mice can be pretty hit and miss on wooden surface's aswell mainly dependant on whether the surface has a gloss "shiny" finish or not. The laser refracts off the surface giving the sensory reader a miss-interpretation of the mouse's actual position, thus u get the perception the mouse is moving of its own accord!!! simple soloution as mentioned.. use it on something with a dull surface e.g. paper, and non shiny stuff
never heard that before. if there is a problem in a wire then it wont get recognised let alone running around his desktop. Some of the suggestions are really good and right that optical mice are very sensitve and we need to make sure the surface on which we are using them are clean (Static free).
I would suggest to clean the desk and also the bottom lens on the mouse. This should fix the issue.