Mice (Mus musculus)

The Definitive Guide to Mice Control and Where to Find a
Wildlife Control Professional!

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Identification

Mice (Mus musculus) are a small, slender rodent that has a slightly pointed nose; small, black, somewhat protruding eyes; large, sparsely haired ears; and a nearly hairless tail with obvious scale rings. House mice are considered among the most troublesome rodents in the United States.

Range

Following their arrival on colonists’ ships, house mice spread across North America and are now found in every state, including coastal areas of Alaska, and in the southern parts of Canada.

House mice live in and around homes, farms, commercial establishments, and in open fields and agricultural lands. At times they may be found living far from human settlements, particularly where climates are moderate. The onset of cold weather each fall in temperate regions cause mice to move into structures in search of shelter and food.

Damage Caused by Mice

When house mice live in or around structures, they almost always cause some degree of damage. In homes and commercial buildings, they feed on various stored food items or pet foods. In addition, they will contaminate foodstuffs with their urine, droppings, and hair. A single mouse eats only about 3 grams of food per day (8 pounds per year) but destroys considerably more food than it consumes because of its habit of nibbling on many foods and discarding partially eaten items.

House mice living in fields dig up and feed on newly planted grain, or cause some damage to crops before harvest. But losses in stored foods are considerably greater. Mice destroy packaging materials in warehouses where food and feeds are stored. Much of this loss is due to contamination with droppings and urine, making food unfit for human consumption.

House mice cause structural damage to buildings by their gnawing and nest-building activities. In livestock confinement facilities and similar structures, they may quickly cause extensive damage to insulation inside walls and attics. Such damage also occurs in homes, apartments, offices, and commercial buildings but usually at a slower rate because mouse populations in such structures are smaller. House mice often make homes in large electrical appliances, and they chew up wiring as well as insulation, resulting in short circuits which create fire hazards or other malfunctions that are expensive to repair. Mice also damage stored items in attics, basements, garages, or museums. Damaged family heirlooms, paintings, books, documents, and other such items may be impossible to replace.

Among the diseases mice or their parasites can transmit to humans are salmonellosis (food poisoning), rickettsial pox, and lymphocytic choriomeningitis. Mice can also carry leptospirosis, rat bite fever, tapeworms, and organisms that can cause ringworm (a fungal skin disease) in humans. They have also been found to act as reservoirs or transmitters of diseases of veterinary importance, such as swine dysentery, a serious bacterial disease of swine often called “bloody scours.”

Mice Damage

Control Methods

Effective prevention and control of mice damage involves three aspects: rodent-proof construction, sanitation, and population reduction by means of traps, toxicants, or fumigants. The first two are useful as preventive measures, but when a mouse infestation already exists, some form of population reduction is almost always necessary.

Control of house mice differs in important ways from the control of Norway or roof rats. Mice are smaller and therefore can enter narrower openings, making rodent-proofing more difficult. They have limited areas of movement (home range) and require little or no free water. While having a reproductive capability that is higher than that of rats, house mice are usually less sensitive (often far less sensitive) to many rodenticides. Persons who do not take these differences into account when attempting mice control may expect poor results.

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