Farmers in regional Victoria urged to ‘watch and act’ against mice

Farmers in regional Victoria are being urged to “watch and act” as mice devour crops and destroy machinery across the country. But there’s a reason the state might avoid plague numbers.

Mice can become more “visible” during winter, as they move closer to housing to seek out shelter, but the cooler weather helps limit numbers. Picture: iStock

Farmers in regional Victoria are being urged to “watch and act” as mice devour crops and destroy machinery across the country.

But experts say cold weather should keep plague numbers at bay — at least for the moment.

Mice are being spotted across Victoria but the state isn’t experiencing plague proportions and it’s hoped winter will help stop it from happening.

High numbers have been recorded in Mildura and Ballarat in the past 12 months, according to online tracker Mouse Alert.

VFF grains president Ashley Fraser said while farmers were urged to “watch and act”, fears of plagues destroying crops had subsided.

But he said there had been some concerns in Victoria’s north and some parts of the west including near Warracknabeal, Ouyen and Manangatang.

“Where mice numbers have been escalating guys have jumped on the baiting program quickly,” he said.

Mr Fraser said cold weather had also limited their numbers.

But he said mice could become more “visible” during winter as they move to housing for shelter.

An Agriculture Victoria spokesperson said it was monitoring the situation and there was no information to suggest there was a mouse plague in the state.

“We are aware of patches of mice in Victoria, fortunately this isn’t widespread to the extent we are seeing in other states,” the spokesperson said.

“Many farmers across the state successfully baited for mice during sowing the winter crop.”

According to online tracker Mouse Alert, there have been 11 sightings of a “high” number of mice over the past 12 months in Victoria.

A high number is described as “widespread and obvious in paddocks”.

Of the 11 reported, eight were in or around Melbourne, while one instance was reported in each of Mildura, Rutherglen and north of Ballarat at Mount Beckworth.

It pales in comparison to New South Wales, where the red dots signifying a high number litter the map, particularly in that state’s north.

Mouse sightings over the past 12 months. A red dot signifies a "high" number of mice, meaning "widespread or obvious in paddocks". Picture: Mouse Alert

The sightings in Victoria over the past year. There are 11 red dots, representing a sighting of a "high" number of mice. Picture: Mouse Alert

Baiting for mice in paddocks being sown for cropping is common practice, especially this year.

Ongoing monitoring and management by landholders is important to ensure mice numbers remain low and don’t build up and become uncontrollable.

Landholders were advised to continue to monitor their paddocks and if concerned about any local increases in mice numbers, consider using commercially available baits registered for the control of mice.

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