Elm Leaf Beetle (ELB) is now firmly and irrevocably established in Southern Highlands.
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This is the warning of Consulting and Practicing Arborist Guy O’Donnell B.Sc. of Elm Consultants.Com.Au.
Mr O’Donnell first identified the ELB outbreak in the Southern Highlands in August 2017 and in Adelaide 2011.
He said “we are now at the completion of the second season of the outbreak with several mature golden elms completely stripped in Sutton Forest and stands of English elms in Moss Vale.”
“The beetles will go into hibernation under the elm tree or elsewhere in the gardens and emerge when the first elm leaves open in spring to eat and lay eggs on the leaves,” he said.
Mr O’Donnell has been treating elms across the district throughout summer.
“Its likely Exeter and MossVale will present heavily defoliated trees by November, along the major traffic routes as the beetles generally hitch a ride on vehicles or on people’s clothing,” he said.
“Apart from completely defoliating an elm during a major infestation in a garden, reducing or stopping photosynthate storage, tree owners or their neighbour’s often find the beetles inside their homes around Christmas, and when the beetles die inside, they stain carpets and curtains.
“We treated the first severely skeltonised elms in Sutton Forest in January thereby stopping any further canopy defoliation within a week and we will resume injections next week across the district.”
Mr O’Donnell said early winter was an ideal time to inject to prevent outbreaks and irreversible leaf damage at springtime.
“It is a pre-emptive method relying on correct understanding of the tree’s physiology and it’s cambial flow,” he said.
Mr O’Donnell treats the elms using sterile stem injection only, to protect them for upto three seasons.
He does not spray trees due to the reality of spraydrift or use soil injection as it is an inadvertent killer of all soil fauna and poisons the soil with systemic insecticide for more than three years. He only uses the chemical registered for Elm Leaf Beetle control in a safe manner.
Mr O’Donnell Guy began the first Consulting and Practicing arborist business in the Highlands in 1981 specialising in Elm leaf Beetle treatment.
He has continued to consult in the region for the past 37 years. He has Degrees in Botany (tree Physiology and Mycology), Viticulture and Oenology.
For further details call Mr O’Donnell on 0412 288 626 for advice or go to the website https://tinyurl.com/ELB-0412288626 to learn more about ELB and the treatment in the Southern Highlands.
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