More rats and mice have been breeding around the edges of Dubbo and making their way into houses and businesses, but it's not a cause for "panic stations" yet, according to a pest management expert.
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"I don't think we're at panic stations yet but we need to be vigilant because we all know what happened last time," Nathan Dennis, director of Dentec Pest Management in Dubbo, told the Daily Liberal, referring to the mouse plague of 2021.
When the Liberal spoke with Mr Dennis, he said he had received "44 calls" during the Anzac Day public holiday [Tuesday, April 25] that he needed to catch-up on. He presumed many of them were to do with mice.
"We have definitely seen an increase [in mice], definitely on the outskirts of Dubbo, in the paddocks, around Blue Ridge and West Dubbo. People really suffer if their houses are closer to paddocks," he said, as paddocks gave mice more places to breed and more food to eat.
"Down on the streets of Dubbo there's nowhere to burrow and make their nests and breed. There's nowhere to hide in concrete pavers - mice can hide everywhere on the paddocks".
Mice can also hide in houses and Mr Dennis has been called-out to numerous households with mice during recent months.
"The biggest thing is to prevent them getting in physically. Blocking up your weep holes, underneath, anywhere they can get in," he said.
"If you can stop them getting in you're in front of the eight-ball a bit. You can bait all you want [but] they keep walking in [if you don't block the holes]."
He recommended blocking weep holes with steel wool or purchasing specially-made vents.
Mr Dennis had more call-out these past two months to Dunnedoo, Coolah, Gilgandra and Nyngan: "There was nothing and then we started getting a lot of calls for rats and then mice."
He said the number of mice around at the moment, in his opinion, was "manageable", compared to the 2021 plague.
"Last time it wasn't manageable. When they're eating the kids' hair off at night that's pretty rough," he said.
Mouse traps and baits are selling like hotcakes, according to Chris Bray, garden centre manager at Petrie's Mitre 10 in Dubbo.
"We've had an influx in the last three months in traps and baits. Both big and small traps are selling as it's not only mice [but rats too]," he told the Liberal.
He said the shop had "plenty of access to traps and baits" but he hoped it didn't "accelerate".
"I'm sure there would be lots of people who wouldn't want it to get to as bad as it did last time," he said.
"We're certainly not pre-ordering in pallets like we were last time. We haven't got to that stage yet. But we are monitoring it very closely at the moment."
The reports coming out of Dubbo and surrounds are cause for concern for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, and a timely reminder to "act now", according to Steve Henry, CSIRO research officer.
But this didn't mean we were seeing plague proportions of the rodents.
"There are obviously more mice around than normal without it being a plague," Mr Henry told the Liberal.
He said officers had been trapping mice recently in areas around the central west including Trangie and found increased mouse activity was "patchy".
"We've been a little bit concerned about it in terms of, we didn't expect to see mice at the numbers we're seeing so soon after what was a significant outbreak in the central west," he said.
"While we are hearing reports of significant numbers of mice, this isn't across the board - they're not everywhere.
"For instance, some paddocks we're trapping around Trangie have really high numbers of mice, while paddocks around Coonamble have relatively low numbers, and then we're hearing reports from Coonabarabran where they were seeing hundreds of mice running across the road and that's really cause for concern.
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"But it's not widespread, [or] completely all over the place."
He recommended farmers treat each paddock "on its own merits" and "be prepared to bait mice".
"If we can push the numbers low going into the winter, that reduces the level over the winter survival period and there will be a lower population base in spring," Mr Henry said.
"It's really important to act now as they sow the crop to help push those numbers down and potentially reduce those numbers in the spring."
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Sarah Falson
Sarah is Explore's Digital News Editor. She believes regional travel is just as fun (if not better) than staying in the big cities and loves any travel experience to do with nature, animals and food!. My all-time favourite destination is ... Cornwall. From the giant seagulls to the blustery beaches, Cornish pasties and fishing villages, it stirs something romantic and seafaring in me. Next on my bucket list is … Mongolia. I want to go somewhere really unique that feels totally foreign and challenges my way of life. My top travel tip is … Don’t plan too much. Walk the streets and let it happen. And make sure you check out what’s within a few blocks of your hotel - sometimes the best local food is found that way.
