SYDNEY, March 18 (UPI) -- Billions upon billions of locusts are ravaging a vast part of eastern Australia, at times forcing blinded drivers to stop their cars, The Times of London said.
The locusts began to breed in northeastern Australia in late February and quickly migrated south to feed on newly planted crops of oats and alfalfa.
The infestation has been stoked by the arrival of rains after two years of drought, providing ideal breeding conditions for the insects which gather in great swarms to feed.
Drivers often have to stop to clear their windshields and unblock air vents so their vehicles don't overheat.
Farmer Joe Davis, predicted it wouldn't be long before clouds of insects obscured the sunlight.
"In a few days we will see locusts that will black out the sun," he said. "There won't be a green thing; they'll even eat the clothes off the washing line."
Eastern Australia has had 12 plagues of locusts since 1933, in which insects covered more than 1.2 million acres.
