By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Casey Council has no plans to remove scores of unpopular sickly gum trees that are shedding piles of leaves in hapless residents’ gutters and lawns in a Berwick estate.
The white-trunked trees, which line residential streets surrounding Parkhill Plaza, have been under back-to-back insect attack over the past 12 months.
The insects have caused an abnormal dumping of leaves and appeared to have left white sticky spots on cars and other surfaces below.
Resident Vic Beech in Wintersun Road has collected three bins full of shedded leaves from his lawn. He suspects the culprit insects are white lace lerp.
Concerned by falling branches, he and his neighbours want the trees gone.
“Our concern is what is the council going to do about it?”
Carol Punteri believes the culprit insect is a white-lace lerp that sucks the sap – and life – out of the trees.
“It doesn’t affect any of the other trees. It’s just this species.
“They’re all on our nature strips creating a risk…
“After driving around the Parkhill area, you can see the disease is rampant.”
Karen Painter, in Silkwood Avenue, says residents have pressed for the trees’ removal for years, blaming their roots for uplifting driveways and footpaths and blocking drains.
“The answer’s simple – just pull the trees out.
“They should not have been planted here in the first place.”
Every day, Ms Painter washes the sticky secretion from her dogs’ paws.
Her complaints about the leaves clogging drains, killing grass nature-strips and creating a mess received no response from Casey, she says.
However, without warning, the extensively-diseased gum tree in front of Ms Painter’s place was removed by the council 12 months ago.
Casey city presentation manager David Richardson said recent dry weather – with the insect infestation – exacerbated the “normal seasonal shedding” of native tree foliage.
“These infestations generally occur every four-five years and are dependent on a number of factors including climatic conditions.”
Mr Richardson said the council was treating and monitoring the trees – and performing “remedial maintenance as required”.
“The shedding of foliage, flowers, fruit, seeds or small elements of deadwood by urban trees is considered normal and not a basis for removal or intervention”
