Prevention and Protection

Methods of Control



Plant Quarantine:

The transport of offshoots as planting material from infested areas can contribute to the spread of the pest. Strict quarantine at international and national levels should be applied.

Cultural Control:

Field sanitation and cultural practices are one of the important components to prevent weevil infestation.

1- Clean the crown of palms periodically to prevent decaying of organic debris in leaf axils.

2- Avoid cuts and injuries.

3- When green leaves are cut, cut them at 120 cm away from the base.

4- Cutting of steps in palms for easy climbing is to be avoided, as this provides sites for egg laying by weevils.

5- As palms affected by leaf rot and bud rot diseases are more prone to weevil infestation, they are to be treated with suitable fungicides; after that, application of any insecticide to prevent egg laying by weevils is essential.

6- Destroy all dead palms harboring the pest by cutting and burning.

Mechanical Control:

Dead palms or palms beyond recovery are to be split open, exposing the different stages of the pest present inside and the debris, including the out logs and crowns, are to be burned.

Trapping the Weevils:

Trapping the weevils and destroying them is another method by which weevil populations can be brought down.


Biological Control:

No effective biological agent, which can be employed for the biological control of the pest has been found..

Chemical Control:

A- Preventive.

B- Curative.


Training and Education:

In order to successfully implement weevil management the cooperation of the public is essential. For any large scale pest management program to succeed, it is imperative that the public cooperate and involve themselves at the operational level. This can be achieved by making the population aware of the seriousness of the problem and training him in various IPM skills.



The only effective control is to cut down all infested palms and destroy them at an early stage so the nests of larvae cannot hatch and repopulate an area. The trunk of the palm needs to be split open and all stages destroyed. Burning the head does not kill the stages in the middle of the trunk. Thus, the whole trunk should be chopped and burned.

Adapted from the website www.redpalmweevil.com