In a desperate attempt to get rid of locusts, farmers in India appear to be getting creative, devising a two-pronged method involving a drum beat to possibly scare them off and a small fan to repel them with wind.
Rahul Shrivastav, an Indian police official, has shared a video of the innovative hack on Twitter. The 15-second viral video clip showed a plastic bottle erected on a pole, which had a fan on one end and a drum on the other. The instrument works on its own thanks to the wind.
टिड्डी अविष्कार की जननी है !#Locust is the mother of inventions !#Jugad #Jugadrocks #TiddiAttack #Tiddi #LocustAttack #LocustSwarms #LocustInvasion #locustattacks #locusts pic.twitter.com/R3yuBEEUYm
— RAHUL SRIVASTAV (@upcoprahul) June 2, 2020
While the effectiveness of the innovative equipment in warding off the “evil attackers” is still to be gauged, the farmers' creativity is tickling the funny bones of social media users.
They will start dancing for this music 😁
— 8689066y (@8900001a) June 2, 2020
Yes.they start dancing for this and will get distracted for the very purpose they came in for: Eating everything that is green
— i_balaji (@ibalaji5) June 2, 2020
😂😂
Dugdugi bajaao, Tiddi bhagaao !
— Dev Ashish (@Capt_Devashish) June 2, 2020
Several such videos have emerged on social media depicting farmers attempting to scare off the insects by using musical instruments, sirens, and even smoke since the insect is believed to be afraid of noise.
डीजे सिर्फ़ नाच गाने के लिये ही नहीं बल्कि टिड्डी दल भगाने में भी कारगर होता है ।
— RAHUL SRIVASTAV (@upcoprahul) May 27, 2020
दिन सबके बदलते हैं !
आप मुँह से आवाज़ निकाल सकते हैं या थाली भी पीट सकते हैं ।#DiscJockey #Locustswarm #locustswarms #Locusts #Locustsattack #LocustInvasion #LocustSwarmsAttack pic.twitter.com/zUcpYiJTGb
More updates on people trying get rid of the locust menace at their end...@ParveenKaswan pic.twitter.com/lfZHDr22rg
— Kamal Parashar (@kamal_parashar) May 28, 2020
The locusts entered India from Pakistan, first ravaging fields in Rajasthan and thereby proceeding to Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. The locust invasion also reached southern India on Thursday, entering Andhra Pradesh. In Tamil Nadu, the crop-eaters munched on bananas, rubber, and other crops in some districts. The country is using drones to spray pesticides while taking other preventive measures.