The Challenge: managing mice in agriculture
Why are mouse plagues a problem?
Mouse plagues have been occurring in grain growing regions of Australia since 1904. When conditions are favourable and food (grain crops) is plentiful mouse numbers can rise rapidly. House mice have a flexible and highly effective reproductive strategy- they can extend their breeding season by several months and produce multiple litters each season when resources and conditions allow.
Mouse plagues occur when there is a concurrent and widespread increase in mouse densities of over 1000 mice per hectare. Although mouse plagues have historically occurred on an irregular basis in most regions, a single plague year can cause prolonged and devastating economic, social and environmental impacts to growers, industry and farming communities.
Mice cause damage throughout the growing season…
Top left: mice cause damage to crops at sowing by eating seedlings and burrowing. Top right: mouse damage at crop tillering. Bottom left: mouse damage at the milky stage; chewed off heads surrounding a mouse burrow. Bottom right: mouse damaged heads of corn.
As well as damage grain stores, fodder, livestock and infrastructure…
Left: the crumbled remains of haystacks. In high numbers mice can cause severe damage to fodder, making it unusable. Centre: mice eat and spoil grain storages. Right: mice may infest sheds, farm buildings and houses, damaging infrastructure and also devastating people’s wellbeing, lifestyles and livelihoods. Images: Steve Henry
Changing farming systems have changed mouse behaviour
The shift from ‘conventional’ to ‘conservation’ agriculture over the last 10-20 years has greatly benefited grain production systems with increased soil health and crop yields. This shift, however, has inadvertently provided suitable food and cover allowing mice to permanently reside within crops and mouse numbers to persist throughout the growing season. Our Mouse Ecology Project page explains this challenge further and how we’re researching mouse behaviour in these systems to inform best practice management.