NEWCOMB, N.Y. (AP) - Rodents are on the rampage in the Adirondacks.

A big berry and seed crop, easy winter and, perhaps, fewer predators have helped mice and other small critters thrive this year.

Biologist Charlotte Demers traps mice alive, studies and releases them at a research center in Newcomb. She says Adirondack residents have reported scores of mice invading homes this year.

Demers works at the Adirondack Ecological Center, run by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She and other scientists say a high yield from beech trees, oaks, hickories, maples and conifers has helped fuel the mouse population. A mild winter last year and a dry spring increased survival rates.

The biologists began live trapping in 1992. This year, they've caught 19 mice per 100 trap nights, double the next highest year's rate.

But biologists say seed production is dropping off this year, which means fewer mice are likely next year.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)