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The yellow-winged locusts that hit the Ord Valley in plague proportions last April do not seem likely to do much damage as they hatch again. There have been sporadic large hatchings over the past two months, mostly centred around River Farm Road, Ivanhoe Crossing and Swim Beach, but with numerous other locations reported in the rangelands. Department of Agriculture regional entomologist John Moulden said the situation did not look anywhere near as serious as the plague in April. |
He said he had been receiving reports for over two months and some landowners had employed light spraying. "It just doesn't have the potential this time, as the rain will kill them and disease will also cut back their numbers," John said. The fact that grass was growing in the rangelands would also mean that the locusts weren't forced to head into the irrigation area to feed. Places like River Farm Road and out near the Kununurra Airport would continue to be 'hot spots' as they had in previous years. |
Last wet season had provided unusual conditions that had led to the plague situation. John said people taking precautions against the adult locusts needed to make a quick response. "You could leave home for work in the morning and come home to just about no lawn in the evening," he said. |