Current Issues

Trial aerial baiting of dingoes for inside Dog Fence: Media Release, 10 April 2012

Environment to benefit from fledgling camel business

Weeds under the spotlight in comprehensive review

Mice

Camel tracking in the Simpson Desert (PDF 897.3 KB )
more on camels

Recent Publications

Alert Weed Fact Sheets

Alert Pest Animal Fact Sheets

Biological control of weeds fact sheets

List of weeds banned from sale in SA (PDF 312.5 KB )

Mice

Background

The common house mouse (Mus musculus) is an introduced pest from central Asia which most likely arrived in Australia at the time of European settlement. The house mouse is now found throughout Australia, typically living in association with humans and agricultural areas. Mice are most problematic in low rainfall cereal-growing areas, where mouse plagues occur at irregular intervals of 4-6 years.

The introduced house mouse should not be confused with native marsupial mice such as the southern ningaui (external site).

Mouse plagues

Mouse plagues cause significant damage to crops and intensive livestock industries and can result in stress to rural communities.

Mouse control options

Various mouse control options are available including reducing the amount of food and shelter available to mice, and baiting to reduce mice populations.

Baiting mice

There are risks involved with baiting including risks to children, pets and native animals. Strict adherence to labels is a legal requirement and hefty penalties apply to those that use unregistered products.

Mouse Working Party Reports

 mus_musculus_common_house_m
Mus musculus - Common house mouse.
Image: George Shuklin. wikimedia.org. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic 

mouse_plague
Mouse plague
Image: Greg Mutze, NRM Biosecurity, PIRSA

mouse_holes
Mouse holes in crop seedlings
Image: Greg Mutze, NRM Biosecurity, PIRSA