When the world was in the clutches of COVID-19, Mouse Plague Australia had a case of double trouble. During mid 2020, parts of Queensland and New South Wales were hit by what can be called a “Mouse Plague”. Record numbers of mice (By definition, around 800 mice per hectare is termed as a “plague”.) were invading homes, and the plague continued till 2021. Mice Plague Australia intruded people’s homes, disrupted farming, destroyed produce and even went to the extent of nicking food from shelves in supermarkets.
The La Nina events continue and an increase in mice plagues are going to be a feature
Mice plague in Australia go back a long time in history. The earliest plagues in Australia can be traced back to the 19th century, and by the 20th century, mouse plagues became a common scenario in Australia which would break out in every 5 to 10 years.
Mice Epidemic Australia Timeline
|
1788 |
Arrival of mice as stowaways with the first fleet of the British colonists. |
|
1871 |
Localised plague around Walgett in New South Wales. |
|
1872 |
Mouse plague near Saddleworth in South Australia. |
|
1880 |
A plague of mice was noted along an area of the Goulburn River. |
|
1890 |
South Australia experienced another plague in the Mid North region in areas around Oladdie, Mundoora and Georgetown. |
|
1904 |
Further plagues occurred in parts of New South Wales including Condobolin and other parts of the Lachlan River and around Moree, New South Wales extending all the way to coastal areas. |
|
1917 |
The plague of 1917 was one of the largest mouse plagues in Australia that occurred on and around the Darling Downs area of Queensland, areas around Beulah, Campbells Creek and Willenabrina in Victoria and parts of South Australia including Balaklava. Eventually mice reached the Goldfields-Esperance and Wheatbelt regions of Western Australia. |
|
1918 |
More incidences of plagues occurred in 1918 in parts of Victoria and New South Wales. |
|
1922 |
Areas around Dubbo, New South Wales and Tamworth in New South Wales were hit again. |
|
1925 |
Another plague followed through the Riverina. |
|
1928 |
Mice struck again in parts of Queensland around Warwick. |
|
1932 |
Further plagues occurred around Wimmera in Victoria, Loxton in South Australia and Winton in Queensland. More were recorded in parts of New South Wales in 1932 including Culgoa and Parkes. |
|
1952 |
Parts of Victoria and South Australia were struck by mouse plagues. |
|
1955 |
Areas in New South Wales and Queensland were hit by mouse plagues. |
|
1956 |
Parts of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia experienced the worst mouse plague the area had known. |
|
1967 |
Parts of outback New South Wales around Bourke were hit by plagues of mice. |
|
1972 |
Parts of Queensland were hit by mouse plagues. |
|
1975 |
Parts of Victoria and New South Wales were hit by mouse plagues. |
|
1979 - 1980 |
A plague in Victoria cost farmers A$15 million in lost crops and damaged machinery. |
|
1993 |
Australia's worst ever mouse plague occurred and caused an estimated A$96 million worth of damage to crops and attacked livestock in piggeries and poultry farms. They also destroyed rubber and electrical insulation, damaged farm vehicles, and ruined cars and buildings. |
|
1994 |
A mouse plague affected parts of New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and northern Victoria. |
|
2011 |
Mouse numbers built to plague numbers in early 2011 in southern Queensland, through New South Wales, western Victoria and South Australia spreading to the Nullarbor Plain region of Western Australia in late 2011. |
|
Mid 2020 - 2021 |
A mouse plague affecting parts of Queensland and New South Wales began in mid-2020 and continued into 2021. |
What Caused the Mouse Plague in Australia
The odds were in favour of mice when Australia saw heavy rainfall after a prolonged period of drought and wildfire. The rain brought good tidings, enhanced the growth of natural life and agricultural produce subsequently. However, these conditions were not only favorable to humans, but also to mice.
Swarms of mice migrated to areas with more than enough food to go around, providing optimal conditions for them to reproduce exponentially. The numbers grew, and the threshold reached plague numbers.
Effects of the Mouse Plague
Mice are pests and with pests come peril. A general mind map of the mouse plague would represent destruction of crops, machinery, farmlands and so on.
Often, the degree of infestation worsens, and mice will start ravaging homes too. During the plague that began in mid 2020, reports were made of mice biting people in their beds in hospitals, destroying wires and other home equipment and even leaving a mess of their faeces and urine in empty homes. Wellington Correctional Centre had to evacuate all inmates and staff because of health concerns and safety, as mice invaded the centre.
A supermarket in Gulargambone (382 km north west of Sydney) reported that mice were stripping food off the supermarket’s shelves. The estimated loss was $100 million worth of crops, and other damages.
Mice are known to carry and spread more or less 60 kinds of severe diseases. Thus, a mouse plague comes with medical burden.
Moreover, as the mice scurried around people’s properties, people started applying any mouse repellent they could get their hands on. These would include poisons, baits and industrial chemical repellents. Supermarkets were running short of baits, people were improvising and coming up with home solutions. At one point, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority declined permits for a mouse killing chemical called bromadiolone. This was inevitable, because although bromadiolone was getting rid of mice, it was getting into the food chain through hunters that prey on dead mice, leading to collateral damages to the environment.
Mouse Plague Preparedness: What Can You Do?
Preparedness against mouse plagues is mostly about early prevention steps. Plagues take us by surprise, and are often driven by unpredictable weather and climate conditions. But, if we take some precautionary measures, we may be able to minimise the loss if not completely mitigate it.
Using chemicals and poisons to kill and bait mice is not a safe way to eliminate them.
To begin with, handling hazardous chemicals requires expertise. Secondly, this process of getting rid of mice is rather inhumane and thirdly, getting rid of the mess that you are left with when the mice die all around your property is troublesome and takes a toll.
To add to that, although the poisons are intended for mice, they are not specifically designed to kill just mice. During the 2021 mouse plague, health concerns for people were raised when mice killed by baits were found in drinking water tanks. These chemicals may remain active for months, be consumed by other animals (including your pets) and go on to kill them. In this case, to prevent mice from coming inside your property, you can use Ultrasonic Mice Repellents that keep mice away entirely from coming near your home by emitting ultrasonic waves that irritate mice and other pests alike. Ultrasonic Mice Repellents are in fact, eco-friendly and pet friendly, and because they don’t use any harmful chemicals, they are perfectly safe.
The next mouse plague could break out any moment, especially with the recurrent flooding we are having, and take you by surprise. In this regard, taking some early prevention steps may give you an edge over intruding mice.
