Imagine struggling to get your car out of the garage because weeds are covering your home. That’s what residents of Wangaratta, Australia are dealing with as they cope with an invasion of hairy panic.
The tumbleweed is reaching heights of two metres and making it difficult for people to carry out normal tasks.
“Walked out the front door this morning to find a good six-metre spread of tumbleweed across the front of the house — again,” local Jason Perna told ABC Goulburn Murray.
“Two metres high by three metres in diameter that spreads right across the front of the house.”
“It makes it difficult to get the car out in the morning — if you can find it.”
Matt Thewlis posted photos on Facebook of the tumbleweed around his house.
“This is a daily issue we have down here and a massive fire hazard,” he posted to the town’s Facebook page.
According to ABC News, the town held an emergency town council meeting Friday morning and is considering sending out street sweepers to help deal with the invasion.
The weed, with the scientific name panicum effusum, is found during the country’s warm season in dry areas. Though people in Wangaratta are familiar with hairy panic, this season has seen much more of it, likely caused by dry conditions.
If livestock consume the weed in large quantities, it can cause photosensitisation, where hairless or light-coloured areas blister.