House Mouse

Category:

Actual Size: 5” to 8” long including the tail

Characteristics: Light brown to gray to nearly black. Large ears compared to the body.

Habitat: Outside, they build nests near trees. Inside, they inhabit wall voids, cabinets, and garages.

Habits:

  • Reproduce rapidly—in 8 months, 24 mice can multiply to 2000 mice.
  • Can transmit pathogens that cause diseases such as salmonella.
  • Will make as many as 200 visits to a food source in one night.

House Mice in Georgia

Wild mice are carriers of disease and do not belong in your home. Mice are nocturnal, preferring to do their damage at night. Also, they are omnivorous, meaning they’ll eat pretty much anything they can get their hands on, including their own droppings. House mice prefer to move along baseboards and countertops, marking their territory with urine and feces, and typically build their nests close to a food source, which could be in your home. Their droppings are small and brown, about the size of a sesame seed. Because they breed quickly, it’s possible for your home to be completely infested before you even notice their presence.

House Mouse Habitat

Outdoors, house mice construct nests in fields and beneath trees and shrubs. Indoors, mice will build nests in quiet undisturbed places like wall voids, kitchen cabinets, attics, and garages. Droppings, fresh gnaw marks, and tracks or rub marks indicate areas where mice are active. Nests are made from finely shredded paper or other fibrous material, usually in sheltered locations. House mice have a characteristic musky odor that reveals their presence. Mice are active mostly at night, but they can be seen occasionally during daylight hours.

House Mouse Behaviors, Threats, or Dangers

The house mouse is omnivorous but prefers grains and cereals. House mice contaminate food and are implicated in the transmission of diseases such as salmonella and bubonic plague. The house mouse can cause significant damage to structures by gnawing and tunneling through walls. Mice have also been implicated in the generation of fires and explosions in homes and buildings. Chewed, exposed wires inside walls can spark, causing interior walls to catch fire. If you have a house mouse infestation in your Atlanta area property, always contact a licensed rodent control company.