LARGE bugs which appear to be eating away the trunks of trees in the Bulwer area have raised safety concerns, says Heather Rorick from the Bulwer Safety and Urban Regeneration Forum (BSURF).
Rorick said she first became aware of the problem in December when the BSURF was planning its Christmas project which called for local schools to decorate trees in Helen Joseph Road.
“There was blue cloth around the one tree and when we removed it to prepare for the tree decorating project, we discovered a number of large bugs which appeared from holes in the tree,” she said.
Rorick said since then she had noticed the bugs still living in the tree and had witnessed them eating away at the trunk. “The bugs eat their way into the tree rapidly. I am concerned how many other trees in the area have the same problem, as this could be what is weakening the many trees which have fallen over in the area,” she said.
Rorick said when the Forum held its Christmas market near Bulwer Park, she had seen the same bugs on some of the trees there.
“This tree in Helen Joseph Road is already leaning over precariously and if it is weakened enough to fall down, it will damage the building next to it, cars parked underneath, and could injure anyone walking by,” she said.
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She said she had brought the matter to the attention of the Parks Department, who investigated.
Jennifer Rampersad from the Parks Department told Berea Mail that she and Garth Kloppenborg from Parks had been to investigate the tree in question.
“There was already rot taking place and the tree was already dying, as we saw some mushrooms on the trunk. Once the tree starts rotting, the bug, the Rhino Beetle, comes in and kills the inner side of the tree. We have inspected other trees in the road and plan on removing four of them, and perhaps another four at a later date,” she said.
Rampersad said once trees were cut down the Parks Department would wait three to four years for the stump to dissolve and would then replant.
She said the Department would only remove trees which were already rotting and infested with the Rhino Beetles.”If the tree is young, we will treat it with insecticides as this action is suitable for a young tree,” she said.
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