Author: Scott Lawton – pestx.com.au
Here’s what to know and what to do about it.
If you live in Qld or NSW chances are you already know there is a mouse and rat plague. Unseasonably high rodent numbers started appearing around October 2020 and up until the time of writing in March 2021 that had turned in to plague proportions.
Relief Coming?
Maybe…probably… Heavy rain in NSW in March 2021 is likely to help. Heavy rain will drown many rodents and those that don’t drown are going to be cold and wet and many of them will succumb to the elements. It may be short-lived though? Let’s say the population gets a smack down the issue will be that crops and wild plants will flourish bear seeds and fruit and provide an explosion of food sources that may allow the population to bounce back in Spring. Winter will traditionally see mouse numbers drop though. So let’s hope with the rain and cooler months combined there is some relief coming.
Why are rodents a Problem
Mice can begin breeding within 6 weeks of birth and can have up between 5 and 10 litters per year and 3 to 14 babies per litter. If you do the maths that one mouse could theoretically spawn 60 breeding mice in 3 months. During winter rodents will put even more on your buildings because they will be looking for warm places to live during the cooler months. While the rodent numbers tend to drop or hold during cold months they will breed all year round as they don’t have a scheduled breeding season as such.
What to do about the mice!
Mouse numbers decline through winter, but can still cause economic damage if numbers are high. Crops will recover from minor damage but likely won’t from major damage.
- Control weeds and grasses along fence lines around buildings, remove unnecessary machinery or items from yards. If you’ve got stuff to take to the dump, now is the time before it becomes a mouse nursery over winter.
- Mouse-proof houses and grain and stock feed storages.
- Apply bait around buildings if necessary.
- Monitor for signs of mouse activity.
Bait and/or snap traps are the best ways to control numbers. Right now Dubbo residents report they are catching up to 500 mice per night. Residents in rural fringe areas around Rockhampton, Duaringa, Gladstone report 30 or mice mice per night in some cases.
We would recommend maintaining the (treatment) rage at least until the end of Spring. We would also recommend you always a maintenance program in place.
You can get hold of professional treatments that actually work from our web shop here https://pestx.com.au/product-category/rodents/
Don’t waste your money on hardware or grocery store treatments that don’t really get the result you wanted – instead buy what we use and get the job done first time.
