Mice: Pet or Pest?

Mice: Pet or Pest?

Over the years, the general public reception of rodents has slightly shifted from complete pest to cute pet for some families. But there are still many instances today where rodents welcome themselves in our homes without our permission. Specifically, house mice can be a persistent pest due to their adaptability and agility. In order to properly handle a mice infestation, it is important to understand some of the defining characteristics of these pests.

What Makes a Mouse a Pet Instead of a Pest?

If you have ever had the displeasure of finding mice in your home, you may be asking this question right now. The defining difference is that a pet is welcomed and intentionally cared for in a home, whereas a pest is not. Think of a pet dog or cat: when a family brings a new furry friend home, they are focused on making sure this animal has proper food, water, shelter, medicine, and grooming. It’s the same with a family who brings a mouse home to keep as a pet. This rodent is cared for and should have a clean environment to live in, such as an appropriately-sized cage. But rodents of all kinds can still carry germs and diseases even if they are considered clean, so it is important to never let a rodent scratch or bite you.

Conversely, house mice that are pests are known by the damage they leave behind. They gnaw on just about anything, including cables which can lead to fires. They can eat a lot of human or pet food, especially as their colony grows. House mice, like any rodent, can also spread diseases and smaller critters, like fleas and ticks, through their fur and droppings. They are mainly active at night when they believe they are alone, which may be why their evidence is mainly found during the day.

The Features of House Mice

Since house mice are thought to have come over to North America with the original European colonists, they have been invading American homes for around four centuries. They will make themselves at home in just about any place that has even decent food and shelter. Garages, refrigerators, barns, kitchens, garbage cans, pet food containers, silos, grain mills, and livestock pens are all typical habitats of rodent pests. House mice got their name because of their tendency to stay near houses and garages, but they can survive anywhere that there is access to food, water, and shelter.  These mice tend to be light-gray or brown in color with small ears and a pointed snout. They are the smallest of all mouse species, measuring only around four inches from nose to tail tip and weighing less than one ounce as an adult. House mice have excellent senses of taste, smell, touch, and hearing. Although their sense of sight isn’t the best, their peripheral vision is acute.

Mice reproduce extremely rapidly, quickly colonizing areas throughout homes or buildings where exposed food or shelter is available. One female mouse can produce multiple litters of six young each year starting at just three months old. If conditions are favorable, female mice may even give birth to litters twice each year! They live about nine to eighteen months, and since mouse pups are actively searching for food from around three weeks old, they can live in our homes long enough to grow their family a few times over. House mice are very curious, and are able to explore just about all of their curiosities due to their abilities to swim in water, jump about thirteen inches, and fit through the smallest of cracks. Even though they come into our homes to find shelter in the winter months, mice can live in refrigerators or freezers, especially in commercial kitchens.

Preventative Measures Against an Infestation

The best way to handle a mouse infestation is to take preventive measures to hopefully eliminate the possibility of it happening in the first place. One simple yet effective way to do this is by ensuring that food is sealed and stored properly. Clip all open chip and cereal bags closed, and place inside a zip-top bag for extra security. Store opened pastas, grains, and bread in the refrigerator to eliminate easy access. In the same vein, make sure that any pet food is stored properly and the food bowl is put away after the pet is finished eating. Large dog or cat food bags can be stored in a trash can with a locking lid, available for purchase at any hardware store.

Other effective ways to prevent a mouse infestation is to seal all cracks and openings in the foundation and doorways of a home, including the garage. Mice can fit through cracks as small as the width of a pencil, so it is important to ensure that they are all sealed with materials that cannot be gnawed through, like sheet metal or wire mesh. All doors and windows should also be properly sealed and shut when not in use. Make sure that all leaks in the home and garage are taken care of, as puddles are water sources for mice. Trim back any vegetation that is against the home, since that can be an easy pathway. While these measures can certainly prevent a large infestation happening immediately, mice can find their way into even the cleanest of homes.

Signs of an Active Mice Infestation

A mouse infestation does not mean that you have a dirty or unkempt home. It just means the house mice happened to find reliable food and shelter under your roof. There are quite a few signs of an active mouse infestation, including:

• Droppings or urine stains
• Small tracks
• Gnaw marks on baseboards, wood, cables, etc.
• Nests made from shredded paper and cloth
• A musky odor, especially in an unventilated room
• Sounds of scurrying or gnawing, especially at night
• Discarded half-eaten food
• Burrows and runways from the mice running the same paths
• A live or dead mouse

If there is a combination of any of these signs, or even one obvious sign, it is time to call pest control. Wooden traps and glue boards can be a temporary fix, but if the infestation has grown at all, the professionals are equipped to handle it.

Pest Control Measures

Our pest control technicians not only focus on eliminating the house mice problem, they also investigate possible points of entry and give advice on how to avoid another infestation moving forward. Mice may make cute pets for some, but there is no reason they should be stealing your food and living rent-free in your home without your permission.

Citations

Rats and mice. (n.d.). Indiana Department of Health. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from https://www.in.gov/health/erc/infectious-disease-epidemiology/rats-and-mice/

House mouse prevention and control. (n.d.) Illinois Department of Public Health. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pchousemouse.htm

Pet rodents. (January 19, 2017). CDC. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/pets/small-mammals/petrodents.html