The City of Cape Town is offering a free training session on the invasive Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer beetle (PSHB) to all members of the public, landowners and businesses that handle trees and plant material (arborists, landscapers and nurseries).
The intention is to educate the public on how to identify and report trees that have been infested by the PSHB and how to manage and transport beetle infested biomass to prevent the spread of the pest as far as possible. The training session will be hosted at the Helderberg Nature Reserve in Somerset West on Thursday 19 December.
A PSHB beetle infestation was first recorded in Oldenland Road, Somerset West in an ailing London plane in March 2019. To date, more than 5 000 infested trees have been identified in the Cape and 2 784 trees in the east region of the Mother City have been removed. Among these trees there are highly susceptible reproductive host species such as Boxelder, Weeping Willow, Poplars and English Oak.
“The PSHB poses a serious threat to Cape Town’s urban forest,” said Deputy Mayor and Mayco member for Spatial Planning and the Environment Alderman Eddie Andrews. “The training session next week is very urgent as the PSHB beetle is highly active this time of year and we need residents to know how to manage and transport beetle infested biomass to prevent the spread of the pest as far as possible.
“We need the support and collaboration of residents and businesses working with plant material to prevent the spread of the pest. I urge residents and businesses to attend this free training next week, Thursday 19 December 2024, where officials from the City’s Invasive Species Unit will provide facts about the beetle, how it spreads, the threat it poses and the infestations recorded in Cape Town to date. We need the public to realise the seriousness of the situation and the huge threat PSHB poses to our trees in Cape Town.”
The training session which is scheduled to take place at the nature reserve on Thursday, will takes place from 09:00 to 12:00.
Residents can email Admin.Invasive@capetown.gov.za to RSVP.
The PSHB can easily spread across suburbs if extra precaution is not taken. Apart from infected wood, the beetle can also spread through clothing, vehicle crevices, or unclean horticultural equipment.
The training will focus on the protocols applicable to infested trees and biomass, namely:
- How to identify infested trees and what symptoms to look out for
- What to do next, what not to do
- How to handle infested biomass
- How to safely dispose of infested biomass
- How to transport green waste
- How to handle equipment and machinery in a manner that will not spread the pest to other areas
“There are many formal and informal businesses involved with gardening and landscaping,” said Andrews. “These are gardeners, nurseries, horticulturists, tree fellers, woodcutters and many more. We are also encouraging residents to attend, especially if you have trees on your private property.”
What to look out for and symptoms of infested trees:
- Branch dieback – cracks on the branch; discoloured leaves; dry and leafless branches; branch break-off revealing webs of galleries filled with black fungus
- Gumming – blobs of goo coming out of the bark; oozing of liquid and gum from the beetle holes
- Entry and exit holes – very small holes on the bark of the tree, the size of a sesame seed (2mm); shotgun-like scars developing around the holes
- Staining – brown or dark stains on the bark of the tree
Important: infested trees must be chipped on site and may not be removed from the property as the removal of the chipped wood will spread the pest to other areas. Do not buy and move fire wood from areas where trees are infested.
How to report PSHB beetle sightings:
- Online, at www.capetown.gov.za/InvasiveSpecies
- Call the City of Cape Town’s Invasive Species Unit on 021 444 2357, Monday to Friday, from 07:30 to 16:00
- Send an email to: invasive.species@capetown.gov.za
What to do once you have spotted PSHB:
- Chip the tree, place the infested material in refuse bags, seal it and put these in direct sunlight for at least six weeks
- Dump the chips in your compost heap as the heat build-up will kill the beetle
- Burn infected wood chips at an appropriate incineration facilities
- Where chipping is not possible, cut infested wood into smaller pieces that can fit into solarisation plastic bags
- Tightly close and seal the bag with infested material and place it in an area with direct sunlight and leave it to solarise for at least six weeks in summer and up to six months in winter
- Seek assistance from trained and equipped service providers with sound knowledge of PSHB
- Do not move plant/tree material/firewood outside of areas where PSHB has been confirmed to be present to other areas
- Do not transport any form of green waste in open vehicles, cover it with sail covers even if no PSHB has been identified as such green waste.
- Clean tools and equipment used to trim/cut/prune plants
The City will try its best to respond within 10 working days to verify a reported sighting. However, the response time will depend on the number of sightings reported.
