Residents have been warned Christmas could be “cancelled” amid the Sydney mosquito crisis, as bug spray is cleared out of supermarkets to combat “swarms” of the notorious pest.
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.
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.
However, southwestern Sydney MP Tina Ayyad has warned that 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,” said Ms Ayyad, the state member for Holsworthy.
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