The New South Wales Government has announced another $100 million in funding to tackle the state’s shocking mouse plague.
The rodent infestation has left many farmers struggling, and it is feared that even the current cold snap might not be enough to significantly dent mice numbers … and that’s also very bad news for campers.
In places like the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, the tiny Mus Musculus Domesticus – also known as the house mouse – has made its way to previously unseen wilderness locations.
Several bushwalkers walkers have told the Blue Mountains Gazette that they have reported seeing dozens of mice near their food and tents when packing up after a night in these locations.
Hikers have reported hungry mice even chewing through their tents and backpacks to get to food. Campers have taken to hanging their food bags in trees.
On local resident, Liz Charlton, told the Blue Mountains Gazette that she had been camping for two decades in the Blue Mountains and had never seen anything like it.
“We were recently out at Mobbs Soak in the Wild Dog mountains and the mice were everywhere,” she said. “We had mice running under and over the tents and everywhere in between … the mice had got in and were eating things like toothpaste and a packet of Panadol.”
CSIRO Health and Biosecurity senior research officer and resident mouse plague expert, Steve Henry advised bushwalkers to ‘keep your food in hard plastic containers and your tent zipped up’.
He also said anyone with a car should “make sure you close the doors of your vehicles all the time … they eat wiring out of the cars”.
The new $100 million commitment from the NSW government will allow farmers suffering from the mouse plague to claim up to $10,000 in rebates to purchase zinc phosphide to control mice.
The cash injections triples the money pledged by the state government to date on combating the mouse’s plague.
I picked up two hitch hikers in Stuart Town in my car and they loved licking the peanut butter bait off the traps without setting them off. Sneaky little $%^&#!
I then used a tiny bit of bread smeared with peanut butter and tied it off with some sewing thread. I watched them trying to tug the bait off the trap which finally caused it to trigger … RIP two meeces!
Well done, only about a “zillion” to go.
“One small step for man….”
It will not stop until they reach a capital city, then the government will do something about it.
Your spot on Neil. Should we start with Canberra?
On a recent trip returning from Adelaide I stopped at Narrandera.
When I got home I noticed some bits of rubber crumbs in the back of the ute inside the canopy.
As I wanted to clean the tub I started taking all the gear out and a mouse appeared. He leaped from the tailgate and ran down the road before “hiding ” under a tuft of grass. A size 12 boot finished his escapade. Mu rubber camping mat now has a semi circular chunk out of it
At a vacant farm I was camping at, i opened my bonnet one morning and there 2 huge rats sitting on the intercooler.
The same again a couple of days later so I ended up leaving the bonnet open. Then i heard scratching in the head lining so thumped it every time I got in the car. I could smell them too.
also in rthe caravan toilet rolls chewed, bread chewed in to through the bag.
Then the car wouldn’t start – A bypass was wired in the the ignition tp fix an intermittent fault, and now I’m booked in again tomorrow as all the lights, speedo, alternator charge has stopped through a fuse blowing.
I have done since a bit of research & found the following may be of the some help. Place 2 to 3 moth ball containers under your vebicle bonnet. Place one at each corner under your Rv. They also hate some herbs, mint & Pepermint. Hope this helps its what Im using.