The Red Palm Weevil

There are a couple of things that people often want when they come to Spain and more especially Valencia to live in a house. Firstly, outside space so that they can have a little garden and then a few things to populate that green oasis. For most people it is usually a lemon tree closely followed by an orange tree but often the desire is for a palm tree.

This is where your mortal enemy the Red Palm Weevil comes into the picture. Visiting houses for the first time in a while has become a journey into the unknown recently. At the start of December we had a storm and it was very windy. It was at this point that the true extent of the damage wrought by the red palm weevil was discovered. What it does is eats at the base of the palm leaves which all come out from the top of the tree. When it has eaten away at this area a strong wind can often decapitate the trees, as it has done in many trees in the gardens of our clients who are selling.

It is obligatory to treat your trees if you have palms to stop the spread but many people haven't. Now here is the weird thing. The red palm weevil is a fussy eater and it prefers certain types of palm tree. Therefore you might have a perfectly healthy specimen in your garden right next to a decapitated stump.

If you are a house owner with palm trees we hope that your trees are the wrong type. If you want to buy then bear in mind that the beautiful palm that adorns the garden may soon become a lovely roman pillar.