Page 17 - May/June 2019 W.C.T. Magazine

from humans.
The size of an adult house
mouse is 7-10 cm (3-4 inches) with a tail of almost the same length as the rest of the body (5–10 cm, 2-4 inches). In mass, the house mouse barely reaches two ounces in weight (40–45 g), and the color varies from light gray to dark brown. In captivity, house mice can occur in a wider range of colors from pure white to pure black. Typically, undersides are paler than rest of body.
It is hard to characterize good “mouse habitat” because they occur almost anywhere there is food. They are just as easily found inside homes, cottages, commercial buildings, as they are in open fields and agricultural habitats. Globally, house mice occur all over the world and on all continents.
Mice are crepuscular or nocturnal and avoid bright lights. They prefer secluded areas, dark spaces, and usually rest in tight spots that are dry, warm and dark. At night, mice start moving about to look for food. House mice are omnivorous and will consume whatever they encounter. In nature, they eat mostly plant material (seed, nuts) but will also consume insects, invertebrates (worms), and even carrion. When in proximity to humans, any human food is mouse food. Mice will cache food if it is abundant and they can move it. In houses, it is not rare to find hidden stashes of seeds, other dry food (cereal grains), or even rodenticides in pellet form (d-Con) hidden in certain places.
House mice, like all other mice, area extremely agile. They can run, walk, climb, swim, dive under water, stand on their back legs, jump up to 18 inches (45 cm) in height, and if you can stick the end of your pinkie finger inside an opening, a mouse can squeeze in. For this reason, it is really difficult to exclude mice from a building, as even a gap under a door will be big enough to let mice
in.
Mice have numerous predators
as they are the base of the food chain. All carnivorous mammals will eat mice if given a chance, as will all birds of prey and a variety of other large birds as well (herons, crows, seagulls, ravens, etc.). Close to water, mice will be killed and eaten by frogs, snakes, fish, so really – only true herbivores will not kill mice. Around humans, weasels and house cats kill mice, but when there is food, predators can only reduce their numbers, not eliminate them.
Mice are extremely prolific and breed throughout the year. Females have a short estrous cycle of 4-6 days long, with estrus lasting only one day. Following copulation, females will develop a copulation plug that prevents any further copulation, and that plug will stay in place for 24-hours. Gestation lasts 19-21 days, and litter size is 6-8 young, but can range from 3 to 14. A single female can have 5-10 liters per year, hence our inability to eradicate them! Young are born blind, naked, and their eyes open after 13 days, whereas weaning occurs after 21 days. Sexual maturity occurs after only six weeks of age!
Mice are very common house pests. Infestation with mice in any type of building usually is dealt with by a pest control agencies instead of Wildlife Control Operators (WCO). If the presence of mice is
MAY - JUNEn15 occasional, there are almost no
ways to permanently eradicate mice from a building, and constant trapping is the only way to limit their numbers. In some jurisdictions, some types of poisons are legal, in others, trapping and exclusion are the only solutions. Controlling the amount of food available with proper storage in mouse-proof containers, can reduce the level of infestation inside human dwellings. In agricultural buildings, large-scale trapping or poisoning campaigns may sometimes be called for. Most mice die within one year either from predation, and an “old” mouse may reach three years of age in areas free of predation.
Mice infestations are usually very easy to identify for the sign of their small, black droppings, chewed cardboard boxes, tooth marks on food items, or even by direct visual observation in the evening or at night. They can cause serious damage to electrical wires, or damage expensive furniture. Their urine also has a strong smell, and their nest will often be found in storage boxes that were not completely closed.
Mice carry numerous diseases, so mouse-infested areas call for preventive equipment such as face masks and gloves. Some people like to keep mice as pets, but there is no doubt that 99% of humans see them as pest! n
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