A CALL has gone out to farmers to get involved to curb a significant pest problem in the lead up to winter sowing.
Mouse Census Week is an initiative of Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation.
Farmers have been asked to record mouse activity on their properties via MouseAlert – a website and smart phone app.
The census will be conducted from April 13 to 19 to provide farmers, the grains industry and researchers with a bank of data about mouse activity in agricultural areas.
The aim is to collect data before and during seeding of winter crops – a critical time for locating mouse “hot spots”.
CSIRO researcher Steve Henry said it was important mouse activity was assessed across all grain growing areas to identify the likelihood of large scale mouse problems.
“The census depends on as many farmers as possible recording current observations of mice – whether numbers are large, small, or non-existent – over the seven days of Mouse Census Week," he said.
"Even discovering where there are no mice is extremely important.
“To make MouseAlert truly effective, we need farmers to give it a go – for their benefit and that of their farming neighbours. I encourage everyone to get involved and help us help you to get on the front foot and be better prepared before mouse numbers explode and damage occurs.”
