A series of alarming viral videos from travellers and locals in Western Australia have sounded an alarm about a fly infestation that’s taken the region by storm.
But one leading fly expert argues scenes don’t veer far from the usual for WA, and, in recent history, the state has seen far worse.
TikTok video by Chloe Peters and Harrison Davis shows them swarmed by flies at Coral Bay, garnering 2.5 million views. Picture: TikTok/ our_aussielap Viral videos from Western Australia highlight a concerning fly infestation Picture: TikTok/ bykids.store Among these, the Australian bushfly, suspected to be responsible for causing the viral chaos, is perhaps the most infamous, especially among urban residents.A Canadian expat living in Western Australia shared an expletive-laden video with over 100,000 views, expressing frustration at the relentless flies. Picture: TikTok/ @thanksforcreeping“So they die off in the colder, southern regions of the country during winter.
To tackle this issue, CSIRO introduced dung beetles into Australia. The insects not only eat dung but also bury it, preventing the bushflies from reproducing.“We don’t have spring active species. So the dung accumulates in spring when bushflies arrive from the north, so they can breed, and there are big populations of bushflies.”
“In WA, this is driven by easterly winds, which blow the bushflies to the coast – similar pattern in the eastern states, but westerly winds.“And there is little freshwater, so they target humans – eyes, noses and mouths, for the moisture in tears, mucus and saliva.”
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