Plague is a disease of mammals that can be transmitted to humans. Taking into account the mouse plague which has affected the Australian population severely. Epidemiologically, mouse plague has a history of distribution to different areas of Australia from the late 1800s. The recent epidemic of mouse plague began after Australian wildfires, which has introduced an acute loss of farms than ever before. Mouse plague has spread to NSW areas of Mullaley, Walgett, and Dubbo, Murray River into Victoria and Toowoomba in Queensland according to the reporting of ‘’The New daily’’.
Farmers are struggling with the arrival of the mice and claiming to spent thousands of dollars on bait to catch and kill the rodents that are destroying crops and stored grain all the stock has been chewed through by the tiny animals, and electrical wires have been chewed through by the owners of businesses.
The Australian government issued an emergency permit allowing double-strength bait to be used to kill the mice. The government also announced a $50 million mouse plague package earlier this month, which includes free bait for farmers.
Factors that are a potential cause of demographic release in house mice are weather, food source, predation, and social structure provide the conditions for Mouse plague to grow as the growth rate increases exponentially as breeding of a mice starts after six weeks as it reaches its maturity and giving a litter i.e. 5-7 baby mice after every 21 days.
Success and failures of management actions
Trapping
Traps are commonly used in and around homes and storage sheds, and they can also be used in the field, but they are rarely used due to high re-invasion rates.
Poisons
To try to control the damage caused by mice to crops, a variety of registered and unregistered rodenticides have been used.
Habitat modification
In Australia, a variety of farm management and cultural practices have been tested to reduce the impact of mice on crops.
Fertility control
Reduce the recruitment of young mice into the population by affecting the fertility of adult females as an alternative to lethal control.
Survey impact conducted by NSW farmers.
According to a survey conducted by the NSW farmers about the ongoing mouse plague
-40 percent of the respondents had reduced the number of crops they planted because of mise.
-94% of those polls indicated they had already had to bait for mice, with 30% spending between $20,000 and $150,000 on the process.
-Three-quarters of those surveyed said they couldn’t get bait when they needed it.
-More than two-thirds of farmers holding back from planting crops
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