Picudo Rojo, the Red Palm Weevil

On several occasions recently, I have noticed red palm weevils (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) flying across the garden. I have come across one or two dead ones on the tiles around the house, too, and just a couple of days ago I was able to capture a live one. I took it to La Torre garden centre to confirm that it was, indeed, a Picudo Rojo. This being the case, I bought some insecticide suitable for dealing with possible attacks by such creatures in young palms.

The insecticide that was recommended is called Insecticida Llanero, sold in a bottle of 100ml.This is different to that which I have been using up until now, which was made by Bayer and sold as a set of four individual doses of 2ml (Insecticida polivalente, with the specific announcement, "Protege las palmeras").

I have already been spraying the one young palm in our garden every few weeks for several months, as I was aware of the dangers of the Picudo Rojo, so hopefully our palm is relatively safe. If you are worried about your own palm(s)—and you should be, for the Picudo Rojo is a huge threat in this area—get some preventative spray, such as one of those mentioned above, and use it on each palm, thoroughly soaking the trunk, leaves and centre of the plant every ten days or so.

For more information (in English) on the Picudo Rojo, see this page in the Gardening in Spain website. The information dates from mid-2009, but is still relevant, though now it is thought better to bury infected palms at a depth of at least two metres, rather than burning them.

An interesting film, showing the unsightly, monstrous larvae of the Picudo Rojo can be seen here.

David Neale