25/03/2026
The Shot Hole Borer Beetle is a massive infestation and should be addressed much more seriously by the City of Cape Town.
Way too little is being done to assist residents. Just offering informative meetings is not enough to avoid disaster.
How important are trees to us? Can we just stand by and let half of all trees die?
It is that serious now. If you for instance have an Acer negundo you may kiss it goodbye already, they are the most visible target in Durbanville as far as we can see at the moment.
At the very least the municipality should offer a place to take affected wood to to be destroyed.
Our attempt to safeguard trees of clients at the moment :
1. Make a dam around it and give in a strong Koinor solution
2. Water it regularly afterwards to help the tree spread it through its bark.
Infected trees (once infected I don`t think it can be saved) :
1. Brush diesel onto the stem and main branches (it kills the beetles fast)
2. Cut small branches off the tips of all branches and discard of it (if visibly not affected)
3. Cut the rest of the branches into smaller pieces and place into strong black bags and close it tightly
4. Leave bags in the sun so the pests can die. Be careful not to puncture the bags.
5. Monitor the diesel-painted skeleton of the tree and repeat if you see any new activity
6. Wrap the remaining skeleton of the tree with clingwrap (buy a large roll, not the tiny one from the supermarket)
7. Clear the space around the tree from other plants and line it with plastic or bidim so you can see if there are living beetle falling out trying to escape. If so then spray them with an insecticide before they spread to other trees around
We need more people to experiment a solution, especially to prevent a tree from being attacked. Perhaps wrap/paint the trunk with something deterring?
Come on clever people, we need a solution fast !
