Australian plague locust current situation

What's happening

Response activities vary across the state to reflect different risk profiles, land uses and operational considerations.

While broadscale aerial control can be effective in northern pastoral areas where locust swarms traditionally form, the intensive cropping, horticulture and mixed land use of other regions make targeted, property-level management the most appropriate approach.

Beekeepers should be aware of potential locust management activities occurring in their region.

Recent surveillance, landholder reports and advice from the Australian Plague Locust Commission (APLC) indicate:

• The critical period for surveillance and potential control activities has begun.
• Increased emergence and banding is expected over the next few weeks. Locust banding is the formation of groups of young, juvenile locusts, known as hopper bands. Hopper bands move together across the landscape and are often the most effective stage to target for control.
• Initial hatching has been identified in some parts of the Riverland, Mallee, Eyre Peninsula, Flinders Ranges and pastoral regions.
• Multiple bands and sub-bands have been identified between Hawker, Yarrah, Barndioota, Craddock and Blinman, including high-density bands (more than 500 locusts).
• Reports have been received from the Mallee region, east of Loxton, confirming initial hatchings.
• Based on APLC forecasts and current activity, outbreak-level locust populations are expected in parts of the state this season. While PIRSA's surveillance program helps identify emerging hotspots and inform response activities, the mobile nature of locusts means it is difficult to predict exactly where the highest populations and impacts will occur.

The Australian Plague Locust Commission (APLC) produces monthly Locust bulletins during the seasons of locust activity (spring, summer and autumn).

What PIRSA is doing

PIRSA continues to deliver a coordinated locust preparedness program which includes the following surveillance, planning and control activities:

• Surveillance is occurring across multiple regions, with targeted activities underway in the Flinders Ranges, Mid North and pastoral areas to identify hatching activity, assess densities and help inform potential treatment requirements.
• A central operational coordination base has been established in Orroroo to support surveillance and preparedness activities.
• Landholder engagement is underway, including distribution of property access authorisation forms in the Flinders Ranges and Mid North, to gather local property information and identify sensitive sites.
• Surveillance in the Flinders and Mid North regions has indicated locust density numbers at some sites that support targeted aerial control operations.
• The Riverland and Mallee regions continue to be actively supported, with the APLC undertaking targeted surveillance across the region and PIRSA working closely with landholders, local government and industry representatives to provide technical advice, share information and support access to the chemical rebate.
• PIRSA continues to meet fortnightly with the Community Reference Group, whose members provide valuable insights into local conditions and emerging concerns across affected regions.
• Development of a ‘Stop the Hop’ campaign is underway, with a focus on raising awareness of the importance of early locust control, support available to eligible landholders through the Plague Locust Chemical Rebate, and PIRSA’s control program in the Flinders and Mid North regions. This will be visible across print, digital and social media as well as regional radio.

Surveillance area

Surveillance and risk assessment activities are ongoing, particularly in marginal agricultural and near-pastoral regions where locust populations may build and later move into higher-value cropping areas. These activities will help PIRSA inform producers in the Eastern Mallee and Upper and Western Eyre Peninsula cropping regions about:

• expected spring hatchings
• monitoring and potential control options
• support planning.