THE congregation of Perthville Uniting Church has gone more than 18 months without the use of their church building due to an elm leaf beetle infestation.
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Since May, 2016, the hall near the church has been used for services by members of the congregation, but even that isn’t immune to the beetles.
For their Christmas services, the congregation had to join with a different church so they could make use of that building instead.
Property committee convener Brian Cowan said they thought the problem was starting to ease after Bathurst Regional Council treated trees along Vale Road in October, but the beetles are coming back.
“The last couple of weeks with this warmer weather, they’re really coming in here,” he said.
“When they did do the trees in October, there was a lull, but since the hot weather started the live ones are back.”
Volunteers have made attempts to clean the church, but within two weeks the beetles take over again.
When you step inside the church now, thousands of dead beetles can be seen on the carpet, on the pews and on the windowsills, while a few live ones move around.
The dead beetles have also piled up in the front corners of the church, which Mr Cowan said is because they seem to be attracted to the morning sunlight that comes through the windows.
Last year, the church contacted council about the issue and invited the Department of Primary Industries to look at the infestation in the hopes it could provide insights to resolve it.
With no change, Mr Cowan said they are at a loss of what to do.
“We’d love to be able to get rid of the beetles and clean it all out,” he said.
“The carpet would have to be ripped out and replaced, but what’s the use of ripping out the carpet if [the beetles] are still coming in?”
Late last year, council used the stem injection method on 437 trees in Bathurst, Hill End, Sofala, Wattle Flat, Rockley, Perthville and Raglan.
The treatment came as part of its ongoing Elm Leaf Beetle Control Plan.
“The [stem injection] method is considered to be the most effective and environmentally sound option as it delivers the insecticide directly into the tree,” mayor Graeme Hanger said at the time.
“The treatment will reduce leaf damage caused by the elm leaf beetle and its larvae and improve the health of the tree.
“It is important to note that the control treatment being undertaken is to protect elm trees from extensive attack from the elm leaf beetles. Unfortunately there is no control treatment available to eradicate elm leaf beetles.”
