Chemical Warfare

No, not in a middle eastern hot zone - right in my side yard where nasty, awful, don't deserve to live beetles have killed one of my Agave.  For those of you who don't live in the southwest - an Agave looks like an overgrown Aloe vera - but meaner.

They are beautiful and as hardy as all get out - except when it comes to their one natural pest "the snout nosed beetle".  This little black hellion, seeks out agave and lays it's eggs deep in the leaves of the plant.


When the beetle and its larvae finish with your beautiful plant it looks like this:



And you can't save it because by the time you know anything is wrong - the roots are completely eaten...
The best you can do is to protect your other agave.

The above are all photos that I have found on other websites as I began my search for:
a)  What Happened?
b)  What caused it
c) What do I do about it?

The answer is pesticide.  One to kill the adult beetle, the other to kill the larvae.  Treatment must be ongoing as once the soil is infested things are hard to clear up.

I am so looking forward to this battle.