All about Mice

Mice are small animals, belonging to the order of rodentia. The scientific name of mouse is mus musculus. The common house mouse is the well-known species found in most parts of the world. We can even find the deer mouse and white footed American mouse in homes.

Mice eat almost anything constantly. They eat any kind of fruit, vegetables and grains from plants. They need at least 15 grams of food and 15-milliliter water everyday. They have large incisor teeth, which are grows continuously. Mice need to gnaw something in order to prevent over damaging. Therefore, they can cause greater damages to grains and plants.

There are approximately 1,100 species of mice, which include Golden spiny mouse, harvest mouse, dormouse, Arabian spiny mouse, Egyptian spiny mouse and so on. They are classified into several families like Muridae, Cricetidae and Myomorpha. Muridae family includes the small European harvest mouse, house mouse and the African tree mouse. Cricetidae family includes the South American field mouse, the carnivores Grasshopper mouse and the Rice rat. Myomorpha includes dormouse, Jerboa and the jumping mouse.

Mice are believed to be the second populous mammalian species in the world. House mice live with humans and they are generally herbivores. They are light brown to black in color and they have short hair. They even have a small white belly.

House mice normally weigh 10 to 25 grams and their total length is 75mm to 100mm. The tail length is 50mm to 100mm. The color of their coat varies from light dun to rich brownish red.

Deer Mice have more hair than the house mice and white footed mice, especially around their ears. They weigh 10 to 25 grams and their total length is 119mm to 222mm. The length of the tail is 45mm to 105mm. They have white hairs at the base of their ears. They have a white or light beige color belly and the body color can range from gray to red-brown. They have a two tone tail and the top of the tail is very dark. They usually live in cool forest environment and can be found in higher elevations.

White footed mice have agouti body and white belly. The body color can range from gray to pink-beige. They weigh 15 grams to 25 grams. Their total length ranges from 150mm to 205 mm and the tail length is 65mm to 95 mm. We can differentiate them easily, as they have fur on their feet. They have greater foot length, when compared to house mouse and deer mouse.

The life span of mice is normally one to three years. They become sexually mature within 4 to 7 weeks. The gestation period may range from 19 to 21 days. The birth weight of a baby mouse is 1 to 1.5 grams. Mice are polyestrous and the ovulation is impulsive. The male mice mate with the female soon after she has given birth. Hence, a female mouse can give birth another time, when the first one is still three weeks old.
Mice can breed in almost all seasons, but they prefer mid-winter. A single female mouse can have 5 to 6 litters in a year and can give birth to 2 to 10 young pups each time. Mice can be harmful pests, as they damage and eat crops. They may even spread diseases through their parasites.

Mice Removal Tips

There are various mice removal tips you can follow to effectively eradicate them. The first step is to identify the area of mice activity. Checking for gnaw marks, droppings and body trails can help you with this.

Mousetraps are excellent for trapping them. It is important to protect your hands by wearing gloves before disposing of dead mice. Also remember to keep mice traps away from children.

If you are using a live trap, keep checking on a regular basis. This is vital because it is necessary to free the mice far away from your home to prevent death due to stress, dehydration or hunger. Keep continuing with the traps until you find no mice for at least four to five days. This will ensure they are completely eliminated.

It is also very important to clean up and sanitize the area that was inhabited by the mice. This can be done using a strong organic antiseptic or chlorine bleach. Using bleach is recommended, as it will eliminate all the pathogens.

There are various companies, which offer mice removal services. They help with rodent management and control. Elimination process starts with a complete inspection of the premises. After identifying the rodent target, the necessary control measures are decided upon.

The best option is to hand over mice removal exercise to a professional for best results. This way there is no risk of you handling chemicals and poisons which may cause undue harm. If you fail in preventive maintenance, the next best thing would be to contact one of the mice control agencies without delay.
By allowing mice live inside your home, you will be exposing your home to infested rodents which spreads dangerous diseases. Your home will become a breeding ground for disease, feces, urine and insects.

A good professional mice removal company will first mouse proof your home by sealing off points of access. This can be an imperfection in the building or a chewed hole. They repair the entry point after trapping and sealing the mice in the attic or any infested space in your home.

They also ensure sanitizing the area and getting rid of droppings and urine. The body oils pheromone scent is also eliminated as this attracts more rodents to that area. This is the most vital step in mice removal.

A trained technician can identify the path taken usually by the mice and strategically set the trap for them. They also know how to get rid of dead mice from the traps in a safe manner. So, just contact your nearest professional pest control to eradicate mice from your home.

Damage Caused By Mice

Mice choose structures in the cities and villages, as their habitat. Damage caused due to mice can be really devastating in nature. What they eat is very less in the order of only 3 to 4 grams per day but cause contamination of food materials by their urine, droppings and hair. They not only damage the feed material but also storage places and vehicles transporting them. Their habit of nibbling on whatever they see and leaving behind the remains causes the havoc.

Mice in the fields dig holes and consume freshly planted seeds and grains and the shoots just before the final harvest. Mice are famous for destroying packing materials like wood and plastics. Mice can cause extreme damage to constructed structures by gnawing and create their rest places buy digging holes.  They cut wire insulations inside walls and make their stay around big electrical installations. The damage caused due to mice reaches maximum, when the wires and insulation are chewed up and short circuit happens. Chances of the buildings catching fire are increased. Repairing the wirings and the electrical appliances becomes costly and complicated.  There is evidence of mice destroying rare books, antique articles and paintings in museum which are irreplaceable.

Existence of mice in homes is easily detectable. Fecal excretions of mice along the runways, in their feeding locations and their resting place are clear indications. They leave footprints or marks of their tails on sand or stained surface.  The urine of mice even after drying on surfaces reflects visible light on impinging UV light on them.  Scratches on the beams and pipes are obvious indications of presence of mice in homes.  Accumulation of wood saw and fine powder of insulation material indicate mice activity in that area.  Holes on the floor or edges of wall are clear indications of mice.

Mice produce typical squeaking sound while travelling across ceilings and gnawing.  In the dark, their movements can be detected with flashlight.  Their nests in garages, basements and attics are made of shredded fibers. Rats and mice indicate their presence by their musky odor around their living place.

Mice can cause disease by spreading it to humans.  Food poisoning due Salmonellosis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis are the common diseases spread.  Mice spread leptospirosis, tapeworms and rat bite fever in humans.  Mice cause lot of problems by transmitting bacterial diseases to swines called swine dysentery. Rickettsialpox is caused by the bacterium Rickettsia and transmitted to humans. The patient suffers from fever, headache, backpain and chills. Leptospirosis is caused by spirochetes of Leptospira and the patient contracts the disease by contact with the urine of infected mice. Choriomeningitis is characterized by cellular infiltration of the meanings and the patient is affected by cerebra meningitis. Ratbite fever affects humans by the bite of the mouse. The infected person gets relapsing fever, muscular pain, rashes and arthritis. The bacterium called Streptobacillus b is the cause of this infection.  Tapeworms are very long flatworms of the variety of Cestoda and are found in the intestines of humans.  Mice are infested by fleas and mites and they spread the infections through urine, feces or through bites.