Red palm weevil trap

Kairomone trap for the red palm weevil

This trap has a capacity of 7.5 liters; it works with a kairomone (attractant) and water. It is used for capturing and detecting the red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus. It is made up of 3 parts: a base (the bucket) fitted with a mesh to allow weevils to climb, a metal hanger to suspend the attractant inside the trap, and a lid.

The attractant, called kairomone, is available here: red palm weevil kairomone 90 days.

The trap is sold on its own, without attractant.

How to use this trap?

The trap has 4 side openings measuring 7 x 3 cm, allowing weevils to enter and be trapped. The lid also has 2 entrances, of the same size.

The trap must be filled with water up to 2/3 of its volume and installed semi-buried, up to the level of the entrance holes and, preferably, in the shade. Attracted by the attractant, the weevil enters the trap and dies by drowning in the water.

Once opened, the kairomone releases for 90 days. You can increase your trap’s attractiveness by adding a food attractant (to be placed directly in the trap water:

• Date
• Sugarcane
• Apples
• Bananas

There are also decoys: these are 5 cm plastic red palm weevils that you can place on your trap (1 to 2 per trap is enough). This device increases the trap’s attractiveness and effectiveness.

The decree of 21 July 2010 requires control of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus throughout the national territory; check with environmental services or directly with your Town Hall.

Red palm weevil: damage and symptoms

The most common symptom is the wilted appearance of the leaves in the center of the crown. At a certain point, they may dry out and remain hanging downward. In the case of heavy attacks, the entire crown dries out, which results in the death of the palm tree. By pulling on the dry fronds, they come off easily, revealing underneath the galleries that have been dug and the pupal cocoons.

By opening the crown of a palm tree in an advanced state of infestation, you find an abundant number of larvae, of all sizes, in a mass of fermenting tissue that gives off a strong, unpleasant, and very characteristic odor. Affected palms die in the medium term once the heart of the palm is completely bored through and decomposing inside.

Females lay their eggs in holes dug with their snout or in cracks. The larva of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus feeds on the living tissues of the palm. Infested palms constitute a source of infestation for other palms.

When should you use the red palm weevil kairomone trap?

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