It’s a wily and curious little creature, and it’s the most common among home-invading mice. Very cute it is too, but arguably so only when it is in a cage within the pet store. It’s no longer as cute when it decides that your home is a prime place for its home.
The house mouse is not merely an unwanted pest. It can soon become a threat to the health of everyone who lives there.
And unfortunately, since they are very small and tend to be of nocturnal habits, while they prefer to make a nest in those particularly out-of-the-way locales, you might not have any idea that there is a problem until it becomes something of a major issue.
So, how can you determine that you have a house mouse problem in your home? Why does it represent a health problem? Here, we will look at identification methods, behavior, potential diseases and damage, as well as various signs of house mice inhabitation.
What does it look like?
- It is small and has a slender body, and its physical characteristics are as follows:
- A body length of between 2 and 3.5 inches.
- It has a 3 to 4-inch tail which is hairless.
- It weighs less than a single ounce.
- Its hair is either light brown or gray.
- It has a small head with little black eyes, large ears, and a pointed snout.
What characteristic behaviors do house mice possess?
House mice are nocturnal creatures, which means they are particularly active during the night. The creatures are particularly flexible, and they have no trouble entering your home via a hole or a crack that is no more than 1.25 inch in size.
They can jump up to a foot in height, and they can easily climb up vertical, smooth walls. They are able to run at 12 ft. per second, and they can also swim for anything up to half a mile.
House mice are very inquisitive creatures, and they will feed on human food or a variety of alternative household items like glue, soap, and paste.
It has no requisite for freely running water as it can survive on the water supply within its food source.
How to determine if your home is infested with house mice?
House mice rarely tend to run in open spaces during the daytime, unless there is a particularly sizeable infestation. Nevertheless, they do leave behind certain signs, which include:
- Materials used for nesting.
- Holes with obvious signs of gnawing in places such as food storage areas, insulation, paper, electrical wiring, and also wood items.
- They will leave behind food scraps which are easily identifiable due to the signs of gnawing.
- House mice excrete droppings that have pointed ends and are around a quarter or an eighth of an inch in length.
- They also leave runways which are indicated through narrow pathways where dirt and dust is swept to the side. Trails of urine may be seen in lit up areas.
You can possibly also:
- Hear the mice scampering over laminate flooring and wood.
- Smell the unpleasant odor associated with a larger infestation.
What makes house mice such a problem?
In accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
On a worldwide basis, mice and rats are responsible for spreading more than 35 diseases. The diseases may be spread directly to humans by way of handling a rodent, through contact with urine, feces, or saliva, and through bites.
Diseases that are carried by rodents may also be spread in an indirect basis, through mites, ticks, and fleas that spread disease after feeding on an infected rodent.
A number of diseases that can be transmitted and carried by rodents in general include:
- Rickettsialpox
- Salmonellosis
- Rat bite fever
- Leptospirosis
- Ringworm- and tapeworm-causing organisms
- Lymphocytic choriomeningitis (encephalitis, aseptic meningitis, and meningoencephalitis)
Mice also represent a problem as they:
- Can leave a large quantity of droppings on a daily basis.
- Have no control over their bladder, which means there is a urine trail wherever they venture.
- Cause a variety of structural damage through nest building and gnawing habits.
- Are able to give birth to as many as 35 babies annually.
- Contaminate food with hair, droppings, and urine.
- In the US alone, cause over $1 billion worth of damage annually.