A small rodent was a big nuisance for residents of west-central Saskatchewan this fall.
Mice are blamed for eating crops and squirming their way into garages and sheds in Eston and the surrounding Rural Municipality of Snipe Lake.
“There’s always a few around but this fall, there were certainly much larger numbers,” said town administrator Gary Johnson. “Cats became a precious commodity.”
Eston mayor Lorne Johnson said the local hardware store sold a lot of poison and traps during the fall.
He trapped 70 of them within a week in his garage before plugging up their entry points.
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“If you can get your little finger in a hole, they can get in.”
Mice were also a common sight on roads, he added.
Residents believe zero-till farming practices might account for some of the increase by leaving soil and mice nests undisturbed.
Crops left out over a prolonged harvest period also provided ample food for the rodents.
The mayor said recent cold winter weather sent most of them into hiding.
Scott Hartley, an insect and vertebrate specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, said damaged crops included lentils, canaryseed, chickpeas and canola around Kindersley, Biggar and Rosetown and areas south of North Battleford.
Heads from these crops were reported on the ground as far back as August, with few clues to explain the reasons.
Mice are the most likely suspects because the damage occurred overnight, with the plant cut off just below the head. Stem edges appeared broken or shattered.
Hartley said mice holes were spotted nearby, some with heads and seeds in the burrows.
While Alberta hasn’t had that kind of large-scale infestation in crops in recent memory, Manitoba recorded a similar case in the Red River Valley a few years ago.
Hartley doubted mice would continue to plague the community, feeling natural predators would likely take care of them.
“It’s a one-shot thing.”
He said mice can be managed with baiting stations, trapping and rodenticides, but he added it’s important to handle chemicals and carcasses safely. As well, rodents such as deer mice can carry hantavirus.
Hartley questioned the economics of using chemicals to deal with field infestations.
“It’s a lot of labour intensity for something that could be likely dealt with through natural predation.”
