NSW farmers hope cold weather will slow mouse plague

There are hopes the horrific mouse plague could “crash away” as quickly as it came amid the cold snap and heavy rains.

There are hopes the horrific mouse plague gripping the bush could “crash away” as quickly as it came, with some expecting the savage cold snaps and rain to bring the long-running infestation to a heel.

Farmers have gone from catching thousands of mice in a night to just dozens in the space of a fortnight, after miserable weather including snow lashed the central west.

And the experts have backed the cold weather finally putting a dent in the long-running plague — with Sydney University Professor Peter Banks claiming the change of seasons could result in the massive rodent population collapse as they compete for food.

Dubbo farmer Col Tink said recent frosts and rain had seen mice numbers nosedive on his property. Photo: Saeed Khan/ AFP

Some corners of the bush have already seen sharp relief from the plague, which is estimated to have caused millions in lost and damaged crops across the state.

Dubbo farmer Colin Tink said a trap in his grain shed, which funnelled mice into a large bucket, caught 7500 as recently as a fortnight ago.

But rain and frosts in the last few weeks have resulted in that number plummet to 3000 a night, down to “dozens now”.

“Since the rain and frosts, there’s hardly been a one,” he said.

“You wouldn’t believe how much they’ve disappeared – it’s quicker than they came.”

The long-time farmer said the plague – which struck in January – was the worst he’d ever seen.

“This is twice as bad as anything we’ve ever had,” he said.

Farmer Col Tink’s mouse trap. Photo: Saeed Khan/ AFP.

Professor Banks said the sheer number of rodents tearing through the countryside meant they were vulnerable to population collapse.

“When mouse numbers are really high, they’re stretched for food — so when a cold snap comes through, the energy needs of these mice can’t be met,” he said.

“It can be the case that plagues can disappear overnight.

“The concern is what conditions will be like over spring and whether enough survive the winter to bounce back.”

However one of the nation’s top mouse experts, CSIRO rodent management team leader Peter Brown, warned it was difficult to predict when the decline was going to happen”.

Recent surveying by the CSIRO in Parkes, however, was positive – of 3000 mice captured in recent weeks, just one was pregnant, as breeding slows down ahead of winter.

He said demand for food, the breeding slow down, and the cold weather could combine to tip over mouse numbers.

“Cold weather could be considered one of the pieces of the puzzle, but it’s not the only one,” he said.