Heat hampers efforts to control locusts

4 Feb 2009, 12:24 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Scorching heat is hampering efforts to control a locust plague in central and southwestern regions of NSW.

Scorching heat is hampering efforts to control a locust plague in central and southwestern regions of NSW.

Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald says the heat has forced locusts off the hot ground into shaded areas and onto fence posts and stumps where it's almost impossible for farmers and authorities to treat them.

As a result, efforts to control the plague have almost "ground to a halt," he says.

"Like humans, the locusts are after some relief, but it's making our job of controlling them very difficult at the moment," Mr Macdonald says in a statement.

"We have fixed-wing aircraft and farmers with spray rigs on standby, waiting for the temperatures to fall and the locusts to band out in the open where they can be treated easily and effectively."

The Department of Primary Industries has calculated that one square kilometre of medium to heavy density locusts could cause about $850 damage per day eating crops and pasture.

There have been about 1,100 reports of locusts since mid-December and about 21,000 hectares have treated.

Locust hot spots include Condobolin, Young, Molong, Gundagai, Forbes, Narrandera, Finley, Deniliquin and Griffith.

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