Rural supply stores in Beaudesert are struggling to keep up with demand for bait and traps as the area battles an ongoing mouse plague. The plague, which has been going for months, has only been made worse by cooler weather driving mice to seek shelter in homes.
Greg Marsden from Beaudesert Rural Supplies (CRT) said it was hard to keep up with demand. “Our suppliers are unable to get us the quantities we need to keep our shelves full, and the manufacturers are experiencing high demand in other areas affected by the plague,” he said. “Everybody’s got mice – every house, shed, barn, up high, down low, over and under, in the cars where they’re eating the wires – it’s a very expensive problem for people. “We’re here to help and we’ve got some stock available, plus if people give us the notice, we can order it in and hopefully the manufacturers will be able to supply our quantities.”
Everybody’s got mice – every house, shed, barn…
Running Creek farmer and Rathdowney Fire Captain Matthew Arkinstall said it was the worst had seen it. “A few weeks ago, I was walking through a paddock and noticing mouse holes and now we’re baiting every few days,” he said. “At home, you might bait once every three months and now baits aren’t lasting more than a couple of nights.”
Mr Arkinstall said they were constantly replenishing bait stations inside and outside the Rathdowney Fire Station, where mice could eat thousands of dollars of gear in no time, given the chance. He said while he was well prepared with bait at the farm, stocks were running low and hopefully, nature would take care of the problem soon. “You want heat and sun to grow feed and make hay for winter, but then you’re also looking for a frost to kill all the mice.”
