South American palm weevil about to invade Orange County California

[pogobob]

Spotted 2 Canary Island palms today with palm weevils infesting. Located at San Onofre State Park. 

[Silas_Sancona]

3 hours ago, pogobob said:

Spotted 2 Canary Island palms today with palm weevils infesting. Located at San Onofre State Park. 

Probably already there..

Current map:   3 new reports since September beyond the Fallbrook area,   inc. from San Onofre < Recorded on 12 -16 -25 ( Purple Circle )




Orange =  Coastal San Pedro, 12 -20 -25 Observation..

Yellow = Valley Village area, near Sherman Oaks, 9 -25 -25 Observation..    Listed as SAPW,  but the observer really should have moved it into better lighting to get more shots.. 

Still, if anywhere nearby,   ..i'd be watching Canaries, closely..

[quaman58]

My fools hope was that they’d somehow get stopped by Camp Pendleton. 😩 Thanks for the update Bob.

[Darold Petty]

I'm glad that I won't be around when they get to the Bay Area.   

[Stevetoad]

Get your traps built. I catch 10-20 a week. 

[Matt in OC]

@Stevetoadis that half an apple in a bucket of water? That catches them?

[Josue Diaz]

Really hoping the winter temps in the central valley and northern CA stop these from encroaching further north. I'm reading that other related palm weevils are killed and harmed below 50F, so I'm really hoping this weevil is at the northern limit of its possible range and doesn't continue to expand much north of LA or inland from the coast. It seems the most likely progression of these might be northward along the coast - San Fernando Valley, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo... then? it might be too cold for them north of that. Certainly too cold for them in Monterrey.  This is where you begin to see coastal redwood habitat which is cold and foggy/gloomy.  They certainly wouldn't cross Tejon Pass in fall/winter/spring - and if they do cross in summer, our winters would kill them I would hope. Would be a shame if they start attacking the Joshua Trees in the high desert.  

[SCVpalmenthusiast]

1 hour ago, Josue Diaz said:

Really hoping the winter temps in the central valley and northern CA stop these from encroaching further north. I'm reading that other related palm weevils are killed and harmed below 50F, so I'm really hoping this weevil is at the northern limit of its possible range and doesn't continue to expand much north of LA or inland from the coast. It seems the most likely progression of these might be northward along the coast - San Fernando Valley, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo... then? it might be too cold for them north of that. Certainly too cold for them in Monterrey.  This is where you begin to see coastal redwood habitat which is cold and foggy/gloomy.  They certainly wouldn't cross Tejon Pass in fall/winter/spring - and if they do cross in summer, our winters would kill them I would hope. Would be a shame if they start attacking the Joshua Trees in the high desert.  

They’ll freeze in the high desert. The temps are in the high 20s at night and 49 to 50 during the day where my inlaws live in Rosamond. It freezes in the high desert they won’t survive. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

6 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

I'm glad that I won't be around when they get to the Bay Area.   

Darold, Hopefully our cooler winters will keep them away. That’s my hope anyway. 

[Stevetoad]

4 hours ago, Matt in OC said:

@Stevetoadis that half an apple in a bucket of water? That catches them?

It is and sort of. I get a bucket with a lid. Cover it with burlap and drill 3 2” holes in it. You can order SA palm weevil pheromone online. You fill the bucket up with a few inches of water and toss in some (in my case) apple, guava and dates. Dangle the pheromone pack from the lid above the water and presto. You now have a palm weevil honey pot.  I keep my traps away from my yard by hanging them in my palm free neighbors yards. I fear if I hang one in my yard I will just be calling them in for dinner. 
 

[Stevetoad]

1 hour ago, SCVpalmenthusiast said:

They’ll freeze in the high desert. The temps are in the high 20s at night and 49 to 50 during the day where my inlaws live in Rosamond. It freezes in the high desert they won’t survive. 

my place drops below 32 a few times a year.  I never saw the red palm weevils but these South American ones are all over the place. 

[Stevetoad]

maybe as a test ill pop one in my fridge and one in my freezer over night and see if they live. 

 

[Matt in OC]

Brilliant @Stevetoad! Thanks for sharing.

[Silas_Sancona]

2 hours ago, Josue Diaz said:

Really hoping the winter temps in the central valley and northern CA stop these from encroaching further north. I'm reading that other related palm weevils are killed and harmed below 50F, so I'm really hoping this weevil is at the northern limit of its possible range and doesn't continue to expand much north of LA or inland from the coast. It seems the most likely progression of these might be northward along the coast - San Fernando Valley, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo... then? it might be too cold for them north of that. Certainly too cold for them in Monterrey.  This is where you begin to see coastal redwood habitat which is cold and foggy/gloomy.  They certainly wouldn't cross Tejon Pass in fall/winter/spring - and if they do cross in summer, our winters would kill them I would hope. Would be a shame if they start attacking the Joshua Trees in the high desert.  

Stretches of cooler winter temps / moderate or cool-ish summers ( compared to S.Cal. ) around the Bay Area / Cen. Valley < San Joaquin esp > might kill any adults flying around at that time / slow an overall northward advance,  but i don't think it will be enough to kill any larvae tucked deep within the " warm " trunk of a massive Canary,  esp. if those " cold " spells are brief / don't drop much below 30 -32F for several weeks at a time. 


Susceptible palms up there are fair game in summer when adults would be active though, unfortunately.  


If colder winters / overall cool climate conditions in places like Spain, Italy,  Greece  ..or areas where they've turned up north of there.. haven't totally halted their progression,  I doubt they'd stop Red Palm Weevil,  if it ever established itself anywhere in the warmer parts of the states.  

Palmetto Weevil, our native ( Southeast / FL. )  Rhyncho. sp.,  can tolerate some cold too.. 


As for Joshua Trees,  ..while the idea of any introduced pest insect turning to a new host is always possible,  think SAPW / Rhyncho. Genus itself is hard wired to be palm - exclusive.   ..Again though,  lets hope that is true..

Yucca,  Cacti, and Agave have their own " specific " Snout Weevil associations / Genus.  None use palms as larval hosts,  as far as i'm aware / seen discussed in research papers read. 

 

[Tomas]

The RPW Is spreading also in Northern Italy and in France, maybe someone can provide the lowest temperature in those places

The damage to the large heart of the palm will cause fermenting and provide constant warm temperature for the survival of the larvae even in a colder climate

[Phoenikakias]

11 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Stretches of cooler winter temps / moderate or cool-ish summers ( compared to S.Cal. ) around the Bay Area / Cen. Valley < San Joaquin esp > might kill any adults flying around at that time / slow an overall northward advance,  but i don't think it will be enough to kill any larvae tucked deep within the " warm " trunk of a massive Canary,  esp. if those " cold " spells are brief / don't drop much below 30 -32F for several weeks at a time. 


Susceptible palms up there are fair game in summer when adults would be active though, unfortunately.  


If colder winters / overall cool climate conditions in places like Spain, Italy,  Greece  ..or areas where they've turned up north of there.. haven't totally halted their progression,  I doubt they'd stop Red Palm Weevil,  if it ever established itself anywhere in the warmer parts of the states.  

Palmetto Weevil, our native ( Southeast / FL. )  Rhyncho. sp.,  can tolerate some cold too.. 


As for Joshua Trees,  ..while the idea of any introduced pest insect turning to a new host is always possible,  think SAPW / Rhyncho. Genus itself is hard wired to be palm - exclusive.   ..Again though,  lets hope that is true..

Yucca,  Cacti, and Agave have their own " specific " Snout Weevil associations / Genus.  None use palms as larval hosts,  as far as i'm aware / seen discussed in research papers read. 

 

I wish to add only l, that in the warmest temperate Mediterranean parts of Europe rpw remains rather idle during the hotter months and goes rabid towards the end of October! That is for new infestation.

[GabeV]

Hi all, new to this site as I was scouring reddit for SAPW chats. I’m an arborist advisor for a plant health care company. Just saw the San Onofre one yesterday! Bummer I was keeping my eyes on those for awhile now. Also - I was on iNat and saw someone found SAPW in LA County (Sherman Oaks) gulp! If anyone in OC wants to tinker with some preventative treatments lmk. 

[Josue Diaz]

Hilarious and tragic that the documented sighting in Sherman Oaks includes this note: "saved it from drowning"

[Phoenikakias]

Just wondering, have you detected any attack by SAPW on Strelizia nicolai? I am not sure if those attacks in my garden  had been made by the local weevil or the Paysandisia archon.

[Than]

On 1/8/2026 at 11:59 PM, Stevetoad said:

It is and sort of. I get a bucket with a lid. Cover it with burlap and drill 3 2” holes in it. You can order SA palm weevil pheromone online. You fill the bucket up with a few inches of water and toss in some (in my case) apple, guava and dates. Dangle the pheromone pack from the lid above the water and presto. You now have a palm weevil honey pot.  I keep my traps away from my yard by hanging them in my palm free neighbors yards. I fear if I hang one in my yard I will just be calling them in for dinner. 
 

I would be too scared to put those nearer than a mile from my garden... 

[Stevetoad]

On 2/9/2026 at 4:17 AM, Than said:

I would be too scared to put those nearer than a mile from my garden... 

it is a fear but there are plenty of infested trees within a few hundred meters to me so they’re already near by. 

[Phoenikakias]

Indeed, the most common practice promoting the widespread of the pest is leaving infested palms in place. That was the fatal mistake in Europe. Authorities had let the responsibility of disposal to the citizens in private garden, without whatsoever monitoring and inspection, publicly planted dead palms had been left standing often for many months if not years. Just grave, unforgivable mistakes! Municipality or state authorities should have undertaken the task of removal in BOTH private and public and those actions should have been subsidized by central government. It was just a matter of paying now in the beginning of outbreak than paying multiple times more in future.  I am very confident that such practice would have paid off . The alternative is simply letting infested palms become incubation spots for new and more vermin. 

[rizla023]

A company we’ve worked with confirmed a male in Irvine. 

[pogobob]

I took this updated photo yesterday of the San Onofre infested palms

[GabeV]

1 hour ago, pogobob said:

I took this updated photo yesterday of the San Onofre infested palms

Good shot! There’s about 5-7 infested ones in the area, maybe more (that’s all I could see). Also, just up the road I’m seeing some in decline alone the 5. They are the ones hacked back from the utility lines. Plus there’s a private community with a road lined with Canaries. They should inspect them asap. 

[GabeV]

19 hours ago, rizla023 said:

A company we’ve worked with confirmed a male in Irvine. 

It’s been confirmed in Lake Forest, Newport, Mission Viejo and was just told one was found off the 74 in Rancho Mission Viejo. It’s here for good yall! 

[GabeV]

On 2/8/2026 at 10:12 PM, Phoenikakias said:

Just wondering, have you detected any attack by SAPW on Strelizia nicolai? I am not sure if those attacks in my garden  had been made by the local weevil or the Paysandisia archon.

This is a host! They will attack giant bird of paradise  they are trying other species as CIDP is decreasing. 

[GabeV]

1 minute ago, GabeV said:

This is a host! They will attack giant bird of paradise  they are trying other species as CIDP is decreasing. 

I need to find out if they can actually kill them and reproduce. I’ll report back on this one. 

[Phoenikakias]

Prepare for some random attacks on Parajubaea and Jubaeopsis too!

[Stevetoad]

Unfortunately I beat my personal record and caught 21 in two days plus I whacked 2 out of the air after I hung the trap back up so a total of 23 in two days. the hot weather has made these guys get extra busy. 

[LJG]

This is two weeks in my 4 traps. Thick as thieves. 

[aztropic]

🤦 None that we know of in Phoenix area yet, but... 🤷‍♂️

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

[GabeV]

On 3/13/2026 at 11:39 AM, Stevetoad said:

Unfortunately I beat my personal record and caught 21 in two days plus I whacked 2 out of the air after I hung the trap back up so a total of 23 in two days. the hot weather has made these guys get extra busy. 

Where at?!

[GabeV]

On 3/14/2026 at 1:14 AM, aztropic said:

🤦 None that we know of in Phoenix area yet, but... 🤷‍♂️

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

Bummer! So SAPW is confirmed in Arizona?! (Edit) I might be mistaking your signature, thinking you said (Mesa Arizona) but it’s not there. Oops