How to treat Lilly Pilly borer infestation?

MarraLaw

Hi there, my very well established Lilly pilly tree seems to have some sort of borer. See images below. You can see the frass and the hole made by the borer. The tree still looks healthy but I think birds are breaking off smaller branches to eat the larvae. Any ideas 1. What it is and 2. How to treat? Thanks! I love this tree and would be devastated to loose it! 

EricL

Hello @MarraLaw 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about treating borers in your lilly pilly.

I suggest having a quick look at this guide - How to get rid of tree borers. The general treatment involves removing and keeping the affected branches away from any of the other plants. These branches might need to be cut back quite severely to remove the borer from the hole. If there is still a hole in the branch, you'll need to cut back further until there is none. All the infected branches should be binned and not mixed in with your garden compost. When all the infected branches are removed you can now concentrate on fertilising the plant. If you've not done so in a while, I suggest applying feed and a tonic such as Seasol.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric