Invasive shothole borer (ISHB) is being monitored in the City of Mountain View. ISHB is an invasive beetle that carries a fungus that can kill many of the trees within our forest. The Urban Forest Division is implementing traps across the city to determine the parts of Mountain View that are currently infested and will be launching a monitoring program.

Trapping & Monitoring

The traps being used are called Lindgren funnel traps. These traps use a chemical lure and environment safe anti-freeze. Please do not disturb the traps out in the field and reach out to our team if you see any damage to these traps.

The Urban Forest Division will be checking the traps weekly and coordinating testing samples with the County of Santa Clara. The data found from these traps will be used to help us better monitor the spread and protect our trees. The Urban Forest Division will be providing regular updates on trapping data and the spread of this pest.

A monitoring program is in development and we will be announcing details soon.

Treatment

The City of Mountain View will follow state guidance for treatment to control this pest. The  current guidance is to monitor low infestations (trees with fewer than 50 exit holes), treat trees with moderate infestations (50-150 exit holes), and remove trees with heavy infestations (over 150 exit holes). The Urban Forest Division will work to notify the community of treatment plans as we collect more data showing us the severity of our infestation.

Contact

trees@mountainview.gov or 650-903-6273.

Resources

If you are interested in learning more about this pest, visit ISHB.org.

There is also a course developed by the University of California Extension that is available for free online.