City invites residents to PSHB community webinar
18 June 2026
Join the City of Cape Town’s Deputy Mayor, Alderman Eddie Andrews and research experts from Stellenbosch University and the University of Pretoria to zoom in on the critical Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (PSHB) Beetle research being done which will advance science based management strategies. Discussions regarding various biological control challenges and opportunities as well as evidence-based protocol for tree planting initiatives will also form part of the programme.
The City’s Invasive Species Unit encourages residents to
attend the community webinar online on Tuesday, 22 June 2026 from 18:30 to 20:00.
Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews will be joined by Dr. Garyn Townsend, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology at Stellenbosch University; Dr Luke Potgieter, a postdoctoral researcher affiliated with the Centre for Invasion Biology at Stellenbosch University and Prof. Brett Hurley, a professor of Forest Entomology at the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria.
‘The PSHB continues to pose a serious threat to Cape Town's urban forest and biodiversity. Our upcoming PSHB community webinar is an opportunity for us to take a good look at where we stand now with all of the research under way; reflect on what is currently being done to address the spread of this pest and to understand what the short and long term plans can look like considering research findings thus far,’ said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.
To date, PSHB has been confirmed in over 6 000 trees. Among these are Boxelders, London Planes, English Oaks, Beef Wood, Weeping Willow, Cape Chestnut, Black Locust, Paperbark and Maples across the city in the following areas: Somerset West, Strand, Penhill, Newlands, Constantia, Rondebosch, Observatory, Mowbray, Rosebank, Claremont, Kenilworth, Wynberg, Diep River, Pinelands, Durbanville, Brackenfell, Kraaifontein, Bellville, Parow North, CBD and Hout Bay.
What residents should look out for and symptoms of infested trees:
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Branch dieback – cracks on the branch; discoloured leaves; dry and leafless branches; branch break-off revealing webs of galleries filled with black fungus
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Gumming – blobs of goo coming out of the bark; oozing of liquid and gum from the beetle holes
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Entry and exit holes – very small holes on the bark of the tree, the size of a sesame seed (2mm); shotgun-like scars developing around the holes
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Staining – brown or dark stains on the bark of the tree
How to report PSHB beetle sightings:
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
