Climate, bait hope for mice reduction
Authorities hope the combination of a cold winter and strategic paddock baiting will help control mouse numbers across the region.
Agriculture Victoria natural disasters and emergencies manager Banjo Patterson said it was hard to predict when circumstances involving mice would ease but weather would most likely influence conditions.
“We usually find as the weather starts to cool down or conditions get wet that this tends to knock the mouse numbers around a bit – as well as baiting,” he said.
People across the Wimmera, in urban areas such as Horsham as well as farmers in paddocks, have been dealing with a dramatic increase in mouse activity for several weeks.
Mr Patterson confirmed there were areas in the Wimmera where mouse numbers would be of concern.
“Areas around Horsham seem to be among them and our message to farmers is that they need to continually monitor paddocks closely, especially where there is still stubble or where they are sowing,” he said.
“The second point is that if you think you have a mouse problem, you are probably right and what we’re recommending is for farmers to apply bait straight off the back of a seeder or immediately after sowing.
“What we don’t want is mice immediately damaging freshly sown crops.
“And everyone must make sure they continue to monitor post-baiting to ensure there is adequate control and we don’t get a reinfestation.”
Mr Patterson stressed that everyone using commercial bait to control mice, from broadacre circumstances to urban environments on the fringe of agricultural land, needed to follow label instructions.
He said there should be no issue of secondary poisoning, especially with broadacre baits, and people using commercial household baits should be aware of the risks to pets and children in ignoring directions.
Victorian Farmers Federation has advised grain producers they will soon have more resources to battle the spreading mouse problem.
It advised that mouse-bait supplies were set to increase in the next fortnight with the importation into the Australian market of the raw chemical constituent used to mix the bait.
VFF Grains Group president Ross Johns the organisation understood there had been difficulty sourcing and importing the raw chemical into the country.
“Grain Producers Australia has been working for the past couple of months to ensure there’s a sufficient supply of bait,” he said.
“They’ve also been lobbying to ensure sufficient supply of the base chemical for manufacturers to meet increasing demand.
“We now understand that increased supplies of the mixed bait should be available within the next 10 to 14 days to enable mixing.”
VFF expects South Australian agricultural and seeds provider AG Schilling and Co will stock the bait, where it will be mixed and then distributed through an agent in Horsham district.