Information for Landholders
It is important that any locust activity is reported as soon as possible to your local biosecurity authority or department of primary industries or agriculture.
You can also report locust activity directly to the Australian Plague Locust Commission (APLC).
During times of locust control the APLC issues regular Locust Management Advice which gives an update of areas where control is about to or has recently taken place, the insecticides used and the amount sprayed. The APLC will always consult with affected landholders before it implements any locust control and will obtain informed landholder consent prior to the application of any locust control agents.
Landholder locust control
Insecticides registered for locust control
What happens if the APLC are controlling in my area?
What can I expect if aerial control is planned on my property?
Further information
Landholder locust control
Throughout Australia, primary control of locusts is the responsibility of the landholder. Officers from the relevant state authorities (listed below) are available to provide technical assistance, do inspections and advise on control techniques. These officers should be your first point of contact when reporting locust infestations or making enquiries about locust control.
| State |
Department |
|---|---|
| NSW | Livestock Health and Pest Authorities (LHPA) and Primary Industries, Industry & Investment NSW. LHPA Rangers organise landholder control of bands and distribute insecticide. |
| SA | |
| VIC | Department of Primary Industries |
| QLD | Biosecurity Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation |
| WA | Department of Agriculture and Food WA |
Contact phone numbers for your nearest office can be found in your local telephone directory.
The most effective way for landholders to control locusts is by ground spraying the hoppers when they have formed into dense aggregations called bands. The time available for controlling an outbreak of locusts is short. Hoppers take about 5 weeks to develop into swarming adults. Hoppers are much easier to control than swarming adults. The hoppers usually take 1-2 weeks after hatching to form into dense bands suitable for spraying.
Ploughing fields where locusts have laid eggs may have some impact on individual egg beds, but egg laying often occurs in areas where ploughing is not possible (for example, in hard soil along roads or tracks). Although there are a number of natural enemies of locusts such as birds, spiders and insects, none are able to effectively regulate locust numbers during an outbreak.
Insecticides registered for locust control
A number of insecticides are registered for locust control but these vary from state to state and over time. Check with your relevant state authorities for the latest list of insecticides registered for locust control.
What happens if the APLC are controlling in my area?
During a locust outbreak the APLC and state or local biosecurity agency staff may contact or visit you to check locust reports or to obtain consent to undertake control. Consent is often obtained from many landholders in advance of any anticipated control. However, this is no guarantee that control will be undertaken on your property and you should continue to implement control measures on your property. Control by landholders, which may involve provision of insecticide by state or local government or regional biosecurity agency staff, may involve separate consultation and documentation.
The APLC only carries out control of large areas where locusts are dense enough to be seen from the air. Aerial spraying is only carried out with the permission of landholders. The APLC does not, in accordance with strict national regulations, spray near homesteads, vehicles, stock or dams, beehives or crops being pollinated by bees.
What can I expect if aerial control is planned on my property?
- Consultation – You will be contacted or visited by an APLC or state officer to discuss the possible location, date and control agent to be used. In the case of potential APLC control, information on locusts, insecticides and withholding periods will be provided or discussed, and the existence of any potential activities or organisms which may restrict aerial spraying, or the insecticide type.
- Informed consent document - If you agree to APLC control on your property, you will be asked to sign the APLC Landholder Consultation record. This details the things discussed with you and records your consent for APLC aerial control.
- Notification near time of control – The timing of any control is subject to weather conditions, available resources and operational planning. You will be contacted again close the actual time of control to make sure circumstances have not changed since your last consultation.
- Post-control summary information – When control is carried out you will by contacted again to advise you of actual control undertaken . A post control advice document, which sets out the details of time, weather conditions, control agent used and includes a map of the area sprayed, will also be provided to you.
Further information
Fact sheets for the insecticides currently used by the APLC for aerial control and the SAFEMEAT brochures on residues in livestock and crops are provided on the Locust control agents-livestock and crop residues page.