Giant Palmetto Weevil

What it looks like

Adults are about 1 to 1.25 inches long, mostly black or black with red markings, with a long snout. Grubs are big, legless, cream colored, and wrinkled, with a reddish-brown head, up to 2 inches long.

Damage

Grubs feed inside the palm's bud and crown. The newest fronds wilt and droop, and the top can collapse. It mainly attacks stressed or newly transplanted palms, especially Canary Island date palms and sabal palms.

How nematodes help

The grubs live inside the crown and trunk of the palm, not in the soil. They turn into pupae in cocoons made of palm fiber, inside the palm or at its base.

No studies on this weevil itself were found. Against its close relative, the red palm weevil, S. carpocapsae (the nematode in Ecomask) sprayed into the palm crown gave about 80% control on palms already infested, and up to 98% when applied before an attack.

In research on the red palm weevil, the timing that worked best was spring through fall in warm weather, mainly to protect newly planted or stressed palms before an attack.

How to apply

Treat with Ecomask.

When: Anytime the larvae are active.

Where: Drench into the crown and leaf bases at the top of the palm, and around any wounds or bore holes.

See How to apply for step-by-step directions, or use the calculator on the Ecomask Spray page to see how much you need.