PEST controllers across Bendigo are experiencing a demand for their services as mouse populations continue to increase.
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Go Pest Bendigo director John Pay said his business has seen a 20 per cent increase in calls-outs over the past three months.
"We are definitely getting increased calls for residential pest control," he said.
"It is definitely higher for this time of the year."
Mr Pay said the increase has been wide-spread across the region.
"Coming off the back of a really good harvest, this season has been perfect for mice to breed," he said.
"We are now seeing them move into towns and it's just a perfect breeding season for them to get going.
"It's spread wide over the region but we are nowhere near the levels of NSW as of yet but it's obviously getting worse."
Spring Gully resident Brenton Middlemiss has been dealing with mice at his property for months.
"I have been having rats and mice at my property like most people have at the moment," he said.
"I have seen mice all over the place but not in plague proportions but I am definitely experiencing increased levels.
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"I have had situations where in the ceiling of the house, it sounds like mice and rats are running around up there."
Mr Middlemiss said he has been going through kilos of bait at a time in a bid to minimise numbers.
"I place baits out 12 months of the year in a seedling tray and that is being used in five days," he said.
"I have recently brought 4kg of bait and part of the reason is if the numbers go up, I worry if there will be bait shortages.
"The rodent population in Bendigo looks like it is quite high and as I continue to put lots of bait around the place, it still isn't stopping them."
CSIRO lead mouse researcher Steve Henry said the highest populations in the region are being recorded in Echuca.
"There is a little bit of concern particularly in the riverina leading up to sowing the winter crop," he said.
Mr Henry said as the weather continues to get colder, it is more likely for mice to enter suburban homes and residential areas.
He said however if the region experiences a mild winter, it could lead to an even worse season next year.
"It should slow down during winter, mice slow down their breeding. So what they get focused on is getting enough food to survive during the winter so they can start breeding next Spring," he said.
"What we are concerned about if we have a mild winter and we get a high number of winter survival rate within mice then they will start breeding from a high population base next spring."
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