Identification:
- The House Mouse may be identified by its small slender body. The ears are large and the tail is semi naked.
- The tail is as long as the body and head combined.
- An adult will weigh .05-1.0 oz.
- The pelage may be dark gray with the underside being a light gray however color may vary greatly.
- Although sometimes confused with a young rat, the mouse has a head and hind feet that are considerably smaller than that of a young rat.
Biology:
- Following mating, a gestation period of approximately 19 days, the female gives birth to an average litter of 4 to 7.
- The pup’s eyes open at 7 – 10 days and they are covered with fur.
- Young mice reach sexual maturity in 5 – 8 weeks.
Home Range:
It can be somewhat difficult to put the Home Range into a defined set of variables. The reason for this is these furry critters are very adept at survival; the sheer desire to survive allows them to live within the confines of a pallet of sustainable product (9 sqft), or they may be forced to travel -yet distances don’t often exceed 50 feet from their home base.
Foraging:
Most foraging will be from dusk to dawn with the heaviest feeding at dusk and again right before dawn. If living within a building that has light they may become present during daylight hours when all is quiet. Mice are opportunistic feeders; they have a tendency to eat cereals & grains.
Control Measures:
When we get to the actual working portion of a rodent problem unfortunately too many clients do not care for the advice. Why? Well a large portion of a problem comes from things such as clutter, debris and sanitation. Too many times I have seen these problems in such a quantities that no matter the number of traps or the amount of bait, we would not be able to get it under control without a cleanup. I don’t remember the last time I found an infestation that was purposely caused. It happens a day at a time, all of the sudden we come to the realization that our surroundings have become overwhelming.
Think of this, removing all the possible harborage will not only spruce up the property but will give the rodents less comfortable surroundings. When mice become stressed not only will they produce fewer offspring; they have tendencies to do such things as eat their own young. Awful you might think, I agree. Let’s just look at it this way, we tidied up the place and they’ve begun our rodent control program for us. Now it may be possible that our products will be able to finish the job.
Below are a few
- Snap Traps
- Glue Traps
- Bait boxes (Containing bait and / or mechanical traps)
- Multi Catch
I have been to locations where bait was ineffective and the client was then unhappy with my service. Keep this in mind- the most effective baiting program will be one that utilizes not only the bait but quite possibly all the tools mentioned above. Sanitation measures are a valuable piece of this process. We wonder why the rodent doesn’t take the bait. Maybe they’ve the keys to the castle and they visit your pantry. Did you ever notice how something you don’t really care for becomes much more desirable when it’s the only option? Let’s reduce their options!
A few additional pieces of information:
- I read where mice were found living in a hollowed out shell of a hard roll inside of bakeries after consuming the bread.
- One experiment demonstrated that 24 mice supplied with abundant food, water & harborage within outdoor pens multiplied into 2,000 mice in only 8 months.