Golfers on Kauaʻi will have to make way on the green next week as state officials try a new tactic to get rid of an invasive beetle.
The Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture will use drones to spray the pesticide Demon Max on hundreds of palm trees at the Wailua Municipal Golf Course in Līhu‘e in an attempt to end a coconut rhinoceros beetle infestation.
Several beetles have been found in traps set around the course.
These pests bore into palm trees to feed on sap, which can kill the tree.
As the tree rots from the inside, the likelihood that it will fall over and hurt someone increases.
“With the extreme height of the palm trees, overhead pesticide treatment is the best way to reach the crowns of the palms where the CRB bore into the trees,” said chairperson of the Hawai‘i Board of Agriculture Sharon Hurd in a press statement.
Parts of the popular golf course will be closed to the public during the treatment.
The front nine holes will be closed from 10 a.m. on Oct. 9 through closing on Oct. 11.
The back nine will be closed all day on Oct 12-13.
