![]() How that money will be disbursed remains uncertain because the contracts will be subject to a competitive bidding process. Green waste management programs would receive $1 million and the CRB response effort would receive $1 million. The pigs root through mulch piles and eat the coconut rhinoceros beetle larvae that thrive in green waste, like mulch. Meanwhile, state lawmakers finally kicked in some money during this year’s legislative session, setting aside two $1 million tranches for work to address the beetle population. ![]() “Can you imagine Hawaii without coconut trees?” I feel like this an opportunity for agriculture to solve more issues than just hunger,” Anthony said at the demonstration Wednesday. The method is also more environmentally friendly than pesticides, Anthony says. The idea is to create a long-term collaboration between the community, the state and farmers, according to Daniel Anthony of the agriculture nonprofit Hui Aloha Aina Momona. ![]() “It’s now on Kauai and we need to try something else,” Hurd said. “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. ![]()
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