Palm weevils and palm borers in Menorca: Prevent or Cure?

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f you have palm trees in your garden what is your best course of action? Do you take preventative action and regularly spray your trees to avoid infection? Or do you wait until the trees are affected and then spray them to cure them of the infestation?

Red palm weevils and palm borers are both present in Menorca now so whether or not your palm trees are affected is a matter of chance. The only way you can definitely avoid infestation is by treating palms preventatively, year in year out.

However, each situation is different, and the right course of action is not necessarily the same for everyone:

If you have a garden with 20 palm trees in it that must each be sprayed 5–6 times per year, prevention can become an expensive affair.

On the other hand, if you have just one palm tree, and it is focal point of your patio or garden, then it makes sense to protect it, just as the person who imports a mature palm at a cost of several thousand euros may well see this is an investment to protect.

If the palm trees on your property were planted 20 years ago and you paid pocket change for them back then, the cost of keeping them alive and well can seem out of proportion to their value.

If you none of your neighbours have palm trees, it is possible that the red palm weevil may not reach your trees, but on the other hand, if you have neighbours with palm trees that are not regularly treated, yours will be more vulnerable to infection and therefore preventative treatment would be wise.

The preventative treatment is the same as the cure, so it can be tempting to simply wait and see if the tree shows any signs of infection, and only treat it at that point. The problem with this approach is that by the time the tree shows symptoms, the damage may well so extensive that the tree will not recover.

It is also worth bearing in mind that, should a tree you own die from the red weevil infestation, it is your responsibility to cut down, transport and dispose of the tree. The costs involved in doing this, for a big tree, may well outweigh the cost of preventative spraying.

It’s really a matter of personal choice, but bear in mind that the law dictates that owners of palm trees are responsible for keeping them healthy and, should they be infected, for eradicating any living insects, and cutting down and destroying any affected part of the palm.

For more information on the infestations affecting palm trees in Menorca call the Departament d’Economia Medi Ambient y Caça on 971 35 63 17.

Find out more about the signs, symptoms and treatment for red palm weevils and palm borers here.