Termites in my Foxtails

[osideterry]

I have 4 Foxtails planted together. I just pulled a dead crownshaft off and termites fell out. Then I noticed cracks on the backside of another one. No damage is visible from the front, only from behind on the 2 palms. My 2 larger foxtails show zero damage.

These were planted on a slope, which I used railroad ties to terrace. I've never had termites and have to wonder if they came with the ties.

I treated all 4 palms with Malathion, and then poured more of the stuff around the bases of the palms. Would it be smart to toss the 2 damaged ones, as they are small and easily replaced?

[LJG]

Terry, it would seem to me these palms already had dead or decaying wood. Do termites attack live tissue? Foxtails have a weird way of rotting in that they slowly die after a few years. The leaflets just start looking skinny and spears don't open up. Maybe they were already dying?

[osideterry]

Fortunately my two larger Foxtails have no cracks like this at all. I've had the two smaller ones about 3 years. The second photo palm has always been a bit funky, but the first photo seemed fine until now. These all get excellent drainage.

I actually look forward to yanking them, and maybe putting Foxy Ladies I have in pots. I just want to make sure that railroad and surrounding ground isn't infested.

[Tom S]

I own a Termite company, and would recommend Termidor SC. Follow the label instructions and treat the surrounding soil. I would also spray it into the affected areas. I occasionally soak the foliage of my palms with it, and it does no damage to the leaves. It also works great getting rid of ants.

Tom

[MattyB]

Terry, I bet you that you saw baby earwigs. They look just like termites. Take a closer look. They're harmless, I have hundreds of thousands of them everywhere. When I pull a leaf base off handfuls fall out. This is the time of year when the tender, lighter color, babies are around. If you look very carefully you can see the beginnings of their rear pinchers.

[osideterry]

I think you are on to something Matt. I have loads of earwigs. I'll dig around some. That lil' foxtail looks pretty bad though, whatever is wrong with it.

By the way, I'm getting a 2004 Toyota Tacoma 4 cyl tomorrow. Got a great deal... all the way up in Corona. I should be able to get down their and pick up the rainbow euc' and L. saribus in a few days.

[Kumar]

Terry, that does not look like termites to me. I have a termite problem every year in April-May when they usually attack the dicots and have to be gently scraped off every week for about three weeks (I don't like using insecticide). Usually they will start building covered tunnels on the exterior of my royal palms and these also have to be carefully brushed off a couple of times (they get the message). There is a slight superficial discolouration if these tunnels are allowed to persist for too long and it fades in two years. Even when they have gone unnoticed for months, the tunnels never go above shoulder height and is not as spreading as they do on dicots.

[MattyB]

Kumar,

We do have subterranean termites her in SoCal, but mostly we have drywood termites which do not tunnel. They live in the wood. I doubt Terry's palm has termites, but never the less, they don't look so good with all those cracks. Foxtails tend to do that cracked bark thing and I don't know why.

[Kumar]

Termites that live in the wood with no visible sign? Deadly! Here the termites either build their tunnels on live trees or are visible by the mounds they make at the base of dead wood structures - like wooden sheds. These tunnel makers have very specific priorities and have killed a twenty foot jamun, eaten a lot of bark off my mangos, not touched my neem, tasted a bit of the royals and eaten the old leaf bases clinging on to bentinckia and coconut. Additionally they love the fibrous coir of the coconut leaf bases.

But I agree - terry's foxtail fissures don't look good.

[MattyB]

The only visible sign of drywood termites are tiny wood pellets that fall onto the ground that they expel.

[ariscott]

Unfortunately termites do love foxtail. Not sure why.... Can you tap on it and see whether it sounds hollow?? I know it is hard with smaller plants.. I use termidor for termites. If it is healthy enough, it can keep growing around it after the termites are gone. Can you dig around the base to see whether you can see any termites activity?

Regards, Ari

[osideterry]

I'll dig around tomorrow morning, but am pretty sure they are earwigs... hanging out behind low crownshafts fits their profile better.

Attached is a photo of 1) a termite and 2) a baby earwig.

[MattyB]

They'll climb up high too. I get them on the ceilings of my house. I'm telling you I have a bazillion of them.

[LJG]

Do termites in CA eat live plant tissue?

[MattyB]

My dad had a 40 year old Grapefruit tree with a colony of termites in it. Were they eating "living" tissue or old, dead wood? I don't know. But the tree was still alive and producing fruit as normal. We eventually cut it down.

[Palmzilla]

Trash them Terry!

[Perito]

I lost the spear of my Bismarckia in my opinion due to earwigs. The Bismarckia survived, the earwigs didn't.

[_Rich]

Terry, it would seem to me these palms already had dead or decaying wood. Do termites attack live tissue? Foxtails have a weird way of rotting in that they slowly die after a few years. The leaflets just start looking skinny and spears don't open up. Maybe they were already dying?

Len,

I fear that the symptoms of decline you described above is impacting one of a pair of 3 gals that I picked up a year or so ago. In your or anyone else's experience, has a foxtail that has gone down this path ever made it 'back from the slow death'? For mine, I figured it had outgrown its container and was ready for the ground...It does have a new emergent spear that's about 3 or 4" inches long. The previous frond had one leaflet at the base ope and a scraggly few at the tip spread apart.

All input is appreciated.

Thanks,

Rich

[happ]

Terry, I have a dead king palm due to termites that is close by to the foxtail! Soon I will take out the king palm and do what I can to rid the soil of these nasty invaders. Unfortunately the area I live in is heavily infested with termites. They seem to love the many surrounding native black walnut trees that are protected by the Santa Monica Mt conservancy.