DPIRD-experienced arborists. Quarantine-compliant work. Real results.
The polyphagous shot-hole borer, a 2mm beetle from Southeast Asia, has spread across 80+ suburbs in the Perth metro area, killing trees on residential blocks, street verges, parks and horticultural properties.
In June 2025, eradication was officially declared no longer possible, and the national response permanently shifted to long-term management. With DPIRD (the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development) stepping back from property-level operations, the legal responsibility for managing infested trees now sits directly with landowners, councils and businesses.
Perth Arbor Services worked within the DPIRD-led response from the early stages of the outbreak. We know what compliant, documented management looks like because we have delivered it.
Polyphagous shot-hole borer (Euwallacea fornicatus) is a declared pest under WA's Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007. A 2mm beetle native to Southeast Asia, it has been destroying Perth's urban tree canopy since its first detection in East Fremantle in August 2021.
It does not kill trees directly. The beetle bores into trunks and branches, farming a symbiotic fungus (Fusarium euwallaceae) that colonises the tree's vascular system, cutting off water and nutrients. By the time dieback is visible in the canopy, the infestation is already deeply established.
In June 2025, the National Management Group confirmed eradication is no longer feasible. From 1 July 2025, DPIRD scaled back property-level operations, and management responsibility shifted to property owners.
PSHB has over 500 documented host species globally. A single infested tree puts an entire street at risk, as female beetles fly up to 400 metres in search of a new host. Perth's highest-risk reproductive hosts include:
Suspected PSHB must be reported to DPIRD via the MyPestGuide® Reporter app or on (08) 9368 3080. This is a legal requirement, not optional guidance. There is currently no approved chemical treatment, so removal, strategic pruning and vitality treatments are the only effective interventions.
The eradication window has closed and the responsibility now sits with you. Get ahead of it before the beetle spreads.
Most arborists offering PSHB services learned about the beetle through government briefings and industry fact sheets. Perth Arbor Services learned about it on the job, working as part of the WA Government's active response across the Perth metropolitan area. That is a fundamentally different level of experience from a business that has since added "PSHB management" to its service list.
Equipment decontamination between sites, correct handling and disposal of infested material, and movement restrictions on green waste. Our field procedures were built around these requirements under active government oversight, not retrofitted afterwards.
DPIRD-directed works required thorough, accurate reporting at every stage. That discipline carries through to every assessment and management plan we produce today.
Response works involved trees in high-density residential areas, public open spaces and sensitive sites. Managing infested material safely in those environments demands a different level of operational discipline than a routine removal.
PSHB entry holes, frass and bark staining are easily confused with other borers or ordinary tree stress. Years of hands-on field inspections mean an accurate diagnosis and a correct host-species risk rating, rather than a costly misread that misses an active infestation or condemns a healthy tree.
Having seen infestations across the full severity range during the response, we can judge when a tree is a reproductive host driving spread and when targeted intervention still has genuine value. You get a recommendation you can stand behind, not a default push toward removal.
From the cut through to final disposal, host material stays contained and is dealt with inside the Quarantine Area. That closed loop keeps you compliant under the Quarantine Area Notice and stops the beetle hitching a ride to the next street.
We understand how your DPIRD report reference feeds into the job, how council-managed verge and park trees are handled, and where private, verge and council responsibilities overlap. Fewer crossed wires and less back and forth for you.
Our inspections come with written findings and a clear management pathway. If a council, insurer or prospective buyer ever asks what was done and why, you have a defensible evidence trail rather than a verbal recollection.
Four years of active response built up a body of knowledge that now sits with the contractors who were part of it, not with a team working off the same public guidelines you could read yourself.
Founders Tony Head and Michael Dawson established Perth Arbor Services in 2011 after graduating in Arboriculture from Murdoch University. Both were personally involved in the company's government response works, the same experience and standards that underpin every PSHB engagement today.
Join the Perth homeowners and businesses who trust us with their trees.
Not sure where to start? For most property owners, a PSHB assessment is the right first step. Everything else follows from what we find.
On-site inspections identify entry holes, frass tubes, bark staining and canopy dieback. You receive a documented assessment with a clear management recommendation, suitable for homes, commercial sites, council assets and development handovers requiring pest-free certification.
When removal is the right call, how it is carried out matters as much as the decision itself. We handle containment and disposal of infested material in full compliance with Quarantine Area requirements, with no shortcuts and no risk of spreading the pest further. See our tree removal service.
Not every affected tree needs to come down. Targeted pruning can slow progression and retain canopy value in lower-severity cases. We will tell you honestly when pruning is a genuine intervention and when it is simply prolonging the inevitable.
Soil drenching and stem injection treatments build vascular resilience in high-value at-risk trees. A proactive investment that costs far less than removal.
An infested stump left in the ground remains an active harbouring site. Every PSHB removal we carry out includes stump grinding and site clean-up as standard. See our stump grinding service.
For councils, strata managers and commercial landholders, we provide scheduled inspection programs and written management plans to demonstrate ongoing due diligence under the BAM Act.
Not sure which service your trees need? Start with an assessment and we will tell you honestly.
PSHB is easy to miss until it isn't. The beetle is roughly the size of a sesame seed, but the signs it leaves behind are identifiable once you know what to look for.
Tiny, round holes roughly 1-2mm in diameter, similar to a ballpoint pen tip, bored into the trunk, stems or branches. Often the first visible sign of activity.
Small matchstick-like protrusions of compacted bore dust extending from entry holes. A reliable indicator of active infestation rather than old damage.
Crystalline white foam or powdery exudate surrounding holes on certain host species. Distinctive and easy to identify once you have seen it.
Water-soaked discolouration or dark staining in the bark around entry holes, caused by the Fusarium fungus spreading through the tree's vascular tissue.
Wilting, browning and branch death that starts at the top of the tree and works downward. By the time this is visible, the infestation is advanced.
Fine, pale boring dust collecting in bark crevices, branch forks or on the ground at the base of the trunk. On smooth-barked hosts where individual holes are hard to spot, this scattered dust is often the first thing that gives the beetle away.
Spotted any of these signs? Report to DPIRD immediately via the MyPestGuide® Reporter app or on (08) 9368 3080, then call Perth Arbor Services on (08) 9227 0010 for a professional on-site assessment.
Not currently. No approved chemical treatment eradicates PSHB from an infested tree. Research is ongoing, including work at Murdoch University, where researchers established WA's first stable PSHB laboratory colony in early 2026. Removal, strategic pruning and vitality treatments remain the only effective interventions available today.
Immediately. Female beetles fly up to 400 metres and actively seek new host trees during spring and autumn dispersal periods. Every week an infestation goes unmanaged increases the spread risk to neighbouring properties and narrows your own management options. Report to DPIRD today via the MyPestGuide® app, then call us to book an on-site assessment.
No, and any arborist who tells you otherwise without a proper assessment isn't giving you honest advice. Removal is appropriate in severe or high-risk cases. Strategic pruning and vitality treatments are viable for lower-severity infestations, particularly in high-value trees. Our assessment tells you exactly where your tree sits and what the realistic options are.
We conduct a physical on-site assessment, examining the trunk, branches and canopy for entry holes, frass tubes, bark staining and dieback patterns. We also assess the species, infestation severity and proximity to other susceptible trees. You receive a written report with findings and a clear recommended management pathway.
Yes. Reporting suspected PSHB to DPIRD via the MyPestGuide® app or on (08) 9368 3080 is a legal requirement under the BAM Act, so do that first. Once reported, contact us. We carry out a full assessment, work with your DPIRD report reference where required, and advise on next steps.
Not without meeting quarantine requirements. Untreated wood, green waste and host plant material over 2.5cm in diameter cannot be moved outside the Perth metro Quarantine Area. We handle all infested material disposal in full compliance with the Quarantine Area Notice, removing that obligation and liability from you entirely.
Potentially yes. Report the neighbouring infestation to DPIRD via the MyPestGuide® app first, as it is a legal requirement regardless of whose property it is on. Then contact us. A confirmed infestation within 400 metres puts your susceptible trees directly in the dispersal range of active beetles, and a proactive assessment now costs significantly less than an emergency removal later.
PSHB management scope can shift based on what an inspection reveals, which is exactly why we provide written, itemised quotes rather than ballpark figures over the phone. Cost depends on the number of trees, infestation severity, access conditions and management approach required. Quotes are free, written and obligation-free. Call us on (08) 9227 0010 or submit an enquiry online.
Still have a question about PSHB or your trees? Talk to a qualified arborist today.
PSHB has now been detected across 80+ suburbs within the Perth metro Quarantine Area. We assess and manage infested trees for homeowners, businesses, strata managers and councils right across greater Perth.
Based at 31 Berkshire Road, Forrestfield WA 6058. Not sure if your suburb is affected or covered? Call (08) 9227 0010 and we will confirm straight away.
The eradication window has closed, the government has stepped back, and every week without action is another week the beetle has to establish, spread and narrow your options.
Whether you have spotted signs on a single tree or you are managing a large property portfolio, the next step is the same. Get a professional eye on your trees before the decision gets made for you.