Locusts hoppers in northern Victoria in 2023. Image – Agriculture Victoria.
LOCUST surveillance has started in high risk areas of the Wimmera catchment in Victoria as hatchings continue in the Mallee region.
Agriculture Victoria said priority local government areas for locust activity this season include Mildura, Swan Hill, Gannawarra, Buloke, West Wimmera, Yarriambiack and Hindmarsh.
Agriculture Victoria incident controller Lana Russell said the surveillance would start in West Wimmera, Yarriambiack and Hindmarsh shire councils this week in line with predicted hatching timings.
“During September, monitoring for young locusts occurred in the Mallee region, where we detected hatchings in most areas we expected to.
“Importantly, we observed locusts at different growth stages at many of the sites, which suggests that eggs were laid over an extended period and that more hatchings may still occur,” she said.
“We have been reminding public and private land managers that they need to be checking their own properties to understand the local conditions and be ready to spray about two weeks after hatching – while locusts are still in the hopper stage and have started banding together but aren’t yet flying.
“Victoria has shared responsibility arrangements in place for managing locusts, which means land managers are responsible for monitoring and controlling their own properties,” Ms Russell said.
“Under these arrangements, Agriculture Victoria plays an important role in coordinating statewide surveillance, forecasting and providing land managers with information and advice on management. ‘We’re working with the Australian Plague Locust Commission, who also conduct surveillance efforts.”
Agriculture Victoria said locust management is a whole of community approach, with roles for local, state, and Commonwealth governments – including land managers – and private landholders.
“Our incident management team is coordinating timely information and advice to help Victoria stay ahead of locust activity this season,” Ms Russell said.
“We have created an online directory of chemical spray contractors, giving land managers ready access to practical information.
“We’re not expecting a plague this year but it’s important everyone plays their part – so we can keep it that way,” she said.
For up-to-date information, including current detections of locust hatchings across the Mallee, and to report locust activity, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/locusts
You can also report locust activity to the Customer Service Centre on 136 186. The chemical spray contractor directory is available at https://go.vic.gov.au/4rRO0Cl.
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