Councils and community groups are warning more trees will be lost as an invasive beetle continues its march across Perth.

A new report by the City of Perth reveals nearly 100 heritage trees across the metropolitan area are infected by the polyphagous shot-hole borer.

The beetle, native to Southeast Asia, burrows into branches and trunks leaving small holes and cultivating a fungus, which eventually kills the tree.

City of Perth manager of parks and environment Blake Humble says the focus has shifted from eradication to permanent management.

“You could say at the moment we are killing time in a sense, to see what the future holds,” he says.

The City of Perth runs 160 monitoring traps across the CBD, which are inspected every fortnight.

Every detection triggers a search within a 50 metre radius to find the host tree.

Mr Humble says the approach will require commitment from politicians and decision makers at every level.

“It takes boots on the ground, takes dollars, takes effort and resources,” he says.

Curtin University Professor Ben Phillips says the rate of reproduction makes elimination of the borer almost logistically impossible.

“From one beetle you might end up with, in principle, millions of beetles over the course of a year,” he says.

“You can cut down an infected tree and not notice the beetles there, and then inadvertently move it.

“It’s a very easy thing to move around.”

Natalie Ong is a volunteer at the Victoria Park Community Garden and says one of the area’s large trees has lost a third of its canopy, while others have been removed.

“The tree is the heart of the garden; we’ve got our weekly playgroup Grubs and Bugs and they used to gather under that tree, so it’s quite a sacred space for us,” she says.

Ms Ong watched as the infected trees were cut down, describing it as “like seeing a friend pass”.

Last month a Curtin University study found states including New South Wales and Queensland are at high risk of future borer infestations.

Ms Ong has a blunt message for lawmakers in Canberra.

“Be prepared to say goodbye to your beautiful selection of trees, including the iconic Moreton Bay figs around the Sydney area and parts of coastal New South Wales,” she says.