NSW mice plague: bait, traps sales up 10,000 per cent
As communities across the state try and stop the rodents, sales of bait and traps have soared.
NSW
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A Sydney-based pest shop has had a 10,000 per cent increase in mouse bait and traps sales as communities in NSW try to stop the plague.
There is an estimated one billion mice scouring the state destroying millions of dollars worth of crops, homes and infrastructure.
The increase has left traditional, regional, agriculture shops with their shelves bare.
Easy Pest Supplies director Chris Voyce said traps and bait are being sold before they are even delivered to his Caringbah warehouse.
“It has been difficult to secure stock, the demand is well and truly exceeding the supply. Most of the bait or traps are imported from overseas and there is a growing supply chain issue,” he said.
“For nearly 12 weeks we have been scrambling for stock. Whenever we get stock it sells out in a day or two. We had hundreds of traps sell out in one morning a few weeks ago.”
His sales figures have boomed, comparing February 1 to May 25 2020 with the same time this year, there has been a 9,680 per cent increase in the Multi Catch Mouse Trap product and a 1,142 per cent increase in Contract Soft Bait.
In the same period the sales of a Mouse Snap Trap increased 3,079 per cent and Muskill Rodent Bait increased by 2,594 per cent.
Major retailer Bunnings has also seen a snap increase in mouse trap sales, with the hardware giant struggling to keep up with customer demand for pest control amid the NSW plague.
Bunnings Garden Category Manager Belinda Raker said the DIY giant was doing everything it could to replenish low stock and help NSW fight off the wave of rodents.
“We have experienced an increase in customer demand for mice control products across NSW,” Ms Raker said.
“Due to demand, stock is currently low however we are continuing to work closely with our suppliers to get more stock into stores as soon as possible.”
The enormous increase has meant the company is supplying tonnes of bait and traps to communities across NSW on a weekly basis.
Cowra farmer Chris Groves said his local shop has been out of bait since February.
“I was coming back from a holiday with my wife in Narooma and we stopped in at Bunnings at Batemans Bay and bought all the bait they had. Supply has been an issue since then,” he said.
“There’s a waitlist at my local shop and the current wait time is about two to three weeks.”
Part owner of B & W Rural, a regional agriculture shop with stores across the state, Peter Birch said this is the busiest period he has seen in his 30-years at the company.
“We are selling about 90 per cent of the bait we have to areas down south (Dubbo, Forbes, Parkes). That is about 90 tonnes of the stuff,” he said.
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