HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE MICE?

• Mice can often be seen or heard and you can also see their droppings.

• Mice are brown to gray in color with the tail as long as the body.

• Adult mice weigh about 1/2 ounce.

• Droppings are about 1/8” to ¼” in length and rod shaped.

• Mice have poor sight and can only see about 6 inches clearly (remember “3 Blind Mice”?) and get around by using their vibrissa or whiskers, sort of like “curb feelers” because of their poor eyesight.

• Therefore, if not frightened, mice will generally be noticed and active along the perimeter areas of rooms.

ARE MICE DANGEROUS?

• Mice are important to human health because of the many diseases mice or their parasites can transmit to humans, including salmonellosis (food poisoning), rickettsialpox, and lymphocytic choriomeningitis. Mice may also carry leptospirosis, ratbite fever, tapeworms, and organisms that can cause ringworm (a fungal skin disease) in humans.

• Mice spread disease by contaminating food and utensils with droppings and urine.

• They have a bladder but no bladder control and will urinate anywhere and often.

• Mice produce about 50 -100 droppings per day.

CAN MY HOUSE BE DAMAGED BY MICE?

• Yes. Mice are “gnawers”. Since their front teeth continually grow and only gnawing keeps their teeth short, mice will gnaw on anything including walls, molding, ceiling tiles, and wires.

• Rodents are believed to be a significant cause of fires where the cause is undetermined.

• Mice can damage ceiling tile with their urine.

WHY ARE MICE IN MY HOUSE?

Mice normally live outdoors, but will migrate into homes or buildings, typically during spring and fall for warmth, protection and/or food.

WHAT DO MICE EAT AND DRINK?

• Prefer to eat seeds or cereal, but will feed on a wide variety of foods.

• Mice like hard bread.

• Mice are “nibblers,” eating small amounts of food throughout the day.

• Mice can survive on 1/10 ounce of food and 1/20 ounce of water per day. They do not need water if there is high moisture content in the food.

HOW OFTEN DO THEY REPRODUCE?

• Mice live about 1 year and reach sexual maturity in 35 days.

• They have 5-8 young per litter and a new litter every 40-50 days.

WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MICE?

• They range only 10 to 30 feet once a nest is established.

• Mice are excellent climbers and can climb up most rough surfaced walls; they can jump up about 1 foot, and jump down about 8 feet without injury.

• Mice can survive in cold storage facilities with temperatures as low as 40 F.

• Mice can and will, run horizontally along pipes, ropes, and wires.

I THINK MY PET GOT INTO THE MOUSE BAIT. WHAT DO I DO?

Even if your pet decided to endure the bitter taste, it is doubtful it would consume enough bait packets at a single residence to cause any harm. The concentration of active ingredient in most rodent baits is 0.005% (five one-thousandth of a percent) which is enough to be effective on something as small as a mouse, but should not have significant effect on a house pet. The antidote (should you ever need one) for most rodent baits is Vitamin K1. 

NINE INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MICE:

1. Mice can make their own vitamin C.

2. Mice will nurse babies that are not their own.

3. Baby mice curl up when they are being carried.

4. Greeks and Indians thought mice were lightning bolts.

5. Japanese bred white mice 300 years ago.

6. People have bred blue mice.

7. Mice don’t have roots on their incisors.

8. The name mouse comes from "mus", a Sanskrit word that means thief.

9. Mice can swim, but prefer not to do so.