An Introduction to the house mouse (Mus Musculus)

 

The House Mouse is about 70-92 mm long, it has a pointed nose, bright black eyes, brown ears and brownish/grey fur with paler brown fur on the underside.

Although it is shortsighted it has very sensitive hearing and can easily pick up vibrations in the air. The house mouse is mainly nocturnal but will come out of hiding during the day if it feels safe.

The House mouse is a communal animal and lives in family colonies. Any other mice from a different family will be chased away from the area. Family members are well cared for and thoroughly groomed by each other. Each Mouse will mark it's own territory. Females breed throughout the year but mainly from spring onwards. They will build a nest in the most difficult of places to get to, and sometimes share a nest/litter with other females.

The house mouse has many predators who will hunt and kill the mice including cats, weasels, polecats, kingfishers, ferrets, foxes, hedgehogs, porcupines, shrews, snakes and owls as well as other birds of prey.

Almost every village, town and city has a colony of mice living underground, in grain stores, warehouses, factories and houses. They are considered pests and vermin by many people due to the fact that they carry disease and can contaminate food with their urine and droppings.

The mouse can run, jump, easily climb walls and swim if necessary. They mainly eat seed and grain but will also eat any food available, and will make their way to the kitchen when in a house.

In the house this mouse can get through the smallest of gaps only about 9mm in size. Concrete floors won't stop them getting in as they can climb walls and come through upstairs windows where they will go through the wall cavities and down to the lower floors.

Signs That You Have A Mouse In Your House

Look for Mouse droppings, signs of gnawing, noises from under the floorboards during the night or even chewed up food packaging.

What to do about it

Most people go out and buy poison to kill the mice or use a mouse trap. I don't agree with these methods a wild mouse may prove to be a pest but that's no reason to kill it, apart from the fact that a dead mouse will give off a terrible smell for ages.

Buy a mouse friendly trap available at most pet stores, put some cheese and crackers in the trap and leave where you think the mouse is, where their are signs of droppings near the skirting boards or walls if possible. Check the trap frequently or the mice will die in the trap. Then when you have caught the live mouse release it several miles from home or it will come back.