Mice and patchy rainfall create challenging conditions in Mid West area

Widespread mouse activity and uneven rainfall are creating a challenging start to the season for growers across parts of Western Australia's northern region. Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news across the nation When asked whether mice have been a big problem in the area, Crop Circle Consulting director and agronomist Grant Thompson said that was the understatement of a century. "Just about everywhere you go there's lots of active mice burrows," Mr Thompson said. "It's very rare that you could go to a paddock and not find mice holes. "There's certainly some hotspots where the mice are out of control." He said multiple baiting applications would likely be required to reduce numbers, with some growers already forced to bait paddocks more than once after initial treatments proved ineffective. Mr Thompson said the rapid increase in mouse numbers appeared to be driven by a new generation emerging in recent weeks. "I've seen it as widespread as what it is ...