These tiny beetles are the size of sesame seeds.
But the damage they can do is astronomical – and can cost billions of dollars.
Perth’s drawn-out battle against an infestation of invasive borer beetles, also known as Polyphagus shot-hole borers, has now reached new heights.
The city has been fighting to stop borers from wreaking havoc in parks and gardens and it’s prompted a strict set of rules for dozens of suburbs in a bid to expand the quarantine zone.
From midnight on Friday, Perth’s quarantine area will expand into two more zones.
The new buffer zone will encompass the LGAs of Mundaring, Armadale, Serpentine-Jarrahdale, Kwinana and Rockingham.
Fresh restrictions mean residents can’t move untreated wood outside the area unless they are smaller than 2.5cm.
Transporting living plants bigger than 2cm in size is also banned – unless they’re being moved to a location in the quarantine zone.
Machinery used to handle green waste must also be thoroughly cleaned in these suburbs, too.
Vincent Lanoiselet, Chief Plant Biosecurity Officer – Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development in WA, said the quarantine zones were necessary to stop the spread of the pesky beetles.
“We are going to increase all the surveillance activities to make sure that if we have any further escapees, we can detect them really quickly and remove them as soon as possible,” he said.
The initial quarantine zone included the LGAs Gosnells, Ellenbrook, Armadale and Kalamunda.
More suburbs were added to the hit list after dozens of borers were detected outside Zone A.
Borers attack plants and wood and have the potential to do billions of dollars worth of damage in the WA capital.
Decades-old trees in places like Hyde Park and Kings Park have also fallen victim to the destructive insects.
