The moment the sun set, sixth generation Queensland farmer Tony ‘Nobby’ Dolbel armed himself with buckets catching mice by the hundreds and every night.
It was 2022, and alongside thousands farmers around the country, Nobby and his wife Leisa were desperate to deter the disease ridden rodents from destroying their livelihood.
They were outnumbered and the mice were growing in numbers seemingly by the minute.
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Then, just days after Christmas, while the Dolbel’s were visiting family, Nobby woke to a call at 5am.
Mice had crept into his home and nested in the back of his fridge which started an electrical fire.
Their home crumbled under the flames leaving nothing behind.
“When we got there it was a mess, the fire was out but the smoke and the smell was awful,” Nobby tells 7Life.
Staring at the rubble, Nobby recalls two strangers who appeared helping them rebuild from the ashes.
Driving around his farm in a buggy admiring his property and cattle is Nobby’s happy place.
But according to the farmer, surviving years of drought was nothing compared to the 2022 mice plague.
“Drought is a funny thing, its unlike any other natural disaster, it creeps in and then bam your in it with no idea how long it will last,” he says.
“You have to then just watch as the land grows drier and drier each day. And although you know it will rain again each day a tiny bit of hope fades.”
Nobby recalls the drought in 2019 where he prayed for rain water just so they could flush their toilets.
Eventually the rain came and soon his property was thriving once again.
But just three years later, when they were just getting back on their feet, Nobby came face to face with his biggest challenge yet.
“We usually experience some mice on farms particularly when there is fodder around or a particularly good grass season and there is lots of seed around,” he says.
“So we just thought it was normal – seasonal almost.
“And then over the course of a couple of weeks we started to see numbers double and triple, they started getting into sheds and our houses where they wouldn’t usually.
“They even got into closed cars and tractors.”
Nobby began buying 8kg buckets of bait only to watch the mice chew through and entire container before his eyes.
Spending upwards of $300 a week on traps and bait, Nobby began spending his evenings placing enormous 20kg buckets of bait around his property.
Afterwards he would use the buckets to shovel hundreds of mice away from his sheds and home.
“They were destroying our silage bales and contaminating all of their feed,” he explains.
“We ended up with very sick and dying cattle.”
Leisa spent her days cleaning the house and cars as mice continued to find away inside.
But as Christmas came, the couple decided to head to Hervey Bay for a well deserved holiday with their family.
However, the first morning of their holiday, Nobby woke to a phone call at 5am.
“It is certainly something I will never forget,” he says.
On the other end of the call was Nobby’s youngest son Sam, who was at the family farm.
“(Same) simply said, ‘Dad the house is gone’,” Nobby recalls.
“I was shocked and had to ask, ‘what mate what do you mean it’s gone?’.”
Nobby jumped in his car and drove four hours back to his property.
There he was met with the fire brigade and what was left of his home.
As the family focused on their next steps, the insurance company began determining the cause of the fire.
After months of investigation, they discovered mice had claimed a refrigerator located on the back deck of Nobby’s home.
They had created a nest in the back panelling which sparked the fire.
From there, the flames quickly took hold of the wooden deck and sped through the house, claiming everything in its path.
As the family began plans to rebuild on the property, Nobby recalls the kindness of two strangers who rocked up on his doorstep.
Two kind Aussies, Tash and Steele, from a small charity helping rural families Farm Angels generously handed the family a large hamper of groceries.
“It’s not really what they gave us that helped – I mean we did need to buy a lot – but it was knowing that they knew we needed a hand and that they valued us so much that they went out of their way to help,” Nobby explains.
Having donated to the Farm Angels before, Nobby already knew of the amazing cause.
As the family rebuilt Farm Angels stayed in touch with the family and helped support them with a cuppa and a shoulder to lean on.
Nearly two years on since the mice plague claimed their home, the couple have rebuilt and continue to farm on their land.
For both Nobby and Leisa, they are forever grateful for Farm Angels and are currently supporting their latest campaign to help mental health in the rural community.
“We just want to say to everyone reading this that it really was life changing the support that Farm Angels have given us,” Nobby adds.
“We want to encourage everyone to give whatever you can towards the Flanno Campaign.
“If one million people give $1 that’s a whole lot of help to other Farmers. You don’t have to give a lot to make a big change in someones life.”
You can help support Farm Angels latest campaign by donating to Flanno for a Farmer.