Pressing issues about pest infestations across Western Victoria
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Wimmera at forefront of the fight against locusts. Wimmera Mail Times, 9th July, 2010
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Mice v locusts in battle of the plagues. ABC News online, 7th July, 2010.
NEW NOSE TO SNIFF OUT TROUBLESOME TERMITES - The Weekly Advertiser, 1st July 2010
Wimmera termites will have nowhere to hide when a Horsham business literally unleashes its secret weapon against the destructive pests in early August.
The invasive and at times secretive insects, responsible for quietly undermining wooden structures, will be the target of a sensitive nose of the region’s first termite-detection dog.
Steve and Danielle Olver from Bug R Off Pest Control in Horsham, after 12 months of research and investigation, are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the female beagle from a special training kennel in Queensland.
While other dogs at Brisbane’s Canine Centre have spent formative time learning to identify narcotics or explosives, the Wimmera newcomer has been perfecting her ability to find termites.
Steve Olver said the arrival of ‘the nose’ would be as much a learning experience for him as it was the beagle and would reduce much of the costly investigative process involved in termite eradication.
“We’ve heard there are only 22 termite-detection dogs in Australia and only two in Victoria,” he said.
“A human pest controller operates about 70 to 75 percent effectiveness but dogs run as high as 98 percent.
“The beauty of her skill is that she will be very cost-efficient to clients. We will be able to go from tree to tree and she will tell us immediately if it has white ants. This avoids drilling trees and we can go straight to the root of a problem.
“An added bonus is that after we treat a termite problem she will be used to confirm the colony has gone by sniffing the house again.”
The Olvers said the beagle, apart from her key role in the workplace, would also join the family and pal up with ‘Chopper’ the jack russell.
“She can be a pet during the night but as soon as she jumps into the van and puts the work face on, she will be similar to a farm dog – she will have a job to do,” Steve said.
“We also hope to take the dog to schools as part of an education program.”
Bur R Off specialises in eradicating pests from mice and rats to cockroaches, mosquitoes and of course termites.
The Wimmera’s long dry periods and historical reliance on timber products make it a high-risk zone for termite damage. Termites use tree stumps, living trees, spaces under buildings and walls as nesting sites. From the nest site, they can attach any wooden structure within a 50-metre radius via underground tunnels. Although they usually need contact with soil, termites can establish nests several floors up in city buildings.
People keen to find out more can call 1300 559 799. Steve and Danielle also run Drytron in Horsham and both services are available from one number.
WIMMERA AT FOREFRONT OF THE FIGHT AGAINST LOCUSTS - Wimmera Mail Times, 9th July, 2010
Premier John Brumby yesterday announced an incident control centre would be set up in Horsham to help combat the plague insects before spring.
He said the control centre would be one of five across the state manned by 400 trained staff as part of the State Government's $43.5-million strategy to combat plague locusts.
A spokesman for the Premier said Horsham was selected as a major centre in the battle because of its resources and location.
"The Department of Primary Industries has a network of offices across Victoria but given the scale of reporting of egg-laying sites to the north and north-east of Horsham, it was deemed an important link in the chain come spring," the spokesman said.
"It's important we base these incident control centres in areas deemed to be at threat and that is why Horsham has been selected.
"It is also a sensible use of resources."
The spokesman said the majority of the 400 staff to be involved in the battle against locusts would be existing department employees.
"There will be people including entomologists, scientists, Biosecurity Victoria staff, people trained in incident response on a large scale, logistics staff, planners, aerial staff, field staff, inspectors and communication staff," he said. "Most will be existing employees but there will be some other people contracted into the positions."
Mr Brumby said the government was taking the locust threat seriously.
"Our government is taking action to support farmers to fight a forecast locust plague which has the potential to cost Victoria's agricultural sector $2 billion if left untreated," Mr Brumby said.
"We are not waiting. We are taking the necessary steps now so that when the locusts hatch, we are ready to act to protect Victoria's horticulture, livestock and dairy industries.
"There is a relatively short time span of a few weeks when immature hoppers are most vulnerable to chemical spraying. That's why it's vital we have trained staff in key locations to work with communities during this critical period to reduce the impact of locusts."
The government could also set up locust field offices at Birchip, Hopetoun, St Arnaud, Ararat and Edenhope depending on the size of the plague.
MICE V LOCUSTS IN BATTLE OF THE PLAGUES - ABC News online, 7th July, 2010
Victorian farmers' grain crops are under a double pest attack, first from locusts and then from mice.
Hundreds of thousands of hectares of new crops have been devoured across South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia in the worst mouse plague since 1993.
The locusts are expected to gain the upper hand again in Victoria this spring.
But there will be fewer of them if the mice have their way.
Manangatang farmer and consultant Ben Jones says he has seen mice eating locust eggs.
But he says he expects the mice will only be able to eat 10 to 20 per cent of the eggs before they hatch in spring.
"That's where we've got real mouse problems, those paddocks where we had barley last year.
"They tend to be paddocks that have sandier soil.
"The locusts have gone and laid their eggs in some of the harder paddocks where there's less cover and less grain - generally paddocks that had wheat last year.
"They're just not coordinating as much as we'd like."
WINTER COLD WON'T STOP WIMMERA LOCUSTS - ABC Rural, 10th June 2010
Locusts in western Victoria are still alive despite the wintry weather.
They're eating newly germinated grain crops at Nhill in the Wimmera.
Grain grower Rob Lowe says his lupin crops have suffered.
"They'll more than likely not get as high and be much more difficult to harvest if they do get some pods on them," he says.
"Because they're now going to be set back considerably, because the time of the season has progressed quite a bit, they won't be able to mature properly at the time they should."
Victorian Goverment helps farmers tackle locusts (related article)
FARMERS GET READY - Sunraysia Daily, 28th April 2010
The fast-developing plague extends across the continent, in a huge arc from Geraldton in WA, to Swan Hill in Victoria, broken only by the cropless expanse of the Nullarbor.
Mice are already in plague numbers in the Wimmera, but are still relatively thin on the ground north of Ouyen, in the Victorian Mallee and Sunraysia, because drought and food scarcity have delayed breeding.
But breeding is well under way in the Wimmera and southern Mallee, and a leading authority on mouse plagues, Linton Staples, yesterday warned farmers against complacency,
He said a female mouse could produce at least 10 offspring every six weeks – an explosive rate of increase that could rapidly turn today’s trickle into a torrent by late winter, if farmers failed to control the advance guard.
Farmers are already resigned to a locust plague in spring, as billions of nymphs hatch from eggs on their land.
But the good news is that their chances of protecting their wheat, barley, lupin and canola crops against an explosion in mouse numbers have swung decidedly in their favour since the last Australia-wide infestation 21 years ago.