00:00Canola farmer John Lush knows all too well the damage mice can inflict.
00:07They get into every nook and cranny you can think of, they get into the roof of your house.
00:12Fifteen years ago his Malala farm was overrun with a mouse plague,
00:17which destroyed crops and farming equipment.
00:20You put your machinery away and then when you get it out again, nothing works
00:24because they've eaten half the wiring.
00:26CSIRO researchers have been closely monitoring mice numbers across the country,
00:31which they say are increasing.
00:33The latest round of trapping data has shown higher than usual numbers of pregnant female mice
00:39in agricultural areas across South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
00:45So we know that mice are real breeding machines.
00:48They start breeding when they're six weeks old and they have six to ten babies every 19 to 21 days.
00:54Researchers say months of drier than average conditions, combined with recent rainfall,
01:00could lead to a population boom.
01:03Australia last experienced a mouse plague in 2021, which devastated farms in New South Wales.
01:10Researchers say while numbers are not currently at plague proportions,
01:14farmers can take steps to prepare now should the situation worsen.
01:19Get out and go for a walk through their stubbles, look for the signs of mouse activity,
01:24count active burrows and those sorts of things,
01:27and then make sure that they're talking to their bait suppliers.
01:31Any increase is going to be of a concern,
01:33but I think also our farmers are very used to being prepared for this type of pest.
01:38Another obstacle for farmers who have already endured drought conditions.
01:42You wonder whether there's something else around the corner just to finish us off.
01:49Does it happen again?
01:51You wonder whether there's something else around?
01:52Yes.
01:53I won't remember the ăn, but it doesn't help the farmer.
01:55It seems like an animal that's not something that looks like.
01:57So this is the target of antalphaids.
01:59It seems like the target of antalphaids don't have enough time to keep it up.
02:02And this is the target of antalphaids.
02:05And this can be of an enormous number.
02:07It seems like a race that's an animal that's not important because something is used to it.
02:09It seems like a race is not as if they're talking about.
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