A school at the epicentre of a mouse plague tormenting a rural Western Australian town has been forced to close after a toxic bait was used.
Students at the Western Australia College of Agriculture Morawa, about 360km north of Perth, were told to stay away while the school underwent a deep clean to remove the bait.
Parents were advised MouseOff had been used to eradicate mice at the school, but the commercial strength bait is a Schedule 7 poison that can be extremely harmful to humans.
In 2021, AgSafe warned there had been alarming reports of hospitalisations in NSW after people used Zinc Phosphide mouse baits, including MouseOff, in their homes near airconditioning ducts and ventilation systems.
Zinc Phosphide is classified as a Schedule 7 poison that can cause harm at low exposures, the bait also contains Bromadiolone which is extremely toxic to humans and can be absorbed through the skin or swallowed.
WA Education Director Midwest Lisa Criddle said as a precaution the school was currently closed due to the management of a mouse infestation.
“To ensure the health and wellbeing of all students and staff, the Department is undertaking a thorough deep clean of all affected areas,” she said.
“Arrangements were made for students remaining in Morawa to attend Morawa District High School during the closure.
“The Department is working with relevant authorities to ensure a safe environment at the College and welcome students back as soon as possible.”
A WA Health spokesman said they were advising the Education Department about the use of mouse baits at the college.
“Based on information so far, the risk to staff and students at the school is low and we are continuing to work with education staff to provide support,” a spokesman said.
The Health Department issued a public health alert this month urging people to stay safe handling dead mice to keep their home and family protected after a mouse plague exploded in parts of Western Australia.
Farmers found thousands of burrows per hectare in crops stretching from the Mid-West and Wheatbelt to the Goldfields-Esperance.
Millions of mice were seen running wild through Western Australian cropping zones with some paddocks recording up to 8000 mice per hectare.
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) approved Grain Producers Australia’s application for a higher strength ZP50 mouse bait this week.
The bait was last approved for use in 2021 to 2023, when NSW’s grain belt region dealt with an epic mouse plague.
APVMA Chief Executive Officer Scott Hansen said the authority’s decision was based on a careful and evidence-based assessment to protect farmers, the community and the environment, as required under the law.
“The APVMA prioritises emergency permits to support farmers and communities when they need us most,” he said.
“This prioritisation does not mean taking shortcuts in examination of the product and the way in which it is proposed to be used, including its potential impacts on human health, wildlife and the environment.”
Morawa Shire President Karen Chappell told NewsWire earlier this week residents and business owners were collecting mouse carcasses daily.
Ms Chappell said it was a horrid situation that was having a profound effect on the community.
“There’s always there’s that terrible smell of mice,” she said.
“It’s a bit like going back to Covid again, washing your hands constantly, using hand sanitiser, and being really, really careful because it is risky from a disease perspective.
“I’ve heard of people that had mice in their beds, the other day someone opened their oven and 14 mice jumped out, I live with it as well.
“You open draws and mice have been in, they chew your books, they get into cars, they eat wiring, they get into the back of dryers or washing machines and into air conditioners.”
