The polyphagous shot-hole borer is destroying trees in Perth's iconic parks, and there are fears it could cause an economic disaster should it cross the Nullarbor.
A tiny, sesame seed-sized pest that has caused a $28 billion economic headache in South Africa is wreaking havoc on trees across Perth.
And unlike Western Australia's controversial COVID-era border closure, this is one barrier the other states want to remain firmly sealed.Hundreds of trees across Perth have already been attacked by shot-hole borers, with stump grinders recently turning badly infested Moreton Bay fig trees at iconic Kings Park into wood chips and dust.
Since then, WA's Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development , which is spearheading a $41 million, three-year national response, has inspected more than 1.6 million trees and identified 1,000 infested sites within the Perth quarantine area.Vincent Lanoiselet, chief plant biosecurity officer with DPIRD, explained the shot-hole borer targeted over 300 species of mainly non-native trees, hence the term polyphagous, meaning it can feed on many types of wood.
Adding to the challenge, chemical treatments do not work to kill shot-hole borers in heavily infested trees. But Dr Lanoislelet pointed to success in parks, such as Mason Gardens in Dalkeith, where DPIRD had acted quickly to remove the infested trees.Sticky traps and log traps designed to catch any shot-hole borers in the area have been set to detect remnant pests.
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