We have two palm trees in our garden, they have been there for some years.  All of a sudden last week both of them started to flop out, now some of the branches have fallen out.
We are not gardeners as such, so we are very confused as to how we should treat these two palms.  Is there anybody that has any suggestions ? they were lovely palms, very healthy, now it looks as though they will die, which is sad.  We have had this house for 11 years, palms were there when we bought the house and have always been health.
Would be grateful for any suggestions.

Bigyin.

       Please tell us what you know with regards this bug I have about 40 of these trees around the house and would be most upset should they be infested.

I noticed this morning coming off the N340 turning off going towards Eroski on the left , there are 3 or 4 rather large palms that have been ravaged by this bug and just left in situ.

Taken from the link below...

Palm Weevils can spread in several different ways. When a tree surgeon or a DIY gardener cuts down the leaves of an infected palm tree, they will usually drag the branch along the floor. This will help the weevils spread further from the tree, as they fall off every few feet, and will crawl to the next nearest tree.

If a palm tree has been cut down, and has just been left in the garden or on the street to be collected, the palm weevil can again walk to another tree or be transferred in pick up trucks or trailers.

Palm weevils can also be spread by violent winds. Licensed tree surgeons will carefully cut down the entire tree in sections and carefully wrap them up in plastic or strong cellophane. The sections will then be transported to a designated site, and then incinerated. They will then use special chemicals on other trees in proximity to the infested tree to kill any Weevils which may be on them.

If a palm tree has been attacked by the Red Palm Weevil, it may be cured if treated in time.

http://billericky.hubpages.com/hub/Palm-Weevil-Red-Palm-Weevil

Here's a link to a previous topic on here that I was involved in.  If after reading through that you have more questions, fire away.
http://www.tortosaforum.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1385313245/9

We went to visit some friends in Portugal about 5 or 6 years ago, and palm trees were already affected there.
They told us the cause and how it was spreading.
So we were not really surprised when we started to see trees around here affected aswell.
Such a shame nothing was done a few years ago to try and save the lovely trees.

Thank you for all your replies.  After receiving your reply Bigyin I looked on the internet regarding these insects.  It seems that the problem is rife in Spain.  I had never heard of it before, we moved to Tortosa only last year.   Strangely, our neighbour, chopped down his palm tree at the end of last year and I thought, how strange to chop down such a lovely palm - now I know why !!!

The problem now is how to get rid of the palms.  We could`nt afford a specialist as Bunter explained - is there anyway that we can do this ourselves.  Would chopping down and burning the whole thing work ?

I would be grateful for your suggestions.

Sorry I haven't posted more on this subject recently.
The problem can be split into several parts as far as I can see.
1.  Detection.  There's info on the net regarding the early signs of infection but in 90% of cases, once you see any signs it's too late which leads to the next aspect ...
2. Prevention.  The recommended chemicals are available at Sol D'Ebre.  Rita says they have kits but I wasn't aware of that as I bought my bits and pieces from Sospalm.  Much easier if Sol D'Ebre have got all the bits.  I can list them if required.  Please note that even if you follow the treatment regime there is no 100% guarantee that it will work.  This is true whether you carry out the treatment yourself or employ a pro.  (Very expensive).
3.  Disposal.  I haven't come across any hard and fast recommendations on this.  If you have a single or a few trees that have gone belly up it's probably best to carry on treating (spray) them with the chemicals until they deteriorate to a manageable condition i.e you've removed all the dead fronds and are left with a trunk.  After that it's a question of whatever method is easiest with the resources you have to hand.
Note to Bunter:-  It would be handy if you could post a pic of your trees (or a part of your collection) so I can gauge what might be involved in your case.  Small trees are easier to treat than big ones.

Yes, that's a date palm.  Are they all about that size ?