If you have palm trees on your property — Canary Island date palms, date palms, or any other susceptible species — knowing about the red palm weevil isn't optional. The entire Andalusia region is officially designated as an affected zone, and mandatory measures apply to both private and municipal palm owners under Decreto 77/2010 of 23 March.
Red Palm Weevil — What This Pest Actually Is
Rhynchophorus ferrugineus is a beetle whose larvae develop inside the palm's trunk, tunnelling through and feeding on the tissue from the inside. From the outside, the tree can look healthy for a long time — visible symptoms only appear once the infestation is well advanced. This is exactly why regular visual inspection, as part of tree surgery and care, matters more than reacting after the fact.
What a palm owner is required to do
- Monitor the crown. In Canary Island date palms, the first signs usually appear at the top — in the crown of the palm.
- Report early suspicion. If a palm's condition is irreversible, the owner is legally required to remove it to stop the pest spreading to neighbouring trees.
- Prune correctly. Only dry fronds should be cut. Brushing or "shaving" the trunk of susceptible palms is not recommended — it creates extra entry points for the pest.
- If green fronds must be cut for safety reasons, the cut should be treated with mineral oil, followed by pruning sealant (mastic). Cuts should be clean, with no ragged edges.
In Andalusia, removal of infected palms that cannot be saved is carried out by the Junta de Andalucía at no cost to the owner — but the work is arranged in advance through the contact number your local town hall provides.
Why prevention costs less than treatment
By the time an infestation is visible from the outside, the palm usually cannot be saved — the damage is irreversible. Preventive pest treatment costs noticeably less than removing a dead palm and planting a new one of comparable age and height — and a mature palm on a villa property isn't something you replace in a single season.
For owners who aren't in Spain year-round
- Make sure regular visual inspection of your palms is part of your garden maintenance plan — not just lawn mowing and watering.
- Ask for a photo report of each palm on the property, not just a general "garden is fine" note — this is part of our approach to property management for owners who aren't at the villa year-round.
- Check with your garden company whether preventive weevil treatment is included in the maintenance plan or billed separately.
MAXIPROF checks palms as part of our regular garden maintenance and tree surgery visits, and arranges preventive treatment when needed. If you'd like us to take a look at the palms on your property, get in touch.