Quarantine breach: Tree-killing beetle spreads to 145 suburbs including Perth hills

The pest attacking Perth’s trees is spreading across the metropolitan area with confirmed cases now detected in 145 suburbs including the Perth Hills suburb of Lesmurdie, Bedfordale and Ellenbrook in the City of Swan.

A Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development spokeswoman said the polyphagous shot-hole borer, which has been dubbed “COVID for trees”, had been confirmed in four locations outside the current quarantine area, but still within the metropolitan area.

“DPIRD is working closely with the respective local governments to respond to these detections,” she said.

“These detections were part of ongoing surveillance for PSHB and were in Box elder maple and coral trees, preferred hosts for the borer. ”

The spokeswoman said all infested trees outside the quarantine area have either been removed or are in the process of being treated.

Inspectors have also been spied in the hills suburb of Darlington searching for the polyphagous shot-hole borer which could wreak havoc on the national parks already suffering after a long, hot summer.

However the pest has yet to be detected in the Shire of Mundaring.

DPIRD said surveillance was undertaken outside the quarantine area regularly to ensure PSHB was not present, as early detection and intervention is vital to prevent the spread.

Environmental lawyer Bronwyn Waugh said the pest was discovered in Bedfordale adjacent an avocado orchard.

“Its has spread unabated,” she said.

“Government policy of containment and eradication has been an abject failure.”

The shot hole borer have already caused more than 3000 trees to be felled.Credit: City of Vincent/Supplied

Waugh said investment into research on how shot hole borer responded to Australian conditions and how to treat it was desperately lacking.

“I have spoken to experts who have said that DPIRD has frustrated their research efforts,” she said.

“Enough is enough, this is a crisis that has escaped control, and requires everyone’s effort to stop it from getting into our fruit growing region.”

The department was currently reviewing the quarantine area boundary with the beetle spreading from 88 suburbs to 145 since June.

The pest kills trees via boring holes, in which it plants a fungus that it farms for food – but which stops trees transferring nutrients, slowly killing them.

More than 1200 infected premises are confirmed to have the pest that was first detected in Perth in 2021.

To date more than 3000 trees have been removed from across the metropolitan area to curb the
spread of the pest and more than 850 trees have been pruned.

The City of Perth is concerned the beetle could wipe out 60 per cent of its 16,000 trees.