The City of Cape Town has opened the Chukker Road Sports Complex in Kenilworth for the solarisation of beetle infested chipped wood material.
People involved in the removal, handling and management of Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (PSHB) infested material should take infested material there.
The Chukker Road Sports Complex is located in Kenwyn in Kenilworth and a section of the sports complex has been identified as a suitable site for the solarisation of PSHB infested material.
The PSHB continues to pose a serious threat to Cape Town’s urban forest, economy, biodiversity and livelihoods.
PSHB in Cape Town was first confirmed in April 2019 in the Somerset West area.
Unfortunately, the pest has spread to the Southern suburbs of Cape Town, with the first sighting confirmed in January this year.
This led to the City’s swift reaction by removing 40 trees infested with the invasive PSHB beetle along the Liesbeek River corridor, near the N2 highway and Liesbeek Park Way since 4 April – and more fellings are likely to follow as the pest continues to spread (“Beetle carnage impact felt”, People’s Post, 11 April 2023).
First discovered in Kildare Road, Newlands, on Tuesday 24 January, the beetle pest has been identified in Newlands, Rondebosch, Mowbray, Claremont, Kenilworth, Observatory along the Liesbeek River, Wynberg, and the Helderberg.
“Solarisation is one of the recommended methods of dealing with infested plant material. PSHB infested plant material should be chipped, and placed in bags that are properly closed, and placed in direct sunlight for an extended period of time. Now that we are heading into summer with higher temperatures, we want to encourage residents and professionals to use this site for solarisation,” said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayco member for spatial planning and environment Eddie Andrews.
He highlighted it is recommended that during the summer season, infested material must be solarised for at least six weeks.
Importantly: no chipping operations will be carried out at this facility and only PSHB infested wood material that is chipped already, and secured in bags that are properly closed, will be accepted.
City officials will be on site daily to inspect all vehicles that bring in material for solarisation.
Only confirmed cases of PSHB infested loads will be accepted for this purpose.
The City’s Mayco member for community services and health, Patricia van der Ross, added: “It’s important that City departments work together to minimise the risk of infestation and spreading of the PSHB beetle which poses a serious risk to trees and our urban environment. The City’s Recreation and Parks Department requests residents to follow the guidelines and assist the City in the disposing of the affected trees in the recommended manner.”
Although the City proves investment to combat the beetle, a botanist in service of the Friends of the Arderne Gardens Paul Barker, told People’s Post that dumping already chipped material is not a very feasible practice for this aim: “The site is not feasible for contracting arborist and service providers who chip into enclosed truck bogies or enclosed trailers who then tip their loads at green waste drop-off facilities. The chukker road site only accepts chipped material that has been bagged (like compost) which is not feasible for contractors who produce numerous loads a day,” Barker commented.
However, the City will soon be rolling out another round of free PSHB identification and management training sessions.
This training is open to all formal and informal businesses, as well as residents who are involved in handling trees and plant material.
Details of the training will be communicated in due course.
“The fight against this pest is a long-term project. I want to encourage professionals in the landscaping and gardening industry to please attend the training sessions we will host in coming weeks, and to also create awareness among their staff,” Andrews continued.
What to look out for and symptoms of infested trees:
- Branch dieback like cracks on the branch, discoloured leaves, dry and leafless branches, branch break-off revealing webs of galleries filled with black fungus.
- Gumming which are blobs of goo coming out of the bark, oozing of liquid and gum from the beetle holes.
- Beetle entry and exit holes: very small holes on the bark of the tree, the size of a sesame seed (2 mm); shotgun-like scars developing around the holes.
- Brown or dark stains on the bark of the tree.
How to report PSHB beetle sightings:
- Online, at www.capetown.gov.za/InvasiveSpecies.
- Call the City 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
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.
