The adult house mouse is small and slender and about 1-2 inches long, excluding tail.
The house mouse has large ears (as seen the the photo below), pointed nose and small eyes. The tail is as long as the head
and body combined.
The fur color varies, but it is usually a light grey or brown, but could be darker shades. It has
an overall coloration.
Since mice have a higher population number than rats, they are more widespread.
Do
I have a house mouse or a young rat?
A rats's head and feet will be proportionally larger to it's body than
a mouse's head or their feet.
A rats's head and feet will be proportionally larger to it's body
than a mouse's head or their feet. HOUSE MOUSE DIET:
A mouse will eat almost anything, but prefer cereal grains,
seeds, or sweet material. They require very little water, obtaining most of their water needs from their food. Mice can consume
large quantities of stored seed and grains from farmers and granaries.
HOUSE MOUSE HABITS AND BIOLOGY:
If there
are good living conditions(food, water, and shelter),they can multiply rapidly. They sexually mature in two months, producing
about 8 litters in a one year life time. Each litter has 4-7 pups.
A house mice in a city environment may spend it's
entire life in buildings. In rural and suburban settings, it may not only live inside, but be found outside near foundations,
in the shrubbery, weeds, crawl spaces, basements, or in garages.
They survive well on weeds, seeds, or insects, but
when their food supply is shortened by the colder months they move inside nesting closer to a food supply. They make their
nest from soft material like paper, insulation, or furniture stuffing. These nest are found in many places including: in walls,
ceiling voids, storage boxes, drawers, under major appliances, or within the upholstery of furniture. Outside the nests are
found in debris or in ground burrows.
House mice have a characteristic musky odor that identifies their presence.
Mice
while being "nibblers" eating many times at different places, they do have two main meal times...just before dawn
and at dusk...they simply "snack" at other times at intervals or every 1-2 hours. They can eat about 10 to 15% of
their body weight every day, the adults weighing about 5/8-1 oz. Mice also cache food as supply permits. They get much of
there water from food products.
Mice are active mostly at night, but they can be seen occasionally during daylight hours.
A
house mouse is an excellent climber and can run up any rough vertical surface. It will run horizontally along wire cables
or ropes and can jump up 13 inches from the floor onto a flat surface
HOUSE MOUSE INSPECTION:
Their droppings(feces)are
about 1/8-1/4 inch long, rod shaped. They gnaw small, clean holes about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Many times in kitchens you
will find gnawing damage on the corner of boxes and paper, shredded for their nest. They will gnaw at bar soaps.
