It’s hard to imagine how different the Los Angeles skyline would look without palm trees dotting the horizon. Unfortunately, many species of palm trees all over Southern California are facing a serious threat. The South American Boll Weevil (see pic of the shiny black devils!) has been steadily migrating north attacked the first tree in San Diego in 2011. Since then, countless palms have already died and property and grounds managers all over Southern California are worried about the unsightly and costly consequences of these weevils attacking their trees.
UC Riverside’s (UCR) Center for Invasive Species Research is monitoring the threat and has published information on their website, commenting “palm mortality caused by feeding weevils will be a costly management expense for home and business owners as removing large dead palms is difficult.”
Is there anything that we can do? According to UCR, the best way to protect trees is by applying insecticide to the trunk, crown or soil of each palm tree. SprayTech’s spray drones can be used to apply insecticide directly to the top of each tree–no matter how high in the air!– using less insecticide overall, and significantly limiting the exposure to people and animals.
University California at Riverside Center for Invasive Species
How to identify South American Palm Weevil on your palm trees:
1. New front leaf notching
2. Yellowing fronds
3. Bug debris under the tree
4. Flattening of the fronds on the top of the tree
