Australia Mouse Plague: Mice Swarms Strike Again on Australian Streets, Farms

Mice swarms have affected the agricultural sector of Australia for decades, with origins of their arrival into the country dating back over 200 years ago when the small mammals hitchhiked along with British vessels.

Since then, mice population has increased exponentially, covering territories in Queensland, New South Wales, and other states nationwide.

In recent years, the Australia mouse plague has destroyed crops, farm lands, properties, and even caused multiple cases of leptospirosis.

The danger posed by such swarm goes beyond the economy and health, as an excessive number of the vermin, ranging from the thousands to millions, can also cause imbalance to the country's local ecosystem where different animal species are vulnerable.

Different measures have been taken by the Australian government to tackle the issue.

Still, local reports said there is no universal or simple solution when it comes to exterminating or controlling the mouse population.

Nevertheless, Australian farmers and locals have been reported to make a craft of their own in previous incidents, where they used different kinds of traps against the nuisance animals.

However, recent reports this April revealed a new mice swarm has taken over some streets and farms in Australia, with the potential of causing damage again as they have done in the past.

The renewed mouse plague has been reported in areas between Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.

Photos and videos of the infestation have also surfaced on social media.

Queensland Mice Swarm

Australia Mouse Plague — This picture taken on June 1, 2021 shows a child chasing mice from a wheat hold into a water-filled tub acting as a trap on Col Tink's farmland in the New South Wales' agricultural hub of Dubbo. - After surviving years of crippling drought, farmers in eastern Australia are locked in a months-long battle with hordes of mice that are pouring through fields and devouring hard-earned crops. Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images

Xavier Martin, president of the New South Wales Farmers, told The Associated Press the mice swarm has been seen all over the road.

Martin added that the worst of it was likely a swarm with the length of at least a half kilometer (0.3 miles) near the small town of Coonabarabran, 270 miles northwest of Sydney, Newsweek reported.

In a video post uploaded by Twitter user "Bernie's Tweets/@BerniSpofforth, it can be seen that a previous rodent plague in the country was swarming an unidentified facility or shelter in Australia, wherein some of the worse cases occurred in 2020 and 2021.

Also Read : Woman Wakes Up to a Mouse Gnawing Her Eyeballs as Australian Mouse Plague Worsens

Australia Mouse Plague

Australia's worst mouse plague occurred in 1993 and resulted in an estimated damage of $96 Australian dollars' worth of damage, including crops livestock, piggeries, and poultry farms.

Experts stated the mouse plague is unlikely to occur again to inland New South Wales.

On the other hand, Martin said he saw hundreds of mice running across different directions searching for food.

Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) national science agency defined such plagues of consisting swarms of at least 800 to 1,000 mice per hectare, as cited by Newsweek.

CSIRO researcher Steve Henry said areas that are really wet will not be ideal for the ongoing mouse breeding.

Still, the rodents will just try to survive and even through wet conditions caused by heavy rain and flooding, Australia's ABC News reported.