What do conclusions from this research imply for measures being taken for prevention/management of locust outbreaks at the ground-level?
Local-level measures
The findings provide credence to some local-level measures taken to disrupt invading swarms; such as burning tyres and catching them in nets. Additionally, they point to some less common measures such as deploying low-flying planes and drones to create noise/wind disturbance. Disrupting swarms disorients individual locusts; which may help divert swarms, break them up into smaller swarms, or obstruct their movement buying some time for communities further down their flightpath.
In the big picture, these measures merely redirect swarms elsewhere, making it someone else’s problem. However, in the face of an impending invasion, this may be a viable measure from the point of view of local (village/district-level) authorities.
Catch them young
As locusts increase in numbers, they become more and more coordinated, and thus more and more difficult to control. It is best to exterminate them when they are still hoppers (usually done using pesticide), before they develop wings and can take flight.
It is very important to also target smaller swarms for extermination, and not wait until they become large. Larger swarms are more difficult to cover, and need more pesticide which results a higher pesticide residue in the environment.
Based on presentation by Christian Yates, University of Bath, at the 1st Virtual Practitioners Conference on Desert Locust Management 2020