The Mouse Trap - Volume 42
Table 1. Update by RLPB Staff regarding mouse activity - 28 July 2008
|
RLPB |
Comments |
|---|---|
| Armidale | No mouse activity to report. |
| Balranald | No mouse activity to report. |
| Brewarrina | No report submitted. |
| Central Tablelands | No report submitted. |
| Cobar | No report submitted. |
| Condobolin | Not a great deal of mouse activity in paddocks to date. Ranger has spoken to quite a few landholders; most have been night sowing, and said mouse activity in paddocks is no more than usual. Just a few around sheds and silos and the odd one in the house. |
| Coonabarabran | In the past 5 weeks the Board has issued approx 700 kg Racumin bait with another 200 kg to be treated today. Reports of mice around houses and sheds across the Board area continue in steady numbers. Mouse holes in crops and pastures are evident across the board, particularly along fence lines and under fallen timber. However, mice are also present in open grasslands. Some areas in the eastern portion of the board have 8-10 mouse holes per metre2, and other areas with no or a minimal numbers of holes. The feed source in the pasture country is plentiful due to the good seasonal conditionals over summer. When driving of a night mice in low numbers are seen on roads. |
| Coonamble | Not much mouse activity around the district except in a few isolated pockets. Numbers around sheds and in town is no greater than usual for this time of the year. Some perimeter bait issued. |
| Dubbo | Mouse numbers and potential in the Board are high given the conditions persisting. There has been around 50 ha of damage to newly emerging canola crops with one farmer suffering 20 ha of high damage. Reports of damage have come from Warren, Narromine areas mostly. |
| Forbes | Not much mouse activity reported from around the district at this stage. Numbers around sheds and buildings is no greater than usual for this time of the year. Some shed bait has been issued. |
| Hay | Things are quiet to date - no reports of increased activity or any other mouse problems and the Board don’t expect any prior to Spring/Summer when there could be issues if dry area cereal growers actually get a crop this year. No significant irrigation cropping again this year due to lack of water. Although there has been little rain lately, most of the south and western /Hay Board district is still very droughty! |
| Hillston | At this stage it seems there is not much of a problem. Most people say there is an odd mouse about, but they are not too concerned at this stage. To date the Board has only sold one container of mouse bait for shed use, so that is fair indication of the low presence of mice. |
| Hume | Have been selling a bit of Racumin but as yet have not had any reports of numbers in crops. Would still be a bit early down here. Mouse numbers in the Board are considered low at the moment, very little bait being sold at this time and no inquiries about mice over the past few months. |
| Hunter | Few mice mainly in out buildings; plenty of Racumin going out. Only one report of damage to a crop which was four corn plants in a ladies back yard. Other then that the cold may well put a stop on them or at least slow them down. |
| Gundagai | No mouse activity reported to the Board at this stage. |
| Molong | Mostly quiet with a little bit of bait for sheds. Once the cooler weather lifts there maybe an increase in mice numbers in maturing crops. |
| Moree | There have not been any significant reports of mice activity in the Moree Board. The Board has treated some grain, but mainly for guys who normally do preventative control. People are saying that they are seeing mice but very few due to the amount of feed and ground cover. Everyone the staff speak to are being asked to be diligent and to contact the Board with any information. |
| Moss Vale | No report submitted. |
| Mudgee/Merriwa | There seems to be an increase in mouse activity generally in this area. Both the Merriwa and Mudgee office’s are preparing around 50-100 kg of Racumin bait per week for use around buildings. Board has not received any reports or complaints of mice in stubble rotations or pasture but the Ranger observed mice on the road of a night in the Cassilis area. Not huge amounts, maybe 3-5 per km. |
| Murray | No report submitted. |
| Narrabri | About 4 reports around sheds in the last two months and one report of holes in and around a crop this month, other than that quiet but it is suspected there is a lot more action around crops than what is being heard. |
| Narrandera | No mouse activity reported on a broadacre scale, nil crop damage reports either. Have issued 60 kg Racumin 8 within the last 3 months so only minimum activity around sheds etc. |
| Northern Slopes (Warialda) | Very quiet in north of Board. Very Dry cool to cold conditions, not even any reports of mice around sheds. Crops only just out of the ground and looking for drink. In the southern end of the Board, the numbers of mice in and around sheds are higher than normal. There has been a sprinkling of reports of higher than normal mice in the paddocks. |
| Nyngan | No sign or reports of any mice in paddocks just a small number around houses and sheds. There have been a few mice seen crossing the roads at night in the Tottenham area. |
| Riverina | At this stage it seems there is not much of a problem. Most people say there is an odd mouse about but they are not too concerned at this stage. Moulamein district - no reports of in crop activity, and none detected with monitoring in previously affected areas. Bait supplied for mice in buildings, sheds and fodder storage. No irrigation to speak of in the district, crop that was sown is mainly on the softer country. |
| Tamworth | There has been plenty of mouse activity around sheds plus there has been some perimeter baiting carried out. In the farming country around Quirindi it has been cold and wet which may help the cause. |
| Walgett | No reports to the Board so far. No-one has reported any sightings in the field but there could be a few around sheds. |
| Yass | No reports of mice in the Board to date. |
| Young | No mouse activity reported in crop but there is some activity and poisoning around sheds and buildings. |
| Wagga Wagga | No recent mouse activity reported to the Board. No bait issued. |
District agronomists' reports
|
District |
|
|---|---|
| Armidale | Mice at Armidale will struggle to survive with the cold weather – due to frosts and recent snow. With the wind chill it has been as low as -6°C. |
| Barham | In the Bahram district mouse activity is restricted to around farm buildings. Crops inspections over the last couple of weeks have not revealed any evidence of activity in the paddocks. Growers have also noted lack of hawk activity at sowing 6-8 weeks ago, which they have presumed to be partly related to the lack of mice disturbance when sowing. |
| Deniliquin | As for the Riverina RLPB. |
| Lockhart | Unaware of any mouse activity and haven't seen any activity while doing night-time driving. Will continue to seek information. |
| Wellington | There is more mouse activity than normal around after the good summer. Mice are looking for shelter under grass tussocks and invading buildings etc. They are not in large numbers yet but there is potential for a small outbreak in the spring. Landholders should start controlling mice around buildings etc now whilst numbers are low, they are looking for food and numbers are concentrated. |
| Warren | No reports of any concern from growers in this district. Have seen frequent mice at night on the roads when driving (mostly Dubbo area). |
| Finley | Inspected an early grazing trial at Blighty today to find lots of mouse damage to the early sown barley. Have not heard of any mouse damage to commercial crops yet but will ask growers to look out for mice as they may be a problem in the area. |
| Mudgee/Merriwa/Upper Hunter | A property between Merriwa and Cassilis had significant mouse numbers in pasture paddocks which would have produced at least 10 t/ha of dry matter over the summer. After the paddock was grazed there appeared to be at least one or more mouse holes under every butt of grass (plains grass country) and many worn tracks between them. The owner said that mice had been a problem around sheds and silos but hadn't noticed large numbers in cropping paddocks. The cropping paddocks had only recently been sown. At an NRAC meeting held at the fire shed at Merotherie (between Cassilis and Dunedoo), many people with country along the Talbragar reported higher than usual mouse numbers. One person heard there was high activity in the Muswellbrook area. People around Gulgong and Mudgee say that there are more mice than there are usually appear to be but they don't appear to be as concerned about them as those people on heavier soil types along the Talbragar. |
| Tamworth | Initial indications are that mouse problems are isolated hotspots at the moment, particularly after the cold snap. |
| Richmond | There are no mice plagues around Sydney - but there are reports of more mice than normal. |
| Wagga Wagga | No mouse activity reported so far, apart from a few around buildings. |
General discussion
Current situation in NSW
During the past three months, very little mouse activity has been reported except for normal winter activity around sheds and farm buildings. A few reports from residential areas of mouse activity but generally most enquiries were about baits and trapping.
There have been very few requests for baits for around farm buildings and grain storages. There is still sufficient bait in the Board system and if given adequate warning, Animal Control Technologies should be able to supply sufficient to deal with minor increases in mouse numbers.
As stated before, there are always some mice present in cropping systems and other environments in NSW. Mouse populations are highly dynamic and fluctuate according to climatic factors, availability of food and shelter, predation and disease.
Central and southern NSW non-irrigated cropping areas are still on the back of low mouse activity through summer meaning that it is important to monitor mouse activity well into winter. Remember, mouse populations coming into spring can increase rapidly and in localised situations under ideal conditions, especially in irrigation.
Any increase in mouse numbers or indications of any damage should be reported immediately to the local Rural Lands Protection Board (RLPB).
A note to all growers
It is essential that all growers remain vigilant and maintain a greater level of monitoring for mice in the following months. Research tends to indicate that mouse numbers will erupt to plague proportions after a major drought following on from good soaking rains. These rains have occurred over much of NSW in the late June-July period.
In many areas where mice are likely to increase, there has been a high acceptance of conservation farming practices; particularly direct drilling and minimum tillage strategies. With the lack of habitat destruction, growers should be aware of the potential for greater mouse activity than normal, particularly those who are planting canola, lupins and cereals in 2008. Once rain has fallen then there is a high probability that mouse numbers may increase to damaging levels.
Monitoring
Monitoring and observation can provide sufficient warning for potential problems through this winter and into spring. Much mouse damage can be prevented if farmers monitor their mouse activity and act early. Unfortunately, many farmers do not include mouse monitoring in their routine farm management. The simple act of detecting mouse activity through a paddock walk in either grassy verges to crops, check-banks in irrigation or a paddock about to be sown allows farmers to get early advice from their local RLPB Ranger or NSW DPI District Agronomist.
Note: Simple monitoring techniques which are relatively quick and easy to use, are available on the NSW DPI web site or from your local RLPB Ranger. For example, paper census cards (soaked in canola oil) can indicate activity, but their results should be viewed with caution as mice might not always chew cards if there is alternative food available. Your local RLPB can provide advice and census cards.
Use of strychnine
It was recently questioned why strychnine is no longer available for mouse control in cereal crops. This is because there is no Mean Residue Level for strychnine in grain crops, and overseas markets demand zero MRL. If used, a 100% guarantee cannot be given that there is no residue, though it is more to do with economics than human safety. It almost cost the industry the northern harvest last time it was used (1994). Overseas markets dare not concerned about the intricacies of our agricultural systems. Fortunately, zinc phosphide is more effective and does not have any residual - animals die from phosphine poisoning and the remaining gas is dispersed into the atmosphere very quickly.
Plague locusts
Land managers need to also keep an eye out for hatching locusts in the next few months and report any known egg beds and nymphal activity to their local RLPB.
The next Mouse Trap will be issued when changes in activity are experienced.