House Mouse
Appearance
The body of a house mouse is elongated and measures about 18 cm, including tail. The hair on the body is light brown to dark gray, and its tail is covered in very fine dark hair. The house mouse’s head has a pointed snout, broad ears and two black eyes.
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Life Cycle
The female mouse can have 8 litters of about 6 pups during her life, which is around 2 years if environmental conditions are favorable. After a gestation period of 18 to 21 days, mice are born hairless and blind and are milk fed for 3 weeks.
Habitat and Food
When cold weather draws near, mice often seek shelter in a warm home. They especially like the attic, a box, closet, garage or basement. Mice eat a wide variety of food such as butter, chocolate, meat, fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, roots and insects, but they prefer cereal, grains and seeds.
Undesirable Effects
Due to the fact that they nibble on anything, they can damage materials such as wood, aluminum, asphalt and concrete. Mice can also transmit many diseases to humans by contaminating food or from bites.
Signs of Presence
Mice produce unique recognizable sounds. Also, the presence of a lot of tiny feces, greasy stains, nests, slight structural damage, entrance holes of about 4 cm in diameter and traces left by its legs and tail are common signs. It is also possible to detect the urine of mice using an ultraviolet light.
