Essential oils help to stop invasive beetles from eating palm trees

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Red palm weevils eat their way through palm trees

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The red palm weevil, a beetle known for its devastating effect on palm trees, can be stopped in its tracks by clove and thyme oil – offering hope of new control options for growers hit hard by the insect’s damage to their crops.

Researchers at the University of Malaysia, Terengganu tested the effect of eight chemicals derived from the two essential oils on feeding by larvae of the red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus). It is one of the world’s most invasive species …

source: newscientist.com