For months, rats have ravaged fields and damaged homes in eastern Australia, from the Victorian border in the south to Queensland in the north, causing millions of dollars in damage to crops and machinery. A pair of mice can give birth to 500 more pups per season, the females give birth to a new litter every three weeks, and they constantly need more food. Rat “nightmare” for farmers in New South Wales, Australia. Photo: Pelgar International. The New South Wales government is considering a more drastic solution. On May 20, officials announced they had acquired 5,000 liters of one of the world’s most powerful rat poisons to treat rats. However, some residents fear the use of poisons could damage food crops and kill local wildlife. End of drought, Australia meets rats again “We’ve had long, bad years of drought, and then 2020 is going to be beautiful. But there’s always something great happening, and this year it’s a rat pandemic,” said farmer Michael Payten of the small town of Canowindra, west of Sydney, sigh. The rainfall in 2020 is roughly equal to the total rainfall two years earlier, making the soil fertile and yielding a bountiful harvest, but also creating ideal conditions for the rats. “Trying to count the number of rats that are harming Eastern Australia is like counting the stars in the sky,” said CSIRO researcher Steve Henry, considered by the New South Wales government to be Australia’s best expert on the disease. in mice, said. Rat extermination expert Sue Hodge clears dead rats from traps in her client’s home every day in the New South Wales town of Canowindra. Photo: CNN. According to Sue Hodge, a rat extermination expert in Canowindra, when winter approaches, rats even take refuge in people’s homes. Ms. Hodge spends her days dealing with dead rats trapped in a client’s home. She removed rat droppings from the kitchen, the children’s room and even their beds. In her home, Mrs. Hodge used steel wool to prevent rats from crawling in from every nook and cranny. She sets a mousetrap every night. According to the New South Wales Agricultural industry group, the loss of cereal groups such as wheat, barley and rapeseed, as well as forage, is having a major impact on the finances of farm businesses. The survey found that a third of businesses had an estimated loss of $50,000-150,000 ($38,000-116,000). The group warned that the total damage could reach hundreds of millions of dollars if urgent action is not taken. Government measures – immediate but too dangerous The New South Wales government is resorting to “heavy weapons” to end the rat disaster, after weeks of consultations with Mr Henry, CSIRO and farmers. Last week, New South Wales agriculture chief Adam Marshall unveiled “a scary set of tools for rat control”, including free rat poison for farmers. This week, thousands of liters of bromadiolone – a “second generation anticoagulant” has been introduced to effectively kill rats. However, Charles Sturt University ecologist Dr Maggie Watson says the toxin is “too dangerous” to use in the environment, as it can leach into the soil and bioaccumulate in insects. then join the food chain. She said native birds in Australia are all at risk of death after eating a poisoned mouse, and it takes up to 15-20 years for them to come back to life. NSW farmer Michael Payten calls his tractor shed a “rat hotel”. Photo: CNN. Proponents of the administration argue that bromadiolone is highly toxic and will likely kill some native predators, but there aren’t enough hawks and owls for the rat population to drop naturally. While the rat population is unusually high, farmers warn that they are running out of time to harvest the winter crop.

Australia has been repeatedly damaged by rats in recent years. Photo: Guardian. Australia’s National Science Service and the Department of Animal Health have agreed to issue an emergency license to the country’s pesticide agency to produce double doses of rat poison in an upcoming series of products. The dose and percentage of the drug in the wheat fields remained the same, but the amount of zinc phosphide (Zn3P2) in each dose was doubled. Zinc phosphide is an inorganic chemical compound, consisting mainly of two elements, zinc (Zn) and phosphorus (P). This compound exists mainly as a gray solid, with some commercial samples being dark or even black. It is mainly used as a rat poison. In addition, there are applications in the production of semiconductors. Zinc phosphide is very toxic. In many labels, the substance is marked “Highly Hazardous,” meaning that in amounts between 1 and 50 mg can be lethal. For many years, zinc phosphide has been widely used, but strictly controlled. However, for farmers in the eastern and southern states of Australia, the current dose of zinc phosphide is not enough to prevent rat infestations. Researcher Steve Henry of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) said that rats have a mechanism to quickly develop an aversion to lures, if the dose of zinc phosphorus in the drug is increased. “We call it the curry effect. If you go out, eat some food, and feel nauseous when you get home, you won’t go back to that restaurant,” he explains. This basis helps CSIRO boldly increase the dose of toxicity, although it increases the risk of death in humans, if accidentally exposed to the decoy. The high-dose drug will be on the market soon, and it will cost farmers about $1 more per kilogram. In eastern Australia, including parts of New South Wales and southern Queensland, where rats ravage crops and cause significant damage to hay and grain stocks, companies and farmers have been allowed to experiment. new drugs. Before that was agreed, scientists had hoped that heavy rain and colder temperatures would reduce the harmful effects of rats. However, that didn’t happen. In most of the affected towns, the rats, which can breed from 6 weeks old and give birth every 21 days, continue to destroy crops and even attack livestock. The New South Wales Farmers’ Association, said conventional rat poison products were in short supply, and prices skyrocketed. They needed a new direction, effective and immediate. The organization has partnered with the National Women’s Union, calling for a financial aid package for the rat epidemic. This group proposes, each farm is provided with $ 25,000 for the cost of rat poison. A survey of 1,100 farmers across New South Wales found that 94 per cent of their farms had been attacked by rats. On average per capita, each individual spent up to 150,000 USD on rat poison. A third of those surveyed revealed that the loss of grain and fodder stockpiles ranged from $50,000 to $150,000. 5& this number claims, they have lost more than 250,000 USD. Some farmers had to abandon the entire spring-summer crop. About 40% of farmers planted less seeds this past winter. More than 80% of respondents reported damage to machinery and infrastructure. And only a third suffered less than $150,000 in damage. Lisa Minogue, a farmer in the Barmedman area, said she washed her clothes 38 times in just three days. “The smell of rats is horrible. It’s impossible to know exactly how many are in the house,” she said. Rats have even attacked rural hospitals, biting patients. Many local health authorities have reported an increase in rat-related diseases. In New South Wales, about a third of farmers surveyed admitted their health was directly affected by the outbreak and 85% had trouble sleeping. Australian Women’s Union president, Danica Leys, said: “Everyone has been affected, from farms, to hotels in the area, to retail food businesses, to bakeries, supermarkets, malls, etc. child care centers and nursing homes. These financial and health ramifications all followed an unprecedented drought that triggered catastrophic wildfires. It’s time for the state government to act.” The Premier of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, acknowledges the problems posed by the nasty rodents.” On 2GB radio, she said: “Depends on living, but the problem seems to be getting worse. more, due to the shortened reproductive time of mice. They are now too crowded, to the point of being difficult to control. The authorities are doing everything they can to avoid a natural disaster.” New South Wales Deputy Premier and National Leader, John Barilaro, said the state government and the Australian Government were speeding up lobbying to change the codes of conduct. “We need to support farmers so that they have enough bait to kill rats in the near future,” he told the National Assembly. New South Wales Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall left open the possibility of controlling diseases that can be spread by rat populations. Among them, the most dangerous and scary is the plague. “There is currently no clear suggestion to solve. Maybe, the government has to use strong measures, including ways that are considered illegal. All to help farmers fight the disease,” he said. emphasize. In the immediate future, Australian farmers still use traditional methods such as setting traps or using drones to drop bait with rat poison from above. However, the problem has only just begun, considering the rapid reproduction rate of mice. A pair of mice can give birth to new cubs after 20 days, giving birth to more than 500 young in a season. Adult female mice can lay litters 3 weeks apart.