Summer rain – high time for hygiene

As we’re welcoming summer rainfall into our gardens and native bushland, Phytophthoras are taking advantage of the wet, warm soil conditions created to get active, producing spores and infecting new hosts. This wet soil is also much stickier and more easily caught in the grooves of your shoes and tyres and the underside of your vehicle.

 With more active Phytophthora in the soil and the higher risk of spead, these are crucial times for Phytophthora Dieback hygiene. Here’s what you can do:

• Avoid/ put off any activities that involve soil movement for drier soil conditions.
• Reduce the number of vehicles, machinery and equipment you are using on your infested sites.
• Clean down your boots, vehicle, machinery and equipment between sites/ reserves
• Use a sanitising agent such as 5% bleach, 70% Methylated Spirits or Phytoclean to finish your clean
• Use a checklist to inspect for soil, plant and animal material before entering a site/ reserve.

You can use the DWG Green Card Vehicle and Machinery Checklist to develop your own version adapted for the types of vehicles or machinery you are inspecting. Download a copy here

Vehicle and Machinery Inspection Washdown Checklist DWG 2015