Huge swarms of locusts continue to inconvenience residents and feast on vegetation in Princes Town and environs.
With the bugs flying everywhere up to yesterday, residents were only venturing out of their homes when necessary and were forced to keep their doors and windows closed.
The locusts were seen on buildings, trees, plants, people’s clothing, windscreens, cars and buildings from New Grant to Princes Town when Guardian media visited the communities yesterday.
New Grant resident Jack Bhagwandeen was surrounded by thousands of insects, many of which landed on his clothes and face, as he sprayed his garden along the Naparima Mayaro Road. He said the locusts invaded their community about two days ago, but noted they are also in several communities within a file mile radius.
“They just circling and feeding, circling and feeding,” he said.
Bhagwandeen, who grows a variety of crops in his garden, said even his marijuana tree was devoured.
“Well, I have spinach, hot peppers, sweet peppers, pimento peppers, ah have a marijuana tree they eat it out clean...You see that big mango tree you seeing there, if you focus on it, all that is locust on the leaf, what looking like brown spots, is locusts.”
While they are eating his crops, Bhagwandeen said there is nothing much they could do about them.
“Locusts have to pass, is a sign of the times, the Bible say that,” he added.
Bhagwandeen said residents have to keep their homes locked as a result of the infestation.
“You just have to keep your doors closed, ladies staying inside because once one touch them, they bawling.”
However, Bhagwandeen said every year for the past five years, the unwanted flying bugs have been invading their community.
“What the Ministry of Agriculture will do, since Caroni close down and they stop spraying the area? Remember, all this is cane area, when they used to spray this area we never used to get this kind of thing.”
He suggested that the ministry do aerial spraying during the night.
