The latest mouse update from the CSIRO and Grains Development and Research Corporation recorded mice caught on trap grids at Benchmark site at Walpeup while in the Wimmera, there were some sites with moderate activity with around 50 active burrows per hectare seen in four recorded sites.

The numbers come as Grain Producers Australia (GPA) have urged cropping farmers to be on high alert throughout the region, considering the value of crops this season and the cost of inputs.

GPA Southern Director and Special Projects Manager Andrew Weidemann said growers should monitor their paddocks closely for any signs of mice throughout the growing season.

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Mr Weidemann said many mice were being observed particularly in self-mulching clay soils.

"As the temperature cools, we see more activity around sheds, and we are certainly suggesting that it's probably not a mice plague situation at all, by any means," he said.

"But what we're suggesting is that farmers should be vigilant given the cost of putting inputs into the ground this year that they make sure they're monitoring paddocks that are likely to have mice in them.

He said that as the cropping season progresses, it will be certainty that more growers will begin to report sightings of mice, and some paddocks with more feed on the ground and a less than ideal rainfall will see increased breeding.

"We're certainly hearing of bait sales going up, so that suggests that there is activity out there in the broader area, but full scale baiting program are not needed in the region at this stage," Mr Weidemann said.

He said growers experiencing mouse activity can report what they observe to the Mouse Alert website, which provides professional guidance and tips on how best to respond.

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The same CSIRO and Grains Development and Research Corporation report showed mice are in high numbers in southeast West Australia and coastal areas of South Australia and are likely to cause economic damage at sowing in those areas.

CSIRO Research Officer Steve Henry, who helped develop the Mouse Alert app, said farmers had been receptive to giving information about the presence of mice, but that information wanes when mice are not a problem

He said that would be "scientifically a problem for us [at the CSIRO]".

"The idea was to use that data to inform mathematical models to make predictions about potential outbreaks," Mr Henry said.

"Last year, if you look at the recordings for the period through the mouse plague and through Central New South Wales where the plague was worse, the recordings for that period showed that the app was pretty good at describing the extent of the outbreak.

"But it doesn't provide very much detail about the magnitude."

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Mr Henry said on-the-ground monitoring that CSIRO researchers conducted in March showed patchy but moderate numbers of mice through the Victorian Mallee and Wimmera, with high numbers seen in areas where food and shelter are in stubbles.

"I happened to tweet out that I was keen to find out about what farmers were seeing in their paddocks in relation to mice as they sowed the crop," he said.

"I got feedback from Kaniva, Walpeup, the surrounding area around Horsham, Kalkee and the upper northern Mallee, and most of those places said they were seeing visible signs of mice.

"Some farmers said they were baiting their crop, and others said that some paddocks were baited [on thier property] while some of their paddocks were not."

Mr Henry suggested that farmers take time to walk through their stubbles to make sure they understand what's going on with mice in their paddocks and be prepared to bait quickly if numbers increased.

"There are some pretty high value crops out there and some parts of the state have had a really good start to the season, so those high-value crops are well worth protecting," he said.

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