With the recent flooding rains & bumper crops conditions have been perfect for the common mouse. This has led to numbers reaching plague levels in southern QLD, NSW, western VIC & SA. This is bad news for farmers as mice can do a significant amount of damage to crops. Mouse densities in excess of 3000 mice per hectare have been recorded, this many mice can consume 12kg of crop per hectare every day. This adds up to millions of dollars worth of damage across the industry. There is also the added concern of mice spreading diseases such as leptospirosis.
Farmers are trying to control the mice numbers through the use of rodenticides & even aerial baiting programs. However there is serious concern about control in the future as many rodenticides are being withdrawn from the marketplace due to concerns related to secondary poison risks.
Maybe this video below shows what we are up against!