings.
• It does not endanger the environment nor the health and safety of the operator administering it, nor does it affect any other people who may come close to or touch the trunk.
• Only a small quantity of insecticide is required. It is applied to the central part of the trunk.
• It is simple, economic and highly effective.
• It is the most recommended preventive treatment.

This method of eradicating red palm weevil is carried out in four steps: Let us explain them to you:

• A hole is bored in the trunk. An incision must be made to the middle of the trunk in order to reach the greatest number of conductive vessels or trachea. In this way, we create a duct via which the pipette will enter.
• The Sospalm pipette is partially inserted. A resin-tipped hammer is used to hit the pipette three times to insert it halfway.
• To ensure it is properly sealed, mastic sealant is applied around the pipette where it meets the hole. Then it is hammered all the way into the trunk. Only the stopper remains on the outside.
• The stopper is opened and the insecticide dose is inserted with a syringe via a tube.

The recommended frequency for the application of endotherapy for palm trees is twice a year, separated by approximately five months.

Foliar shower

The foliar shower is another treatment method against red palm weevil. It consists of the application of a special liquid mix to the top of the trunk. In this way, the aim is for it to enter the burrows of the insect larvae. What makes it inconvenient is that it is used exclusively to treat attacks on the buds of palm trees.

The negative part of this technique is that there is insecticide dispersed in the environment caused by drift with the wind. It requires lifting equipment and has a higher cost

Red palm weevil traps

Red palm weevil traps have a good degree of effectiveness. They feature a recipient in which to catch the beetles, where bait is used to attract the insects and thus eliminate red palm weevil from the trees.

The shape is very important since the red palm weevil enters the trap walking and not flying, so the rough wall allows it to climb. For this technique to be effective, high quality pheromone and kairomane are required.

Entomopathogenic fungi

Entomopathogenic fungi are used to infect red palm weevils. They penetrate them to the point of killing them.

It works slowly and is more effective if used in large areas.

As you can see, at Sospalm we are able to eliminate red palm weevil from any palm tree with these treatments. We recommend endotherapy against red palm weevil, although the combined use of several of them is recommended.

If you need any additional advice, or purchase the necessary products to eliminate the Red Palm Weevil, contact us or visit our  products against the Red Palm Weevil.