The polyphagous shot-hole borer, which can kill a tree in two years, has been detected in four places outside the Perth quarantine zone. The discovery shows the beetle has spread beyond the official quarantine area, which was put in place in the hope of eradicating it.
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00:00Burrowing its way into four new suburbs, the Shot Hole Borer crossing containment lines
00:08and alarming fruit growers in Perth's hills.
00:11They'll have to be cut down, that's their livelihood.
00:14You know the orchards have a hard enough time as it is to lose their orchards, just be so
00:20devastating to them.
00:24The Shot Hole Borer was first detected in Perth back in 2021, sparking a 41 million
00:30dollar national biosecurity response.
00:33Since then about 3,000 infected trees have been cut down and hundreds of others have
00:38had branches locked.
00:40The spread of the borer continued but was contained within a strict quarantine zone
00:45until now.
00:46Look it's not surprising as part of the eradication and containment plan it was always expected
00:52that our officers would be searching on the outer limits of the quarantine zone.
00:57The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development told the ABC the pest has been
01:02found in about 12 maple and coral trees outside the quarantine area, with those trees either
01:09removed or being treated.
01:11Deep Herd also says it's now reviewing the quarantine area boundary.
01:16The department is throwing everything at it, we literally have hundreds of staff today
01:21working on containing the Shot Hole Borer.
01:24To assist the department's strategy to stop the pest, the city of Kalamunda is not disclosing
01:29where exactly its two infected trees are.
01:32As it's worried people might try and prevent authorities from removing them.
01:36It's also concerned about the location of the trees given a national park is nearby.
01:42A researcher keenly following the developments heard the government's call for scientists
01:47to offer their opinions.
01:49A call he says hasn't happened yet.
01:52It's a very promising sign that the government is open to hear from other voices with other
01:57expertise that is complementary to the expertise in Deep Herd.
02:01He also says this new spread is a result of people moving infested plant material to these
02:07areas.
02:08A big battle against a tiny pest.