‘It’s like a decaying body’: Australian farmers battle mouse plague
It s like a decaying body – Australia’s farmers are facing a severe challenge as a mouse infestation continues to disrupt their operations across vast regions. The rodents have become a pervasive threat, not only destroying crops but also invading homes, creating an environment of chaos and anxiety. This crisis has added to existing difficulties caused by the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran, which has led to erratic fuel and fertilizer prices. As a result, farmers are scrambling to manage both the immediate damage from mice and the financial pressures of rising input costs.
A Growing Crisis in Western Australia
The current mouse plague has been particularly intense in Western Australia, with reports of rodent activity escalating since March. Farmers in the region are describing the situation as unprecedented, with numbers far exceeding those seen in previous outbreaks. Geoff Cosgrove, a 43-year-old farmer managing a 14,000-hectare property near Mingenew in WA, has witnessed the scale of the problem firsthand. “It’s a big cost and it’s not just the price of the bait,” he explains. “They do play with your mind—running around at night, in the ceiling, the air conditioning units. You can hear them and you can smell them—it’s like a decaying body.”
“They’re everywhere—everywhere in the floors, the walls, in the pantry. But I haven’t had them in the pantry this year.”
Cosgrove, who has spent 25 years in the industry, notes that this year’s infestation is “way worse than the one in 2021.” That previous outbreak had already left a lasting impression, with New South Wales and parts of Queensland suffering their worst in recorded history. In NSW, the plague was so severe that it forced the relocation of hundreds of prisoners after mice caused extensive damage at a jail facility. Now, the same threat looms over WA, where the situation has reached a new level of intensity.
The Impact of Abundant Food Supplies
Belinda Eastough, a 59-year-old agronomist and farmer with over 30 years of experience, recalls the 2021 plague as a defining moment in her career. Based in Nolba, WA, her 5,500-hectare property has been a battleground for the rodents. “The last time [in 2021], they were in my handbag,” she says. “They were everywhere—everywhere in the floors, the walls, in the pantry. But I haven’t had them in the pantry this year.”
Eastough attributes the recent surge in mouse numbers to a combination of factors. “Last year, we had a record-breaking harvest, which gives the mice a lot of food,” she explains. This abundance led to grain being spilled across fields during processing, creating a rich food source for the pests. Compounding the issue was a period of summer rainfall, which fostered the growth of green vegetation. “So instead of just steak, they got steak and salad. Basically, the mice were in absolute mouse heaven,” she adds.
A Call for Immediate Action
As an agronomist, Eastough advises fellow farmers on crop management and has urged them to take swift action against the mouse plague. “If the baiter hasn’t followed quickly enough behind the seeder, the mice are coming along at night and eating the seed out of the furrows,” she warns. “If you finish seeding at 8pm and come in the next day, you’ll have rows of crop missing.” This highlights the urgency of the situation, as delays in pest control can lead to significant losses.
Eastough’s own fields, which include wheat, canola, and lupin, are under threat. The wheat she grows is either exported to Southeast Asia for use in udon noodles or used domestically in biscuits, bread, and pasta. Her canola paddocks, in particular, have seen mouse populations reach alarming levels—8,000 to 10,000 per hectare. “Sometimes we’ve had mouse plagues, and the numbers will crash once they run out of food, but this year, they haven’t,” she says. “I’m living the nightmare.”
Expert Insights on the Scale of the Problem
Steve Henry, a research officer from Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, has been studying mouse populations for years. He defines a plague as 800 mice per hectare, but in Western Australia, the numbers have skyrocketed to thousands. “They’re talking about thousands and thousands of mice per hectare,” he says, pointing to the northern and southern cropping zones as the most affected. During a recent visit, Henry observed 30 to 40 active burrows in a 100-meter stretch of a one-meter-wide strip. Multiplying this by 100 gives an estimate of 3,000 to 4,000 burrows per hectare—a staggering figure that underscores the severity of the crisis.
Henry notes that the plague has not only impacted WA but is also spreading to South Australia. “The situation is similar there,” he adds. “This is a really important time for farmers, and the mice are taking advantage.” The autumn months are critical for grain growers, as they are when crops are planted. With mice already decimating fields, the need for timely intervention is greater than ever.
Economic Strains and Farmer Resilience
Eastough acknowledges the resilience of farmers but highlights the added burden of rising costs. “We’re paying twice for fuel now than we were two or three months ago,” she says, referring to the impact of the Iran war on diesel and fertilizer prices. These increases have already strained budgets, and the mouse plague represents another layer of financial stress. “The mouse thing is another thing thrown on top, another headache,” she says.
For many farmers, the decision to invest in baiting or re-planting crops is a tough one. The cost of re-planting can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars, while the time spent on pest control diverts attention from other essential tasks. Despite these challenges, farmers remain determined, driven by the need to protect their livelihoods. “They’re staying where the food is,” Eastough says, emphasizing that the mice are now concentrated in paddocks rather than invading homes—a shift that makes them even harder to control.
The ongoing war in Iran has also affected the availability of supplies, forcing farmers to navigate unpredictable markets. With fuel and fertiliser prices fluctuating due to global tensions, the financial strain has become a constant factor in agricultural planning. “It’s like having a storm in your pocket,” Cosgrove says, capturing the sense of unease that permeates the farming community. The combination of economic pressures and biological threats has created a perfect storm for Australian farmers, testing their adaptability and endurance.
A Season of Uncertainty
The autumn season, typically a time of hope and preparation, has turned into a period of uncertainty for many growers. With the mouse plague in full swing, farmers must balance the need to plant crops with the risk of losing them to the pests. “You can’t afford to wait,” Eastough says, urging immediate action. This year’s situation is a stark contrast to past experiences, where the mouse populations would naturally decline once food sources dwindled. However, the current abundance of grain and the favorable growing conditions have kept the numbers high, leaving farmers in a prolonged battle against the rodents.
As the crisis continues, the question remains: how long will it last? For Cosgrove and Eastough, the answer is unclear. Both describe a sense of despair that has taken hold of the community, with farmers spending long hours laying traps and re-planting fields. The mice, once a seasonal nuisance, have become an all-consuming force, challenging the very foundation of agricultural life in Australia. Their presence is a constant reminder of nature’s unpredictability and the fragility of the industry they rely on.
