01/11/2023
Winter season is upon us in the Dayton area, which means shorter days and colder nights. When it’s uncomfortable outside, and you just want to cozy up where it’s nice and warm, you can be assured that the common house mouse couldn’t agree more. Mice top the list for the most common complaint we receive during the winter months. While most other bugs slow down until warmer weather arrives, mice are busy making your home theirs!
Believe it or not, some people feel sorry for mice and think they are cute and are just trying to survive the elements, but you do not want them overtaking your home. Once these pests enter your home, they seek out your food and begin wreaking havoc.
One pair of mice alone will consume approximately 4 pounds of food and deposit 18,000 droppings. You heard that right, 18,000!!!
Generally speaking, they will contaminate about 10 times what they eat. They are also common carriers of the following diseases: Salmonella Food Poisoning, Rickettsial Pox, Meningitis, Leptospirosis, and Ringworm.
Aside from contaminating your food source and the risk of disease transmission, mice will damage other products in your home as they begin to explore, including books, paper products, and family heirlooms in storage, you name it! Mice are also well-known for chewing on electric wiring and power cords, causing major concern for starting a fire in your home.
The Common House Mouse
The house mouse (Mus musculus) is a highly adaptable creature who thrives in various conditions. They feed on nearly every type of human food and reproduce at an incredible rate (more on that in a bit). They are found throughout the U.S. and are the most common rodent problem in the Dayton, Ohio, area. Let’s talk about identification.
The appearance of the Common House Mouse
Although it may vary slightly from region to region, the typical mouse generally has a fairly common appearance. An adult mouse will be gray or medium brown over most of its body, with a lighter shade on the underbelly (not white). They have moderately large ears compared to the rest of the body and a tail nearly hairless and about as long as their body. The overall length is generally 2 ¼ to 4 inches long, and they have relatively small feet and eyes.
The life cycle of the Common House Mouse Behavior
Mice generally nest outdoors, with peak breeding seasons during spring and fall. However, under optimal conditions (such as in your home). A single female mouse may produce up to 10 liters per year, which is about 50 baby mice!! Within 3 weeks of birth, newborn mice will begin to take short trips away from the nest and take solid food.
The Common House Mouse Behavior
Mice have very poor eyesight and rely heavily on smell, taste, touch, and hearing. One keen sense they possess is touch and therefore rely on their sensitive whiskers as they feel their way along walls, burrows, and passageways. Mice also have a fantastic sense of balance as well as some other impressive physical abilities, which include:
Ability to jump up to 12 inches off the ground
Run up nearly any vertical service
Run horizontally along an electric wire
Squeeze through an opening approximately ¼ inch (about the size of your thumb)
Very capable swimmers
Able to jump from a height of 8 feet to the floor and survive.
Mice are most active at night and regularly cover a designated area or territory. Mice are naturally inquisitive and often explore and check out new objects within their territory. This helps the pros at Dayton Pest Control come up with a plan to stop them from overtaking your home. By understanding their habits, we can present baits and traps in a way that will encourage them to interact with this “new” object and therefore eliminate your problem.
Looking for Rodent Control Services in Dayton, OH?
Dayton Pest Control has plenty of experience in dealing with rodent problems. We can safely use top-of-the-line products to keep your family safe and healthy while eliminating unwanted rodents from your home or business.
A quick phone conversation or a general inspection is often enough to get the ball rolling to protect your home and keep a small mouse problem from becoming a large one. Give us a call today!
