Are you smarter than the average mouse?
In order to get rid of mice and keep them gone, you should understand how they live and what they may do to escape your quest to eliminate them from your home.
Like any good hunter, you need to understand your prey. These facts about mice should get you up to speed quickly so you can outsmart even the trickiest mouse.
1. Mice live in groups. If you have one, then you very likely have a little family living in your house or garage. There is a social hierarchy in the group especially in the males of the species.
2. Mice have small defined living areas. Most mice will keep to a relatively small living area. Mice will only travel about 25 feet from their home to reach their food source. In times of scarce food, they may travel further, but it is not as common. If you see droppings in separate areas more than 30 feet apart you very likely have a couple different families of mice living in your home.
3. Mice are territorial creatures. They will mark their territory with their urine. So if you have mice, you can bet they are peeing all over your kitchen floor and anywhere else they travel in your home.
Mice will examine their territories every day to investigate and see if anything has changed. This is part of the reason they may not go into your traps right away. One strategy used to get very crafty mice is to place traps that are not set in their areas. Wait several days until the mice are used to the traps and not afraid of them, then set the traps.
Mice breed very fast! A single lady mouse can have from 25 to 50 babies in just 1 year.
4. Mice breed very quickly. A female mouse will have litters of approximately 5 to 8 babies that are born about 20 days after mating. The female mice mature very rapidly and can mate as early as 6 weeks old. Each female may have 5-10 litters every year!
The lifespan of a mouse is about 4 years old. That is of course if it doesn’t get eaten by a predator or caught in your trap!
5. Mice can get in almost anywhere. A mouse can squeeze into the tiniest of areas, as small as ¼ of an inch. This is the size of a pencil eraser. They only have to fit their skull in the hole, the rest of their body will easily fit through.
6. Mice can jump & are excellent climbers. Depending on the variety, some mice are very good jumpers. They can easily jump a foot or more to reach food or escape. So placing food on a higher shelf will do very little to deter them.
Mice can easily climb up a brick wall to enter your home. They will travel to the second or third floor of your house by climbing up the sheetrock, wood beams and insulation within your walls.
7. Mice are nocturnal. Mice can sleep up to 12 hours out of the day. They are much more active at night. So you may not see the mice during the day, but be sure to check your traps first thing in the morning. You will most likely catch the most mice during the night when they are out searching for food.
8. Mice leave scent trails. Mice communicate with each other by using pheromones. Pheromones are chemicals excreted from their bodies that will trigger a response in other animals of the same species. Mice will leave these invisible pheromone trails to your home for other mice to follow. After you get rid of the existing mice, you need to take precautions to make sure no new ones take up residence.
Mice can hear high pitched sounds undetectable by humans.
9. Mice have excellent hearing. You know the saying – be as quiet as a mouse? You will likely never to so quiet that they cannot hear you sneaking up on them.
They can hear much higher tones that we can, which is why the ultrasonic pest repellers can be heard by mice, but not you or I. Mice will communicate with each other by high pitched squeaks as well.
10. Mice have good vision. Some mice are thought to have limited vision, but they can actually see quite well. They will also use their whiskers to feel their way along surfaces as well as pick up on any changes in the air. They will run along the walls for safety reasons. This is where you should focus on trapping them.
Summary Of Facts About Mice
Keep these facts about mice in mind when you are trying to trap them. If you know all their tricks, you should be able to outsmart the mice and remove them once and for all from your home. For more tips and tricks to get rid of mice fast visit our homepage or use the search feature at the top of the page.