Cotton bush moves into Dalyellup

The rapid spread of the invasive weed cotton bush on a vacant piece of land near houses in Dalyellup has sparked concerns among residents and the Capel Shire Council.

Usually known for affecting agricultural land, more than 50 plants have invaded property on the corner of Samrose Road and Maidment Parade, less than 200m from houses.

Capel shire chief executive officer Paul Sheedy said he was aware of the plants and he had told the Satterley Property Group, which owned the land, to deal with the problem by removing the plants.

"There are mature plants - and about 50 to 60 of them are at various stages," he said. Mr Sheedy said the council had told the Department of Agriculture and Food about the problem but had been told the department did not have the resources to deal with it.

A Satterley Property Group spokeswoman said the company was made aware of the problem by the Leschenault Biosecurity Group and the council last week.

"From there we requested an immediate inspection and quote for the treatment and removal of the cotton bush from our contractor on the same day," she said.

The spokeswoman said the work had been scheduled to start yesterday.

"We will be implementing a two stage process, the first will require hand pulling and spraying of the cotton bush which will then be transported to landfill," she said.

"The second stage is to do a follow up spray which will take place next month."

Department of Agriculture and Food biosecurity and regulation development officer Andrew Reeves said the responsibility of dealing with cotton bush was on landowners.

"We encourage people concerned with cotton bush to get in touch with their local biosecurity group," he said.

Dalyellup resident Gabrielle Widmer said she had noticed the cotton bush plants last winter and was concerned because the invasive weed was near houses and a tuart forest area.

"I'm worried about it blowing into the bush and spreading - we've spoken to the Leschenault Biosecurity Group about our concerns," she said.

"There might be hundreds of the plants and the big concern is that it could spread into people's gardens and they might not be aware of the plant."

Leschenault Biosecurity Group committee member Peter Robinson said his organisation was aware of the problem .

Editorial, page 12