Trapping Red Palm Weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) can help reduce and monitor populations

These traps are most effective burried in the ground, soil level with holes in the side.

Spring is here – well almost!  The temperature this morning, just before 9, is already 14^oC and the bees can be heard buzzing happily on some of the flowering shrubs.  They aren’t the only insects that get moving with the warmer weather.  The weevils are out there too.  I am, of course, talking about the Red Palm Weevil – the evil weevil destroying so many palms, young and old. We have caught 11 in my small trap over the past couple of days.  Not such a big catch compared to the 82 we found when the sun shone for a few days in January, but with all the rain and generally lower temperatures, the 11 is a sure sign that THEY ARE OUT THERE – and in their millions.  I have been trapping for over a year now, and this year am catching many more.  This could be because of the dreadful rain we had last year – or simply because there are more weevils about.