A truly disturbing situation is one in which mice have infested your home or business. Dealing with a mouse infestation can fairly be considered a two-part endeavor. The process includes properly identifying the type of mice that have taken residence in your home or business. Once that is accomplished, the next phase is ascertaining how a mouse infestation will be controlled and then eradicated.
Most Common Types of Mice in the United States
Field Mice
The term field mouse is used to encompass a variety of different types of mice that oftentimes live in fields in the United States. These mice also live in other locations out of doors as well. The typical field mouse has short hair that comes in different colors that include varying shades of brown as well as gray, black, and white. A field mouse typically has a lighter colored belly.
House Mice
A house mouse is a type of field mouse. A house mouse has short hair that typically is light brown, gray, or black. A house mouse has a lighter colored belly. An adult house mouse weighs between 12 to 30 grams.
Deer Mice
Of the three different types of mice discussed in this article the deer mouse is the least common in the U.S.A. With that said, the deer mouse can pose the greatest threat to the health of humans in some cases. The typical deer mouse has a reddish-brown upper coat with a white underbelly. The hair color of the deer mouse does resemble that of a deer; hence, its name.
Deer mice in the United States are confirmed as potential carriers of the dangerous hantavirus. Other rodents may also carry this virus; however, as of this time, the vast majority of hantavirus infections in the U.S.A. have been traced to deer mice (specifically deer mice droppings).
Behavior of Common Mice in U.S.A.
This trio of more commonplace mice in the U.S.A. are primarily nocturnal rodents. This means that these animals primarily are active at night. With that said, these mice do get out and about during daylight hours. This particularly is the case with the house mouse.
These mice are classified as omnivores, which means they eat an array of different types of foodstuffs, including:
- Seeds
- Nuts
- Pet food
- Human food scraps
- Cereal
- Plants (leaves, stems, roots)
- Fruits
- Berries
- Insects
Deer mice have the unique attribute among these three types of mice of eating their own feces.
These mice will build nests inside a home once they have invaded the premises. They are apt to build nests in more isolated locations like basements, attics, crawl spaces, between walls, storage closets, and similar spaces.
The live expectancy of these three types of mice is about one year in the wild and approximately two years in some type of protected space (like a home or business).
Reproduction of Common Mice in the U.S.A.
When any one of the three types of mice commonly found in the U.S.A are able to find shelter in a residence, business, or some other structure, they can breed the year around. This can result in a female giving birth to about 10 litters annually. The typical size of a litter is five or six pups. Litters can consist of as many as a dozen pups.
A female mouse reaches sexual maturity at about five to six weeks of age. Males reach their sexual maturity at about six to eight weeks.
Signs of Mouse Infestation in Your Home or Business
When it comes to signs of a mouse infestation in your home or business, the indicators for each of three most commonplace types of mice in the U.S.A. are the same. The signs that you need to be alert to when it comes to a mouse infestation in your home or business are:
- Mouse droppings
- Greasy-looking marks or trails
- Scratch marks
- Gnaw marks
- Scratching sounds
- Scurrying sounds
- Squealing
The noises are most likely to be heard after sunset.
Controlling and Eradicating an Infestation
Self-help tactics exist through which you can eradicate mice from your home or business. Most experts in the field of mouse eradication consider the traditional bar snap-trap as the most effective way for a home or business owner to eliminate a mouse infestation on his or her own.
Professional rodent eradication and extermination services is the surest way to eliminate a mouse infestation from a home or business.
Once a mouse infestation has been addressed, a home or business owner still needs to address the aftermath of these types of rodents living in the premises. This includes the rodent dropping cleanup and the elimination of related waste.
Mouse droppings can contain dangerous pathogens – viruses or bacteria that have the capability of causing illness, including serious disease, in humans. As a consequence, in order to ensure that mouse droppings and related waste is safely and thoroughly eliminated, seeking professional assistance is a recommended course of action. A rodent dropping cleanup company ensures that a home or business is restored to a completely usable, safe condition following a rodent infestation.