Officials: Don’t eat coconuts from Hawaii’s injected trees

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Injecting coconut trees with chemicals has proven effective in fighting coconut rhinoceros beetles, but can the coconuts be eaten after the tree is injected?

Hawaii’s deputy incident commander for CRB Response said the chemicals are systemic, which means they are injected into the roots and spread to every part of the tree.

“The CRB will feed on the tree and in the process of feeding they take up the insecticide that’s in those plant tissues and then the beetles will die,” CRB Response deputy incident commander Keith Weiser said.

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture said the insecticide affects the central nervous system of the beetles and is not lethal to humans, but there can still be side effects of high-level exposure.

“There’s some weakness involved with it headaches, nausea, there’s a few others,” HDOA Pesticides Branch manager Greg Takeshima said. “There’s some weakness involved with it headaches, nausea, there’s a few others, we don’t diagnose, right? We say, ‘Hey, if you’re feeling bad, go and talk to a general practitioner.'”

The most common pesticide is imidacloprid, a compound made to mimic nicotine — which is toxic to insects. Experts say it is illegal to use in coconut-producing trees where the fruit is then sold canned in markets or fresh on the street, but tracking who is following the rules — especially with roadside vendors — is tricky.

“I think it’s one of those situations that’s really hard to track and you would just have to kind of know your seller and trust them to tell you how the coconuts were grown,” Weiser said.

The HDOA said they do not have reports of illegal use of pesticides and added residents and tourists who feel ill after consuming coconuts with an unknown origin should send information in to officials.

“Yeah, definitely, If there’s any concern about pesticide use or misuse, we have inspectors on all islands,” Takeshima said. “We’ll definitely come out there. Our policy is to reach out within 24 hours because health and human health is a major concern for the Department.”

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