coconut rhinoceros beetle control hawaii

“Just like a fly bag that attracts flies, we will attract CRB,” Adam Lee, owner of North Shore Stables, said.Įfforts thus far that have included sniffer dogs, pesticides and herbicides, traps and drones have been almost entirely funded by the federal government and conducted by the University of Hawaii. That is proof of concept for a small group of North Shore farmers who want to be part of the solution to the rhinoceros beetle problem, one imperiling a key Hawaiian crop. The pigs rooted out and ate all but 11 larvae within 20 minutes.

(Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023)Įradication efforts have been underway since the beetle arrived on Oahu in late 2013, successfully containing the population on Oahu until last month when beetle larvae was discovered on Kauai.Īt a demonstration at North Shore Stables in Waialua Wednesday, five pigs set upon a mulch pile infested with approximately 150 beetle larvae. A troop of five pigs root around for coconut rhinoceros beetle larvae at North Shore Stables, which the Department of Agriculture is pinning its hopes on, to help eradicate the beetles. Once they bed down, the hogs will be deployed to sniff them out and eat them.ĭOA Director Sharon Hurd has dubbed the scheme as “Plan B” for the almost decade-long fight to control the beetle, which has the ability to decimate coconut palm populations. Pigs will be deployed as part of a grander plan that includes the installation of green waste transfer stations, which will be used to bait the beetles because of their propensity to breed in mulch. The Department of Agriculture is throwing its support behind the snouts and appetites of hogs, banking on their ability to eradicate the coconut rhinoceros beetle population on Oahu. How much the program will cost and how it will roll out remains uncertain.

Coconut rhinoceros beetle control hawaii