Mouse trap shortage as plague leads to panic buying

Hardware stores around Gippsland have reported shelves empty of mouse traps for up to a month, with delays expected on restocking. To get more news about rodent trap, you can visit senpinghz.com official website.

Central Gippsland author Lisa Herbert said she had searched several stores and they had all ran out.

It was an empty shelf at Bunnings. I went to four grocery stores and two hardware stores in Sale and Maffra looking for mouse traps and I couldn't find any," she said.

But Ms Herbert said one unexpected method of getting rid of the mice had presented itself.

"My little Jack Russell-corgi cross who was a foster dog at 13, I didn't think he had much life left in him but he caught a mouse the other day," she said.

"He was so quick, he sped across the lounge room, my little Wally got him, two head shakes, and then my little dog took the mouse outside. How good's that?"

Because conventional traps have not been an option, Ms Herbert has been forced to rely on bait.

"So I ran outside after him and picked the mouse up just in case the mouse had been baited," she said. Pest controller Dave Ross said pets eating "one or two" baited mice was not dangerous.

"The rodents already absorb the product, so it's already broken down," he said.

"I don't think it's a big concern if a dog eats a mouse that's eaten the bait, the concern is the bait itself," he said.

Mr Ross said the mouse population was increasing, but not to the plague-like proportions of New South Wales.

"They're out in the paddocks, they're having a fat time out but then it gets cold and they want to come inside, so that first cold snap we had last week, then they start getting pushed in, and people notice the problem more and more," he said.

"You can do a lot to take pressure off your home, by trying to plug those gaps, steel wool is better than anything else.Bunnings garden category manager Belinda Rakers confirmed there had been an increase in customer demand for mouse control products across the Gippsland and northern Victorian regions.

"Due to the demand, stock is currently low. However we are continuing to work closely with our suppliers to get more stock in stores as soon as possible," she said.