Landowners in the Hunter who have battled their way through the long drought say their dams are full, but the wet weather has pushed the rodent plague engulfing western NSW into the upper reaches of the region.
Western NSW property owners have reported waves of mice scurrying through homes and properties and destroying crops in recent months.
Affected landowners have been facing rising demand for traps and bait along with increasing fears - particularly for grain farmers - about how their winter crops will fare.
And there have recently been signs that the explosion in rodent numbers has moved towards the Hunter.
Craig Murphy, who runs a cattle farm at Blandford east of Murrurrundi, said mice numbers had "quietened down" on his property since the massive rain event of mid March, but that rats remained a problem.
"They are targeting vehicles and machinery, doing significant damage to the wiring and air conditioning units that are very hard to access in the engine bay," Mr Murphy said.
"I know of people catching 30 mice a night in the house and it doesn't matter how old the house is either - they will find a way to get in, even chewing a hole in the corner of the door to get access. Bait has been hard to buy as well."
At a property at Gundy, northeast of Scone, landowner Nicole Hannah told the Newcastle Herald the rodent problem was "pretty grim".
"They're all through the sheds and paddocks, but I've seen worse at Dubbo," she said.
"We're trying to reduce numbers with baits, traps and rat-shot."
However, several property owners in the Lower Hunter told the Herald this week that they were not seeing the same level of rodent numbers as their counterparts in the upper valley and in the western parts of the state.
A NSW Department of Primary Industries spokesperson said the most effective management strategy was reducing food and shelter available for rodents and using pesticide bait.
"Similar to other parts of the state, landholders in the Upper Hunter have been reporting increased levels of mouse activity over the past few months," the spokesperson said.
"However, feedback from primary producers suggests mouse numbers in some areas have declined following a period of cold weather and heavy rain. These conditions have not removed the potential threat to winter crop sowing and summer crop harvest operations.
"The baits are widely available through local rural supply outlets."
