Locust swarms driving sales of bug screens

Australia’s Victoria Province anticipates a rough year in 2011, after receiving six inches of rain in 24 hours, experiencing record-breaking floods and facing predicted plagues of locusts. Torrents of vehicle owners are flooding auto parts businesses in the city of Ballarat in Victoria, buying car bug protection screens to prevent locusts from blocking up radiators and air conditioners. The screens, made of double-looped shade cloth, trap the bugs in mesh. They can be hosed down to clean off insect debris, then reattached with cable ties. “We ordered 60 of them last week and they’re gone,” says Emma Palonek, manager of the Autobarn Ballarat. Driving in a bug storm also reduces visibility. A Victoria road official advises: “Slow down gradually, turn your headlights on and leave a larger gap between you and any vehicle in front of you.”