Size: 5 to 7 inches long.

Characteristics: All grey or grey on top and white underbelly.

Behavior: Curious, only travel about 30 feet from their nests.

Facts: Disease carrier (Typhus, Salmonella, The Plague, Hanta Virus); destroys enough food every year to feed 200 million people; 6-8 per litter, 8 litters per year.

It’s cold outside and here come the mice!! Mice love to explore their surroundings, they have poor eye sight so they use their sense of smell and hearing to guide them. Mice sense of smell is four times greater than ours and they use it to seek out food and detect if there are predators in the area. A mouse can also use their sense of smell to detect if a potential mate has a good immune system for mating.

Mice will feed up to 20 different times a day, traveling up to 50 feet to do so. They will feed on almost anything but prefer seeds and nuts. Mice need to gnaw constantly in order to keep their teeth short. Their nests consists of a ball of grass, leaf litter and anything they can find, they pack it together in a sheltered area like a wood pile or shed.

One female mouse can produce 11 litters with 42 young a year. Baby mice are weaned after 30 days and can start breeding after two months. Mice do not hibernate, they will venture out over the snow and hunt for food, often you can see mouse tracks in the snow around homes.

Mice like to have their whiskers touching whatever surface they are running along side. This makes them feel comfortable and allows them to pick up odors along the surface as they scurry along. Placing snap traps along the sill plate in the basement baited with peanut butter is a good choice and will work quickly. Make sure the traps snap towards the wall and use plenty of them. Do not use poison baits, the mice may die in an area you may not be able to get to and they will start to smell when they decay. Plugging up holes around the exterior with steel wool will also help keep the mice from entering. As always if you need help contact Guardian Pest Control.