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Long-nosed Bandicoot and/or Southern Brown Bandicoot | FF0024 |
Ian Temby, Flora and Fauna Branch
September, 2003 |  |
Problem
Digging in lawns. Digging in vegetable patches and gardens.
Background
Three species of bandicoots still occur in Victoria. The threatened Eastern Barred Bandicoot is the subject of a recovery plan, and populations have been re-established at a number of sites in western Victoria, in an attempt to create sustainable populations of this species. The other bandicoots are the Long-nosed Bandicoot, mostly found in wetter forest country, and the Southern Brown Bandicoot, a species found in heathlands.
These seldom-seen marsupials can be regarded as "natural insecticides" and are likely to be eating pest insects, in particular the larvae of cockchafer beetles which destroy grass by eating its roots. Bandicoots are not likely to do long-term harm to the lawn. This problem is usually restricted to late autumn, after periods of rain. Look for signs (droppings, tracks, etc.) to determine whether bandicoots, and not foxes or rabbits, are responsible for the diggings. Bandicoot feeding holes are usually vertical, cone-shaped and four to eight cm deep. The Southern Brown Bandicoot has declined greatly in numbers and range with clearing of habitat, encroaching suburbia and predation by cats in particular. The range of the Long-nosed Bandicoot, by contrast, does not appear to have diminished since European settlement. Any sightings of bandicoots should be reported to DSE staff.
Solution
Be grateful for minor earthworks as evidence of active natural pest control by the bandicoots.
Erect a low, chicken-wire fence around the area to exclude the animals, with lower edge buried to a depth of 100 mm.
Further Information
Triggs, B. 1984. Mammal Tracks and Signs. A field guide for south-eastern Australia. Oxford, Melbourne.
Menkhorst, P.W. (Ed.) 1995. Mammals of Victoria. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.
The advice provided in this publication is intended as a source of information only. Always read the label before using any of the products mentioned. The State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.
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