Picture highlights major summer fear

Residents have been warned Christmas could be “cancelled” as the Sydney mosquito crisis deepens. Picture: Nine News
Residents have been warned Christmas could be “cancelled” as the Sydney mosquito crisis deepens. Picture: Nine News

Supermarket shelves have been left bare as residents flock to purchase bug spray to combat the “swarms” of mosquitoes plaguing Sydney.

Southwest Sydney has been taken over by “swarms” of mosquitoes, with the crisis stemming from an outbreak of the weed frogbit at the Sydney Water Water Recycling Plant (WRP) at Warwick Farm.

The aggressive weed – considered the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes – was first spotted by Sydney Water in March when it presented as a small outbreak but has since blown out.

Residents have been warned Christmas could be “cancelled” as the Sydney mosquito crisis deepens. Picture: Nine News
Ponds at the Sydney Water recycling plant in Warwick Farm have been covered in the weed frogbit. Picture: Nine News
Frogbit is the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. Picture: Supplied
Frogbit is the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. Picture: Supplied

Crews have been working to spray and remove the Frogbit, with excavators brought in over the weekend to tackle the weed.

A helicopter is also set to spray larvicide into the ponds from this week, with boats already deployed to spray the weed with herbicide.

Supermarket shelves have been cleared out of bug spray as residents scramble to take control of the crisis; however, Liverpool City Council Mayor Ned Mannoun said the products posed their own issue.

“There’s no more bug spray … and people are worried about breathing that stuff in all the time,” Mr Mannoun said.

“It’s OK when you use a little bit of it, but when you’re breathing it in all the time …”

Mr Mannoun said people were “frustrated” and unable to go outside in fear of being bitten.

“I feel for them and what’s happening — on one hand you have parents who can’t let their kids go outside, coming back from school and they’re covered in mosquito bites,” he said.

Member for Holsworthy Tina Ayyad, who is married to Mr Mannoun, questioned why the Frogbit found in March had only got worse since it was first identified, saying it’s “just not fair”.

“Our state is going through a cost-of-living crisis,” Ms Ayyad said.

“I’ve got families who have forked out hundreds of dollars who are in need of mosquito magnets, spray, creams … It’s really not fair on the people.”

Residents have been warned Christmas could be “cancelled” as the Sydney mosquito crisis deepens. Picture: Nine News
Supermarket shelves have been left bare as residents scramble to purchase bug spray to tackle the mosquitoes. Picture: Nine News

“CHRISTMAS COULD BE CANCELLED” AMID CRISIS

Ms Ayyad has warned Christmas could be axed for many families if conditions didn’t improve quickly.

“Even if you walk around the local shops you see little kids with welts … (I saw) one little girl with welts on her eyes,” Ms Ayyad said.

“When I was out door knocking in Chipping Norton and there are quite a few residents that actually said they were planning on hosting Christmas with their family and friends in their yards … they can’t even have their grandkids over.

“People work hard all year and come Christmas we just want to spend quality time with our families … it feels like people are being deprived of this.

“People are currently being deprived of their own backyards.”

Mr Mannoun also expressed concern the holiday could be “cancelled”.

“Chris Minns’ response was Sydney Water and they’re the ones who let this happen,” Mr Mannoun said.

“They need to fix it and fix it urgently – if they don’t Christmas could be cancelled here.

“The Christmas barbecue could be cancelled. We might have time to save it hopefully.”

NSW Minister for Water Rose Jackson assured the community that “we’re going to be able to save Christmas” while speaking on 2GB on Monday.

“It is true that our efforts to fight the mosquitoes by land, sea and now air — we’re bringing in the helicopter today — are going to take a week or two to clear, but I’m really confident we’re going to have this done in the next few weeks and Christmas is going to be OK,” Ms Jackson said.

The frogbit was first detected in March but has since blown out. Picture: Facebook.
The frogbit was first detected in March but has since blown out. Picture: Facebook.

“I think that’s important because I do take this really seriously.

“I know Aussies love to get out in their backyards for Christmas, go to parks, go to each other’s places, and we really do take this pretty seriously, so we’re getting on it right now.”

Ms Jackson said there were 10 trucks, two boats and a helicopter deployed to tackle the mosquitoes, with about 50 per cent of the larvicide destruction completed, while the mosquitoes would probably take a week or two to clear out given their lifespan.

“The experts are telling me in about two weeks they think we should have this cleared,” Ms Jackson said.

A NSW Department of Education spokesperson said it had “responded to all schools that have raised concerns about mosquito infestation”.

“All schools are being monitored for mosquitoes and repeat fumigation is arranged as required,” the spokesperson said.

Internal and external spraying and cleaning took place at all schools in Liverpool on November 2 and 3, with spraying and cleaning continuing.

Window and door fly screens will also be rolled out across several schools.

In a statement, Sydney Water said a dedicated team was working to address the mosquito issue through the use of herbicide spraying, larvicide deployment, helicopter spraying, and aquatic vegetation removal.

The impact of mosquitoes is expected to improve over the next two weeks.

“Operational staff and licenced contractors have deployed boats, helicopters, excavators, and other specialised machinery to clear around half of the aquatic material contributing to mosquito breeding,” a spokeswoman said.

“These measures are starting to reduce mosquito populations around the Liverpool Water Resource Recovery Facility.

“Sydney Water staff are on the ground talking directly with customers in the impacted areas.”

NewsWire has contacted Mr Minns for comment.