Interesting Facts About Mice
House mice usually run, walk, or stand on all fours, but when eating, fighting, or orienting themselves, they stand only on the hind legs, supported by the tail. When they run, the horizontal tail serves for balance; the end stands up vertically, unless the mouse is frightened. Mice are good jumpers, climbers, and swimmers.
Mice are mostly active during dusk or night; they do not like bright lights. They live in a wide variety of hidden places that are near food sources and construct nests from various soft materials. Mice are territorial, and one dominant male usually lives together with several females and young. Dominant males respect each other’s territory and normally enter another’s territory only if it is vacant. If two or more males are held together in a cage, they will often turn aggressive unless they have been raised together from birth.
House mice primarily feed on plant matter but are omnivorous. They will eat their droppings to acquire nutrients produced by bacteria in their intestines. House mice, like most other rodents, do not vomit.
More Interesting Facts
Rodents can survive almost anywhere where they can stay warm and food can be found. In the United States alone, rodents cause billions of dollars in damage annually. Did you know that the front incisor teeth of rodents never stop growing. Front teeth that are continuously growing are a trait shared by all rodents. It has been observed that mice without anything to gnaw on, reveals that the incisors can grow as much as five inches per year. The battle to rid dwellings of rodent infestations can certainly seem to be an uphill battle and if allowed to continue unaddressed, time ultimately favors the rodents. Rat and mice bones have been found in the caves where cavemen lived. Although water is vital to human health, such is not the case with all rodents. Desert dwelling kangaroo rats, gerbils and prairie dogs never drink water. A chemical process transforms part of their solid food into water. A mouse can and will jump down 12 feet without injury. They can even have a vertical jump as high as 12 inches. They can easily scale rough vertical surfaces and walk along thin ropes and wires. The odor of mice is quite distinct, however, an experienced pest control specialists can tell the difference between rat and mouse odors. A black light can be used to locate the presence of mice. Urine will have a fluorescent glow under the black light.
Behavior And Adaptability
The house mouse is extremely well adapted for living year round in homes, businesses and many other structures. You are most likely to notice mice during their fall migration indoors and during the winter months because they seek a place of warmth, with a food source and shelter. Once they establish themselves, they can be challenge to control. Even though most people consider mice less disgusting than the rat, mice are much more common and cause EXTENSIVELY MORE damage. Mice are prolific breeders, producing offspring in great abundance, having usually six to ten litters continuously throughout the year each having approximately five to ten babies per litter, with a new litter every forty five days or so. At eight weeks of age, the pups are capable of mating. It is not unusual for a female to be lactating her young and pregnant with a new litter.
The greatest economic loss caused by mice is not due to how much they eat, but what must be thrown out because of damage and or contamination. Food, clothing, furniture, books and many other household items are contaminated by their droppings and urine, or damaged by their gnawing. House mice can EASILY gnaw through electrical wiring causing fires and failure of refrigerators, freezers, washers, clothes dryers and many other appliances. These disease transmitting rodents are nocturnal creatures and are seldom seen by the home or business owner.
Extremely curious, they explore their territory daily, paying particular attention to new items or physical changes in their surroundings. Mice show no aversion to new objects. In comparison to rats, mice wander only short distances from their nest, usually not more than a maximum of 25 feet. If food and shelter are adequate, they may only wander a few feet. To be effective in wiping out these rodents, traps must be placed in the areas where mouse activity is blatant. Mice prefer to travel adjacent to walls and other edges which is another critical point to remember when positioning traps. Mice enjoy cereal grains and seeds in their feeding, however, peanut butter are also a very delicious favorite, especially when applied properly to a suicide trap. When many food sources are available they can be sporadic eaters. Mice may make up to 30 visits at different food sites each night, munching as little as .15 gram of food at each site. Sites can change from night to night, but certain sites, where the mouse feels safest are their nightly hotspots. On the other hand, when food is limited, mice may visit a food source 200 or more times per night, only taking about 20 milligrams during each visit. An average mouse will consume about 3 to 4 grams or about 1/10th of an ounce of food each night.
Gain Control Fast
Choosing between traps and poison for rodent control will depend upon the severity of the problem, the location and the experience of the trapper. My sole preference is the basic SNAP TRAP/ RAT MOUSE TRAP and these traps are often preferred over poison baits for these reasons. SNAP TRAPS are often preferred for controlling mice since they eat less than rats and sometimes do not ingest enough poison to make it effective. Snap traps are highly recommended, extremely effective and should be placed in areas that are frequented by rodents. These areas can be identified by looking for gnaw marks, rodent tracks, droppings, urine stains, burrows or grease smudges along walls. It is best to bait rat traps and leave them not set until the rodents begin to feed. Rat traps should be anchored in some way. Rats can drag the trap away if only partially but none fatally caught. You can easily lure mice to a feeding area using gum drops, bacon, nuts, oats and dried fruit; however peanut butter is a strong preference for baiting the trap. When trapping mice, make the bait in each trap about the size of two to three match heads.
Traps should be baited with fresh material regularly to remain attractive to these filthy pests. There should be many more traps than rodents for trapping to be effective. It is best to place traps close to each other, every 5 to 10 feet for mice and no more than 20 feet for rats. Move them regularly if no rodents are caught. Be aware though, older rats may avoid a newly placed trap for over a week. For this reason, you may want to leave traps in place for two weeks before relocating them to another place. Success can be enhanced by placing traps with the trigger end against walls where the rodents like to run. This can cause the rodent(s) to run across the trigger in both directions. Snap traps can be reused without special cleaning.
Once mice become a problem they can be extremely hard to get rid of. If in a home for a good period of time, a large amount of mice may be living in your attic, foundation or walls without home owners being aware of their presents or damage that is being done. Also, as said earlier they can live off almost nothing! Hiring Minnesota Wild Animal Management Inc. is your best bet in getting rid of these rodents once and for all. We have well established techniques and are well experienced in dealing with these pests. Not only will we control the animals’ population in your home, we will also ensure they will not come back through proper sealing and guarding of entry points.
