Home Facts About Mice
Facts About Mice
The house mouse is remarkably well-adapted for living year-round in homes, food establishments and other structures. Homeowners are especially likely to notice mice during winter, following their fall migration indoors in search of warmth, food and shelter. Once mice become established inside a home, they can be extremely difficult to control.

Mice originated in Asia and spread through Europe many centuries ago. In the 1500s, mice arrived on the ships of the explorers the English and French explorers, traders and colonists.

Although most people consider mice less objectionable than rats, mice are more common and cause significantly more damage. Mice are prolific breeders, producing six to ten litters continuously throughout the year.

The greatest economic loss from mice is not due to how much they eat, but what must be thrown out because of damage or contamination. Food, clothing, furniture, books and many other household items are contaminated by their droppings and urine, or damaged by their gnawing.

Mice in the home

House mice gnaw through electrical wiring causing fires and failure of freezers, clothes dryers and other appliances. Mice also can transmit diseases, most notably salmonellosis (bacterial food poisoning) when food is contaminated with infected rodent feces. Other diseases include rickettsialpox, lymphocytic choriomenigitis, leptospirisis, ratbite fever, tularemia, Lyme disease and dermatitis caused by the bites of mites from the mice. Hantavirus (pulmonary syndrome) is another danger becoming more common.

Mice are nocturnal creatures and are rarely seen by the homeowner. The most obvious indicators of their presence are droppings (1mm to 2mm long, dark and pointed at both ends), sounds of them running, gnawing or squeaking, or damage to stored food or materials for nesting. Highly curious, mice explore their territory daily, paying special attention to new items or physical changes in their home range. Unlike rats, mice show no aversion to new objects.

Compared to rats, mice forage only short distances from their nest, usually not more than 5metres to 10metres. When food and shelter are adequate, their foraging range may be only a few feet.

For this reason, traps and other control devices must be placed in areas where mouse activity is most apparent. Mice prefer to travel adjacent to walls and other edges- another critical point to remember when positioning control devices. Mice seem to prefer cereal grains and seeds in their feeding. They are sporadic in their feeding, particularly when there are many food sources available. In these situations, mice may make 20 to 30 visits to different food sites each night, taking as little as 0.15 gram of food at each site. Sites may vary from night to night, but certain sites where the mouse feels safe are nightly favorites. When food sources are limited, mice may visit the source 200 or more times per night, but only 20 milligrams may be taken during each visit. In all, the average mouse will consume only 3 to 4 grams or about 1/10th of an ounce, of food per night.


Signs you have Mice:

Mice constantly leave droppings in the areas they frequent. Approximately 1cm to 2cm in length, fresh droppings are dark in color and soft in texture. As they age, droppings become hard and brittle.



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