Heavy losses can also occur in vineyards and vegetable crops from eating and fouling of produce. In maturing crops of wheat, oats, barley, pulses, sorghum and maize, losses of up to 30 per cent have been reported. Plants such as wheat are then damaged by mice gnawing at the nodes on the stems, causing developing seed heads to fall. The impact of mice is not as great on plants beyond the seedling stage, at least not until seeds or grains begin to mature. They also eat the newly sprouted seedlings before and after they emerge from the soil. Mice can also cause damage in crop paddocks immediately after sowing by digging into loose soil to find larger seeds such as maize, sunflower, wheat, oats, barley, pulses, pumpkin and marrow. Mice are well recognised for invading households, poultry runs and buildings where they consume and foul food sources and chew insulation, electrical wiring, vehicle parts and all manner of infrastructure. If mice live in dry conditions near buildings they need water to survive, so their activity can be limited by cutting off their access to water. This moisture can be contained in the leaves, stems or roots of plants and may be available as dew. Mice can live and breed without drinking water if their diet has a moisture content of at least 15 per cent. This information is important when determining the type of material to be used as bait, where to place the bait and how often to change the type of bait. Mice will sample all foodstuffs available within their range and may not return to a particular feed type for several days. Mice living in field conditions can survive on the seeds of the native grasses and grains. In food storage areas their diet can include cereals, vegetables, meat, fish, bread, biscuits, peanuts, cheese, rolled oats, rice, wheat germ, apple and melon. In addition, they can run up most rough surfaces, run down ropes and electric wires, and climb upside down along wire mesh.Īdult mice eat between 3 and 5 grams daily of a wide range of foods. It is difficult to keep mice out of buildings and storage facilities because of their ability to swim, dig, jump up to at least 300 mm, jump down at least 2.5 metres without injury and squeeze through openings as small as 8 mm wide. In the field, distinct paths are formed through vegetation. Within buildings, these movements are often confined to walls or natural barriers, beams or pipes, and result in the formation of smear marks. They tend to use the same path when moving from refuge to feed source. Mice are mainly active at night and usually confine their movements to areas where adequate cover is available. Thus, if food supply, soil type and soil moisture are favourable, the population can increase to plague proportions within a short time. A combination of high numbers of offspring per litter and high survival rates of young mice can build up the population rapidly. The breeding period may be shortened for mice living under unfavourable seasonal conditions or extended for mice with nests in the warmth of buildings or haystacks. Breeding generally begins in early spring and continues until cold or wet weather develops in late autumn. In Australia, mice living under field conditions have a seasonal pattern of breeding. However, a favourable combination of environmental and population factors can lead to a sudden growth in the mouse population. At low densities, mice live largely on the seeds of native grasses or weeds and make virtually no impact on crops or stored produce. New farming systems, which sow crops every year and retain crop residues (stubbles), are also likely to be providing ongoing habitat for mice. Mice are always present under field conditions, usually in low numbers, and have usually been confined to refuge areas where they are not easily detected. Their ability to live on a wide range of foodstuffs, including most of those eaten by humans, and their ability to adapt to a wide variety of environmental conditions has earned mice the reputation of being a pest. The common house mouse ( Mus musculus) is an introduced species to Australia.
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