HDOA Coordinates Palm Tree Treatment Against CRB on Hawai‘i Island

Since January 2025, the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) has coordinated the treatment of more than 700 palm trees for coconut rhinoceros beetles (CRB) along the west coast of Hawai‘i Island. A few recent detections of CRB have brought together a dedicated force including multiple state and county agencies as well as organizations in the battle against the invasive beetle, to prevent it from establishing populations on Hawai‘i Island. The first detection on Hawai‘i Island was in Waikoloa in October 2023.

In March and May 2025, HDOA’s Plant Pest Control Branch joined forces with the County of Hawai‘i Public Works Department (COH-PWD) and the state Department of Transportation (HDOT) to treat a total of more than 220 palm trees at the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport (KOA). COH-PWD offered the assistance of its boom trucks so HDOA Pesticides Branch staff could apply insecticides on the crowns to kill any CRB and to protect the trees. All palms that were treated were tagged and surrounded with yellow tape to indicate treatment. Coconuts from treated trees should not be consumed. HDOA staff also injected trees that were either inaccessible to the boom trucks or were in close proximity to water.

Besides KOA, HDOA has coordinated similar CRB treatment programs in Waikoloa Village, the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai‘i, Keāhole Agricultural Park, Honokōhau Small Boat Harbor and Marina, West Hawai‘i Veterans Cemetery, O‘oma and Kohanaiki.

HDOA agriculture inspectors continue to enforce restrictions on the movement of organic material from O‘ahu. On Maui, staff inspect bagged potting soil at retail stores on a weekly basis to survey CRB larvae or adult beetles. Treatment of palm trees around the Maui airport and harbor will commence soon to provide a shield against CRB that may make its way to those ports.

CRB treatment efforts are also ongoing on O‘ahu and Kaua‘i. Residents on all islands are asked to check their compost and mulch piles, which are a main breeding ground for CRB. Report possible CRB, especially in uninfested areas, to HDOA via the state’s toll-free Pest Hotline at 808-973-PEST (7378).