Vertebrate pests – an overview:

Vertebrate pests include birds, mammals, or reptiles that cause damage to agricultural
crops. A number of introduced animals – including rabbits, feral cats, foxes, house mice,
wild dogs, Indian Myna, and pigs – have established large and widespread populations in
Australia and are pests to crops and livestock.

Types and damage caused:

Rodents
Include Indian palm squirrel; long-haired or plague rat; and mice. Significant damage is
caused by mice plagues. They attack all cereal and grain crops, as well as many vegetables
and fruits.

Native and exotic animal pests

Include bats; possums; and ferrets. Commonly damaged vegetable crops include broccoli,
tomatoes, capsicum, celery, lettuce.

Feral cats
These are domestic cats which survive and reproduce without close association to humans.
However, their status is variable and feral cats may live either in close proximity to human
habitation or be completely isolated in the bush.

Foxes
Or the red foxes are pest animals and known to kill livestock, particularly the young, and
also damage vegetable and fruit crops.

Rabbits
Feral or wild populations of rabbits selectively feed on certain species of plants at critical
stages of development such as seeding and seedling establishment. Vegetables often
targeted include beans, peas, beet, broccoli, carrot, lettuce, and herbs like parsley.

Feral pigs
Feral pigs are the descendants of domestic pigs that escaped and have bred in the wild.
They spread widely and rapidly throughout the northern and eastern regions of the country,
creating considerable amounts of damage wherever they became established. They rest
and shelter in crops, eat crops during harvest time, trample pasture, and cause serious soil
disturbance when they uproot large tracts of ground – often new crops – in search of roots
and young plant shoots.

Wild dogs
Wild dogs can be a major pest threatening livestock and production in Australia.

Birds
Include cockatoos; other parrots; and Indian Myna. Pest bird problems are increasing in
Australia, particularly with recent expansions in the grape and wine industry, together with
the olive industry. More than 20 species of birds conflict with primary production by
significantly reducing the profitability of a wide range of crops in horticultural industries.

Pest management:
There are a range of methods available to control feral animals. However, ensure you check
which methods are legal in your state or territory.

 Methods of pest bird control include non-lethal techniques such as scaring devices,
chemical repellents, habitat manipulation, use of decoy food sources, and exclusion
netting.
 Feral cats are widespread throughout Australia, and therefore, no large-scale control
methods can be applied to them. However, traditional control measures such as
shooting and trapping can be used.
 Baiting, trapping, shooting, exclusion fencing, and adoption of good animal
husbandry practices are some of the methods to manage and control wild dogs.
 Fox populations are very resilient to conventional methods of control. Rapid re-
invasion of areas occurs after control measures are applied. A control program must
ensure that all of the species is at risk from the control measures chosen. Effective
control integrates a knockdown effect from large-scale poisoning programs
combined with den fumigation; exclusion fencing; strategic shooting; and appropriate
animal husbandry.
 An integrated rabbit control (IRC) program is the combination of several measures
used to achieve long-term results which is used to minimise the rabbit impact.
Poisoning; removal of above ground surface harbour (fallen timber, log heaps, rocks,
introduced weeds, briars, and discarded building/fencing materials); warren
destruction (rabbits need burrows to breed and survive predators); fumigation; night
shooting; and trapping.
*What is Invertebrates Pest?

Particularly significant are invertebrates as agricultural pests, parasites, or carriers of parasitic

illnesses that affect humans and other vertebrates. Humans consume invertebrates, which also
play crucial roles in plant pollination and are essential components of the food chains that
support many kinds of vertebrate animals and birds. Invertebrates are animals without a
backbone. They include snails, slugs, insects, isopods, scorpions, spiders, and many other land-
and sea-dwelling animals.

Examples

Worms, Snails, Bees, Aphids, flies, etc.

*What do invertebrates eat?

Pest invertebrates devour a wide variety of things, including smaller-sized insects, leaves, fruits,
and occasionally crops.

*Invertebrate’s pest/animals benefits

Beneficial invertebrates that consume agricultural pests or otherwise aid in their control are
known as natural enemies. They may be in the form of insects, arthropods, nematodes, or other
invertebrate species. The enormous variety of invertebrate species provides numerous ecological
means for controlling pests.

*Invertebrate bad effects

Additionally, invertebrate pests injure crops by consuming too many leaves and fruits, spread
bacteria, and affect people's skin, among other negative impacts.

*7 primary groups of invertebrates

Sponges – The most ancient of all animal phylum, sponges tend to live in saltwater but there are
some notable exceptions.
Ctenophora – Ctenophores are very similar to cnidarians; they usually have soft gelatinous
bodies. There are very few Ctenophora, but they include the sea gooseberry, comb jellies and sea
walnuts.

Cnidaria – Cnidaria were grouped with Ctenophora for a long time but were placed in separate
phyla after scientists discovered new differences between the groups. Well-known cnidarians
include jellyfish and corals.

Echinoderms – Echinoderms notably have external skeletons. They include starfish and sea
urchins.

Worms – Worms live in many different environments. They include regular earthworms,
flatworms and roundworms.

Mollusks – Mollusks are soft creatures that usually reside inside a shell. The most common
include mussels, oysters, clams and snails.

Arthropods – Arthropods are easily the largest group of animals on Earth thanks to the inclusion
of insects. They also include arachnids, centipedes and crustaceans.