urban

There are two important reasons why pests including Emergency Plant Pests (EPPs) can become established in urban areas and spread to nearby horticultural or agricultural areas. First, urban dwellers usually purchase large quantities of goods and services from a variety of sources and locations, and so are potentially exposed to a wide a range of pests. Second, urban areas have a high density of exotic gardens and other resources that allow newly introduced pests to become established. Surveillance for EPPs in urban areas is therefore an important element of any system that aims to prevent the establishment of pests in rural and agricultural areas.

Research outcomes

This project looked at the contribution that passive and targeted (or active) surveillance can make to the on-ground management of Emergency Plant Pests (EPPs). EPPs can become established in urban areas and spread to nearby horticultural or agricultural districts. Surveillance for EPPs in urban areas is an important element of any system that aims to prevent the establishment of pests in rural and agricultural areas.

The benefits of a combined program of targeted and passive surveillance for an EPP was investigated. A combination of targeted and passive surveillance has kept the European wasp — a major pest of urban areas and horticulture in south-eastern Australia — from establishing a viable population in Western Australia for the last 30 years.

Targeted surveillance using lures and passive approaches relying on public reporting are complementary techniques that can prevent establishment and spread of European wasps.

Research implications

This project illustrated that a multi-pronged surveillance approach may be needed to control the spread of EPPs — in this case study, infestations of the European Wasp in Western Australia (WA).

For more than 30 years the Department of Agriculture and Food of Western Australia (DAFWA) has been using a combination of passive and targeted surveillance techniques to detect and then destroy wasp nests to control the European wasp.

A major challenge for the surveillance program is that if a nest is missed during one summer it may overwinter allowing the release of new queens. The population of wasps and their colonies can therefore exhibit explosive growth within a single summer.

Additionally, with hibernating wasp queens being continually imported into WA from rail or road transport freight there is an ongoing need for this cost effective surveillance program to continue.

Standard use of GPS devices (in Personal Digital Assistants or other hardware) would reduce the time required for data cleaning and manipulation and facilitate faster, more prompt analysis of surveillance data sets.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Darryl Hardie and Fred Ramsden from DAFWA and the staff from the Pest and Disease Information Service (PaDIS).