Quick Links:
Knowledge Portal
Everything About The Polyphagous Shot-Hole Borer
Our aim is to give you all the relevant – and then some – information on the polyphagous shot-hole borer. In most cases, you’ve noticed something funky going on with your tree and now you want to learn more, and we hope that you’ll find the information and useful guidance on our site.
Your goal may only be to find out if there is treatment for your infected tree, but as this little bugger is here to stay (and climate change impacting more profoundly on our gardens) we urge you to take some time to learn other things about the beetle and it’s symbiotic fungus.
Detection
Different strokes for different folks: the symptoms of an infected tree vary from specie to specie, making detection not the easiest job in the world.
Some tree, like plane tree (plataanboom), have obvious signs they’ve been infected, where others hide the beetle behind thick bark. In those trees you may only know infection is present when branches start to die off.
Prevention
The irony: once you know there is something like the polyphagous shot-hole borer, you’ll discover that with proper prevention techniques you can keep the beetle away from your trees and garden.
Whereas in the past it was “plant and forget,” especially when it came to trees, things are changing due to climate change, and the presence of the beetle.
Learn what you can do to keep your garden shot-hole borer free.
Treatment
Various treatments have emerged that can help you care for your infected tree with high probability of bringing it back to full health. This ties closely with prevention, as the focus of these treatments are to ensure your tree has optimal conditions to be healthy, like good soil, water and food.
For severe cases, there are also more direct treatments on the market that targets the beetle and the fungi. Whereas there is no cure to get rid of them, these treatments can help surpress the infection to a level where the tree can recover sufficiently to begin fighting back on its own.
Learn what you can do to care for your infected tree.
The Beetle & The Fungi
It’s important to learn a bit about the beetle and the fungi causing the destruction as this will greatly help you understand the complexities in caring and prevention.
From its past to its arrival in South Africa to its symbiotic relationship with its killer fungi, this section gives you the full picture as to what the Polyphagous Shot-Hole Borer is.
Learn about the Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer.
Stressors & Breeder Trees
Tying in with prevention and care, we look at stressors that create ideal conditions for the shot-hole borer to set up camp in your garden.
In addition, we also focus on a list of trees that have become major breeding grounds for the beetle from where it can multiply and dispersse to other trees.
Learn about stressors and the varioius “breeder trees”.
Soil and Tree Health
With new challenges come new discoveries. Increasingly we are beginning to understand the importance of soil health and how this translates to healthy trees.
Linking to care and prevention, in this section we explore important concepts regarding soil and tree health, and best practices in ensuring you have rich, nutrient soil, and strong, healthy trees.
Learn about soil and tree health.