A Wellington merchant is warning people to prepare for a potential mouse plague that could be heading towards the district after striking in the north of the state.
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CRT Wellington owner Michael White said the number of mice has increased on properties in towns like Moree and Gunnedah and historically they have moved their way south towards Dubbo and the district.
"The mouse numbers are particularly bad between Moree and Warialda and Gunnedah to Quirindi so there is the possibility they will come this way again," Mr White said.
"When there have been plagues before, they have come south. If they are going to come here, I would expect they will make their way down here in the next month."
Local Land Services team leader for invasive species and plant health Lisa Thomas said they are monitoring mouse numbers in the western region and haven't seen any indication the problem is spreading here but said people should still be cautious.
"We haven't seen any increase in numbers at this stage. We are keeping a close eye on the situation but it doesn't look like they will come here in big numbers," Ms Thomas said.
"Moree is one of the areas where there are problems. They are mixing bait up there and preparing for a big onslaught. We have talked about bait here but there is no sign of anything out of the ordinary."
Ms Thomas is encouraging farmers to keep an eye on the situation, especially if they have crops, to ensure the situation doesn't change.
Mr White said he believes people should take the time to prepare their properties, cleaning up to avoid providing any unnecessary incentive for the vermin.
"For households, just make sure there is no spillage. It's the same at farms, make sure there is no spillage of grain or food stuffs because that is what they are hunting for. At this time of year there can be grain lying around but that attracts them," he said.
Mr White said Dubbo has had a handful of major mouse plagues with the last really bad one happening during the 1980s.
"We haven't had a bad one here for a long time. We had one in the 80s, they were eating the sorghum stalks, lopping them down like trees.
"I was at the Graincorp silos at the time and someone said to me 'have a look at the bottom of the pit', and it was just full of hundreds of thousands of mice," he said.
"You could drive along the highway at night between Dubbo and Narromine and Dubbo and Trangie and you would run over dozens of them. You would see them running across the road and hear them under the tyres."
