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Mouse plague deals fresh blow to Australian farmers

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NiHaoMike:
Might it work to use scanning high power lasers (relatively cheap nowadays) to blind the mice so they'll have a harder time escaping from predators? I suppose the biggest problem with that idea is making sure the lasers don't blind anything other than the target mice.

Or maybe just stick to the high voltage electrodes with a bit of peanut butter smeared on them.

beanflying:
The correct time to look at this was Spring last year as the weather started to warm and the long dry spell was ending and then get really serious about it when it first became apparent in January February it was going to be a worse than 'normal' year. All they can do NOW is minimize the issue and then what is needed is a cold wet winter to knock the bulk of them on the head and then get serious about control leading into Spring this year in 3-4 months.

The most effective trap for this sort of location is some sort of drop mechanism (spinning rail or seesaw) into a bucket of water. Poison baits around Silos and storage work too but are still best when done in conjunction with a fall trap. It needs to be low cost, low tech, and robust.

JANUARY News Report so this is not New News https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-22/mice-rats-wreak-havoc-across-nsw-and-qld/13078798

floobydust:


Youtube channel Mousetrap Monday
He has some high volume mouse/rat traps that are basically variations of walking a plank and falling into water and drowning. The guy then puts the dead mice out in a field. Vultures, racoons, etc. have a dinner feast.
There's a new trap RinneTrap "flip & side" that looks pretty good. The electric traps don't do that great, the mouse just lies there dead or leaps off the electrodes.

There must be a predator missing in Australia's ecosystem? The place is full of scary critters, I wonder what usually ate mice there.

beanflying:

--- Quote from: floobydust on May 28, 2021, 04:09:32 am ---

Youtube channel Mousetrap Monday
He has some high volume mouse/rat traps that are basically variations of walking a plank and falling into water and drowning. The guy then puts the dead mice out in a field. Vultures, racoons, etc. have a dinner feast.
There's a new trap RinneTrap "flip & side" that looks pretty good. The electric traps don't do that great, the mouse just lies there dead or leaps off the electrodes.

There must be a predator missing in Australia's ecosystem? The place is full of scary critters, I wonder what usually ate mice there.

--- End quote ---

The first introduced pest arrived here in 1770 wearing a poofy wig and many other pests followed. We do have a native marsupial Rat and small mouse sized ones too but the introduced ones including their cousin Rattus Rattus with farmed grain/crops as food supplies thrive.

james_s:
Farms in in this part of the world have cats, they're highly efficient hunters that feed primarily on small rodents like mice. Cats have served to control the mouse population for centuries, it was one of the primary reasons they were domesticated.

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