With the invasive Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer beetle (PSHB) spreading steadily across the southern suburbs, residents are being asked to keep their wood in their ‘hood – and to be wary of false prophets.
Last week, the City of Cape Town confirmed the latest infestations in Observatory along the Liesbeek and Kenilworth.
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The first sighting of the beetle – an infested Boxelder tree on private property along Kildare Road in Newlands – was reported on Tuesday 24 January.
Since then, more sightings have been reported in Newlands, Rondebosch, Mowbray, Claremont, and also along the Liesbeek corridor. Francois Krige, an arborist and owner of Krige Trees, has also confirmed a PSHB infestation in Wetton Road, Wynberg.
Eddie Andrews, Deputy Mayor and Mayco member for spatial planning and environment, says the latest sightings confirm their worst fears.
“The pest is spreading and we will probably discover more sightings in more areas as the weeks go by. By (Tuesday) 21 February, we have recorded a total number of 128 infested trees.”
According to Prof Francois Roets of the Conservation Ecology and Entomology department at Stellenbosch University, the beetle can move with humans in different ways, including firewood
“For the most effective dispersal of lots of individuals, you need only a small piece of infested wood. For example, a 500 g piece of wood submitted for analysis to colleagues contained over 40 females, each of which can start a new infestation.”
In a media statement released last week, the City said infested trees may not be removed from the property as the chipped wood would spread the pest to other areas. Residents are also being asked not to buy and move firewood from areas where trees are infested.
The top five most vulnerable trees in Cape Town include Boxelder maple, London Plane, English Oak, Liquid Amber and Coral trees. But the City says all trees are under threat, from those on private properties to those along our roads, on verges, in our parks and at wine farms.
“I want to urge private property owners, and wine farm owners in particular, to be on high alert as infestations of oak trees have been confirmed at wine farms outside of the City’s boundaries,” he says.
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When People’s Post caught up with Andrews at the Gabriel Road Area Project Association’s (Grapa) AGM held on Monday 20 February, he said the City was engaging with external stakeholders, cautioning them to be wary.
“The service providers are now actually knocking on doors and saying they’ve got a solution and the solution could be chemical A, B and C. And then, the second thing that they are saying is, we should remove your tree. So we are asking residents to not be too anxious at this stage. Rather call us first so we can verify the infection.”
He said they were also asking residents to be mindful of and not to believe whatever solutions are being sold to them.
“Because, globally, there are no solutions currently on the market and people are buying chemicals, because they love their trees, they want their gardens to remain beautiful, and they will accept whatever is being sold to them because perhaps it comes from a deemed-to-be reputable source. Please don’t be too anxious. Keep your tree on your property. Let us verify first.”
Andrews said the City would 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.”
He added that the City was also looking at separate sites where private property owners could dispose of infested biomass responsibly.
The City’s Invasive Species Unit, in conjunction with the City’s recreation and parks and solid waste departments, is currently finalising the risk assessment on identified sites where infested material could be taken. So far, only the Gordon’s Bay drop-off facility has been given the green light to accept infested material.
The City is also working closely with a company called Sustainable Heating which has facilities in Montague Gardens as well as in Claremont and the indication from this company is that they are open to taking infested material from the public at no cost and from the contractors. The City will communicate more sites for drop-off in the coming weeks once risk assessments have been concluded.
“Because you don’t want to further contaminate. As we stand here today, there is no cure. We need to coexist, and we need to contain and get ahead of the curve,” said Andrews
- 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. Alternatively, send an email to: invasive.species@capetown.gov.za
