City invites residents to community information sessions - Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer beetle pest
27 May 2026
The City is encouraging residents in Claremont, Newlands, Pinelands, and Kraaifontein to attend the upcoming PSHB information sessions to be hosted over the next few weeks.
The PSHB continues to pose a serious threat to Cape Town's urban forest and biodiversity.
‘Improper handling, movement and disposal of PSHB infested material continue to aid the spread of PSHB across the city. We need the support and collaboration of residents and businesses working with plant material to prevent the spread of the pest. There are many formal and informal businesses involved with gardening and landscaping space. These are gardeners, nurseries, horticulturists, tree fellers, woodcutters, and many more. We ask that these individuals and residents from Claremont, Newlands, Pinelands, and Kraaifontein please attend, especially if you have trees on your private property. One of the topics we will be addressing is the fact that the use of pesticides and fungicides have not proven effective at eradicating PSHB from infected trees therefore, infested tree and plant material has to be chipped, incinerated or solarised,’ 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.
Details of upcoming PSHB information sessions below:
Claremont-Newlands:
- Date: Saturday, 30 May 2026,
- Time: From 10:00 to 12:00
- Venue: Claremont Public Library, Library Square, Wilderness Road, Claremont
Pinelands:
- Date: Monday, 15 June 2026,
- Time: From 13:00 to 15:00
- Venue: Pinelands Library, Howard Centre, Howard Drive, Pinelands
Kraaifontein:
- Date: Thursday, 25 June 2026,
- Time: 13:00 to 14:30
- Venue: Kraaifontein Public Library, Brighton Road, Windsor Park, Kraaifontein
The City will focus on the protocols applicable to infested trees and biomass, among which:
How to identify infested trees and what symptoms to look out for
What to do next, what not to do
How to handle infested biomass
How to safely dispose of infested biomass
How to transport green waste
How to handle equipment and machinery in a manner that will not spread the pest to other areas
What residents should look out for and symptoms of infested trees:
Branch dieback – cracks on the branch; discoloured leaves; dry and leafless branches; branch break-off revealing webs of galleries filled with black fungus
Gumming – blobs of goo coming out of the bark; oozing of liquid and gum from the beetle holes
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
Staining – brown or dark stains on the bark of the tree
How to report PSHB beetle sightings:
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
