The dreaded elm leaf beetle has infested stock set to replace trees in the botched 2006 commemorative plantings.

But Corangamite Shire this week assured ratepayers ``every precaution'' would be taken to get rid of the beetle before the trees came to Camperdown.

Mayor Ruth Gstrein said the council had acted on specialist advice from the Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

``The Elm Tree Reference Group is confident that with the correct pest control measures we will be able to plant our replacement trees this season,'' she said.

The trees will be rebagged, fumigated and soil-injected before planting.

The beetle discovery came months after it was confirmed 56 Scotch elms, not the approved English variety, had grown in the heritage-listed avenue for the past two years.

The insect was introduced to Australia in the late 1980s and while it does not kill the tree directly, heavy infestations can cause complete defoliation, eventually reducing the trees' lifespan.

Friends of Camperdown Elms spokeswoman Carole Eagle said the group initially opposed the plantings and called for a quarantine zone.

She told The Standard efforts to control the insect if it reached the town could potentially cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But yesterday Mrs Eagle said she was confident the beetle would pose no risk to Camperdown if the pest control measures were ``diligently'' followed. ``The process the DPI suggested does indicate very little risk of bringing the elm beetle to Camperdown,'' she said.

The new trees will be planted during a special ``planting day'' on July 12.

John Bullen of Bullen's Wholesale Nursery - the 2006 plantings' contractor - said he would donate the wrong Scotch elms to the council as compensation for the mix-up.

``It doesn't fix the problem but at least we are doing what we can to rectify it,'' he said.''

Corangamite Shire environmental services co-ordinator Lyall Bond said it would be decided which areas to plant the old trees at its next meeting.

``They will be well utilised. There are gaps in other avenues around the shire which are OK to have these species,'' he said.