Hordes of mice are getting into farmers’ homes and grain supplies around Hamilton with fears the big numbers being seen now are only the vanguard of larger numbers still to come.
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Hamilton Farm Supplies salesman Tim Wilson said the rural merchandise company was doing a steady trade in mice bait sales as farmers struggled to keep the rodents at bay.
Mr Wilson said the big rise in mice numbers began unseasonally early this year, with farmers reporting mice infestations a month ago.
He said mice were getting into beds and cupboards in houses, into vehicles and sheds.
They were generally “making a mess,” Mr Wilson said.
“For every one you catch, there are a dozen you do not see,” he said.
Mr Wilson said there was concern the early spike in mice numbers could mean there would be more time for the increased population to breed, lifting their numbers to a massive scale.
Warrnambool pest controller Andrew Bosse said mice numbers in the Warrnambool area were on the rise this year earlier than in previous years.
He said about every second telephone call he currently received was about mice problems, with many callers concerned about noises above the ceilings in their residences.
Mr Bosse said he did not believe mice numbers were higher than normal but that calls to control them had started earlier.
He attributed the early start to a reasonably mild winter and summer that had allowed mice to breed well.
Paul Simpson from the West Pest company said many of the calls he received about mice problems were to homes on the urban fringes close to paddocks.