GRASSHOPPERS PEST

Taranaki Daily News, 1 December 1934, Page 12

GRASSHOPPERS PEST

MENACE IN QUEENSLAND. TREMENDOUS SWARMS. n After threatening the outskirts of Inglewood, Queensland, for three days, grasshoppers descended in countless millions from the skies upon the town early one morning recently and took complete possession of gardens, roads and every , available open space where the nature of the soil permitted the females to lay their eggs. Like a tremendous swarm of bees; flying, crawling or motionless on the ground, they transformed the clear morning sunlight into a dull, grey shadow. A graphic description of the. visitation was given by an Inglewood resident. The main street of the town, he said, was absolutely black with the insects, which rose in whirling clouds when motor traffic approached. To walk into his garden entailed having the insect® crawling over his hands and clothes, frequently striking him in the face. They pattered on roofs and window panes like rain falling. Strangely enough, the grasshoppers do not appear to be making any decided onslaught on vegetation, which has not been unduly affected. It was learned, however, that a 10-acre paddock of Sudan grass on the Mclntyre Brook, about four miles from Inglewood, was quickly eaten bare by a swarm of the insects. Generally speaking, the damage in the Inglewood district up to November 13 had not been great, principally owing to the fact that the advancing wave had been content to attack the green and succulent crops and grasses. Paddocks of wheat had not been touched. THE CHIEF DANGER. ' It is considered that the main danger lies in the approach of succeeding waves of the insects, which would spread out on to the ordinary grasses and _ cause extensive damage to the pastoral industry, particularly if a dry period followed. Breeding is proceeding apace and patches of recently-hatched grasshoppers are appearing in practically every part of the surrounding districts, some of them still in the crawling stage and others almost ready to take to the wing. One pastoralist said that unless control measures are immediately taken, the position may become serious. Swarms of grasshoppers invaded Moree, and the pastures about the town were eaten. Gardens on the outskirts of the town suffered slight damage, but most property owners kept the insects on the move by waving bags and brooms. At the bowling green the greenkeeper and his daughter had a busy time keeping the insects moving. They invaded houses the doors and windows of which were not covered with gauze. Following rain the swarms. were fewer. GREEN CROPS THREATENED. The grasshoppers had made their appearance in the Leyburn district, and were threatening the green crops. A large swarm settled on a 10-acre paddock of oats, owned by Mr. H. Charles, about half a mile on the western side of the town. When the owner saw that there was little hope of saving any of the crop, he turned cows into the paddock, but as this had little effect on the insects, he decided to roll the area. Many of the grasshoppers were laying eggs in the soft soil of the paddock. All councils in the . area affected by the grasshopper invasion undertook to co-operate with officials of the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock in the distribution of bait and spray ingredients to stem the advance of young grasshoppers when they emerge from the ground. It was hoped that united action would result in the extermination of the main body of the pests in the State.