Mice plague damages Upper Austria’s grassland

A mouse infestation is damaging grassland on many farms in Upper Austria, ORF reports, after drought had already affected the region. In Kleinraming in the Steyr-Land district, farmer Sepp Kern says field mice and water voles are harming meadows and livestock feed.

September rain allowed some grass to grow back, raising hopes of a final cut for animal feed. But the rodents eat plant roots and loosen the soil, making mowing harder and allowing earth to get into the feed. Kern says water voles can burrow as deep as half a metre, putting them beyond the reach of mechanical equipment.

Traps can help, but are difficult to use across large areas. Kern’s farm alone manages 13 hectares of grassland. Where mice eat through the roots, grass often fails to grow back, leaving brown patches.

Markus Humer of the Upper Austrian Chamber of Agriculture says mouse populations can grow rapidly, but may later decline because of disease and inbreeding. The chamber advises farmers to prepare for spring by installing perches for birds of prey, which can hunt mice, and keeping grass short before winter to reduce cover for the rodents.

Kern says reseeding damaged areas this autumn is risky because the mice could eat the new growth, adding to costs. His farm cat, Fritz, helps keep their numbers down, though it cannot eliminate the infestation.