This guidance sets out the nature and cause of heather beetle damage, exploring various techniques for managing the aftermath of a heather beetle outbreak and considers the best overall strategies for dealing with damaged heather.

There are no definite rules for dealing with beetle damage – different treatments produce varied results. This guide can offer some options based on recent science and research. Treatment for heather beetle should be focussed upon restoring damage and remembering that moorland which includes a range of heathers at different ages and structures will always be more resilient to damage.

There is some evidence that heather beetle is a growing issue for Scottish moorlands.

This guidance focusses on:

• Heather beetle lifecycles

• Identifying and assessing beetle damage

• Dos and don’ts of restoration work

September 2025 - This Guidance (published July 2024) is currently under review to ensure it is in line with the new Muirburn Licensing process.