Health officials ask for diligence against mice
By Shayna Coleon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
State health officials yesterday urged residents to set rodent traps and take other measures to fight one of the biggest mouse infestations in years.
"We need to take action to control the mice to prevent human illness," State Health Director Bruce Anderson said.
State Health Director Bruce Anderson said the state has not seen a population explosion of mice this big since 1996 on Lana'i.
The Health Department reported that vector control traps caught at least 110 mice in Kihei on Maui, four times as many that were trapped there last year, Anderson said. Rural areas of Kaua'i, the Big Island and Leeward O'ahu also are affected, he said.
The health department's Vector Control Branch has stepped up its rodent control efforts and added 20 to 45 sophisticated mouse traps in highly affected areas, said Kenneth Hall, chief director of the state's Vector Control Branch.
"People can always call vector control or call a private pest control company," said Kenneth Hall, chief director for the state's Vector Control Branch. "But we can only do so much in the community. We're hoping that the majority of people in the affected areas will take simple steps to help the situation."
Indoor and outdoor rodent control tips from the state Department of Health: • Keep a clean home, especially the kitchen. Do not leave food out — even pet food. • Place traps near baseboards because mice tend to run along walls and not in open spaces. • Check traps daily. If mice are not removed quickly, it can increase the risk of infection with diseases. • Clear brush and grass around house foundations to eliminate places where mice can nest. For more information, call the Department of Health's Vector Control Branch at 483-2535.
Gloria Brown, manager of City Mill in Wai'anae, said mouse traps have been selling quickly at the Leeward hardware store.
Fight the infestation
Brown, who lives in Wai'anae, said she has killed more than 30 mice in the past month on her property.
"This past month has been really bad," Brown said. "I go out in my yard, and I see them all over. We are expecting to sell a lot of mouse traps in August."
The mouse population boomed after winter rains led to growth of wild grasses, which produce seeds that mice eat. When dry weather came, mice moved into developed areas to forage for food.
"We need to take action to control the mice to prevent human illness," Anderson said.
