Posted on 02/07/2021 7:55:51 AM PST by Roman_War_Criminal
Since early 2021 much of regional Australia is experiencing a mouse plague.
The rodents have kept multiplying through the summer, and are expected to continue to do so even through the winter, potentially threatening crops.
Now look at the result! It’s apocalyptic:
Hundreds of thousands of mice are ransacking sheds and houses, getting onto and into everything across NSW, Qld, SA and Victoria, Australia.
The rodents are munching through crops and wiring, and to the horror of home owners they’ve even been found in bags of bread.
The whole district smells of mice.
Why this mouse plague? Rainfall and good harvest last year contributes to allowing the mice to spike in numbers.
“Mice start breeding when they’re six weeks old, and have a litter every 19 to 20 days after that. They can have up to 10 pups per litter, which means the rate of increase is really dramatic,” he said.
“As soon as they have a litter of pups they fall pregnant again. They gestate the next litter while feeding the previous one.”
Farmers around Coonamble were lucky enough to have harvested before the infestation there began increasing in scale. But there is a risk the mice could continue breeding until autumn and threaten the next crop.
During a previous mouse plague in 1984, a farmer was shown on the evening news using a flamethrower to wipe out mice eating his crops.
A good cold snap, or lots of rain will do it. All their holes in the ground get filled up and they die.
Another hope is that when the rodents multiply too quickly, they tend to deplete their food sources, spread disease among each other and start to eat their offspring. That makes the population crash away rapidly. Maybe they should think about sending an army of killer hornets. They do a great job!
I would suggest bringing in cats, but Oz already has a plague of feral cats.
Pretty much like Tribbles, but not as cute.
Everything in Australia can kill ya, mate.
Must make it difficult to walk, with millions of cats sleeping everywhere.
Pretty much like Tribbles, but not as cute.
= = = = = = = = = =
Sounds more like Shmoos, Al Capps ‘prediction’ (or warning?) of the Government to come.
http://lil-abner.com/the-shmoo/
Well....
Decon stock prices to skyrocket! Buy quick
YUCK’!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I keep almost all the food in my cupboard in 1/2 gallon canning jars.
I have found mice had chewed through brown sugar bags.
So everything possible now goes in canning jars.
I also use used glass spaghetti sauce jars that I clean out really well.
It also works for grains and pasta and rice, things that may contain bugs. That way the whole cupboard does not get infested.
I had a quart of tung oil ($$$) in it’s retail plastic bottle. The mice chewed small holes in the plastic and ate the entire contents as it seeped out.
Everything must go in metal or glass.
“RATS. I hate rats!”
We have lots of snakes in our gov’t we could ship to Australia. They multiply rapidly, too.
More seriously, at some risk of unforeseen problems, an infusion of king snakes might help. They’ll eat both the rodents and the poisonous snakes.
Another thought would be Buckeye chickens, IF they live up to their rep as good mousers. When the job is done, people eat the chickens.
“Ick”?? Has anyone who thinks that ever seen what stuff chickens will eat?
Only if you base that on mere numbers of individuals.
With regards to diversity of species, bats are the winners. One-third of all mammalian species are bat species.
Regards,
It may mean the snakes dont have to travel too far and may mean a slight increase for a year or so but the snake population tends to self regulate. We do have a few poisonous types - most are not aggressive if left alone unlike some snakes say in India or constrictor types that will actually take people. I have had a couple of eastern brown snakes go between my legs while walking over the years - you learn to just freeze and they go on their way. The last time in particular I saw the snake turn and look up at me - our eyes met - it wasnt love at first sight but he knew I wasnt looking to hurt him. My wife accidentally kicked one once at it just carried on. They are beautiful really as long as you dont step on them or poke them.
The coral snakes we had in Louisiana are the most venomous, but thankfully among the most docile. Water Moccasins aka Cottonmouths have a reputation for being aggressive and I have encountered a few that lived up to that reputation.
Sounds like they need to bomb them with rat snakes
The one I fear here is the Common Death Adder. They dont retreat and if you come across one you have probably woke it as they are nocturnal. Have only ever seen one and that was in a woodpile. They like to lay in wait and ambush - I got the heck out of there asap.
Nice chatting with you :)
Send in the Chinese.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.