Engaging the Community to Defeat Biting Midge

Fanning ID¹*

1. Hervey Bay City Council, Urangan, Queensland, Australia

Hervey Bay is a coastal city of 47,000 people 3.5hours drive north from Brisbane near heritage listed Fraser Island. As people shift to live nearer the ocean, area’s close to mangrove habitat within the city boundaries have come under pressure to be developed for housing. Areas recently developed are affected by biting midge.

There has been no treatment against the effects of biting midge for people moving into the local community. The midge species Culicoides ornatus occurs along coastal Australia from Darwin to Tin Can Bay, and recently Brisbane. It is a painful biter and has been shown to cause health effects to humans. This includes painful blisters which become infected when scratched and often leads to scarring.

Public demand to find a solution to the problem forced the local council to investigate methods of control that were safe, sustainable and acceptable to government agencies such as Queensland Fisheries and the EPA. Through a biting midge committee with scientific, community and elected representation a product, later registered as Bistar, was identified and tested giving 90% control against biting midge (and mosquitoes) for a period up to 3 months. This paper is a case study of the process which has resulted in Un-Habitat recognition of the process as good practice in improving the living environment.

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