Mouse Facts House Mouse
Rat Facts Norway Rat Roof Rat
Signs of
Rodents
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 | Mice are capable of being transported for
long periods of time in closed containers, such as boxes, barrels or crates. |
| Many fires of "unknown cause" may
have been caused by mice chewing through electrical wiring. |
| In six months one pair of mice can eat about
four pounds of food and produce some 18,000 fecal droppings. |
| Mice are not blind but have bad vision and
cannot see clearly beyond about six inches. |
| They are excellent climbers and can run up
almost any roughened wall without breaking stride. |
| They can swim but prefer not to. More than
once, a live mouse has been flushed down a toilet and has resurfaced a minute later. |
| They can jump a vertical distance of 12
inches from the floor onto an elevated flat surface. |
| They can jump a height of eight feet to the
floor without injury. |
| They can run horizontally along pipes, wires
and ropes. |
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(Mus Musculus)
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Appearance:
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Small and slender, 3 - 4 inches long, with large ears, small
eyes and pointed nose, light gray or light brown, droppings are rod-shaped.
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Habits:
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Nests within structures and burrow; they will normally make
their nest within 10 to 30 feet from a food source; they are excellent climbers.
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Diet:
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Prefer cereal grain.
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Reproduction:
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Breed at two months, can have litters as often as every 40 - 50
days with four to seven young per litter; they can live up to one year.
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Other Info:
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Feed 15 - 20 times per day, carry many diseases, and can get
through an opening as small as a dime.
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| Rats memorize specific pathways and use the
same routes habitually. |
| Rats can get in your home through an opening
about the size of a quarter. |
| Rats damage structures, chew wiring and can
cause electrical fires. |
| Rats eat and urinate on human and animal food
and carry many diseases. |
| Thousands of rat bites are reported each year
in the U.S. alone and many are suspected to go unreported. |
| Accidental poisonings occur among humans and
pets from poorly planned efforts to poison rats. |
| Rats rely predominately on smell, taste,
touch, and hearing as opposed to vision. They move around mainly in the dark using their
long sensitive whiskers and the guard hairs on their body to guide them. |
| Rats are cautious,and if their food is in an
exposed area where it cannot be consumed quickly, they usually carry or drag it to a
hiding place. |
| Rats have an excellent sense of taste,
enabling them to detect certain compounds including rat poisons, at extremely low
concentrations very quickly. |
| Rats are omnivorous, eating nearly any type
of food, including dead and dying members of their own species. |
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(Rattus Norvegicus)
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Appearance:
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Brown, 6 - 8 inches long, small eyes and ears, blunt nose, tail
is shorter than head and body; droppings are capsule shaped.
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Habits:
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Nest in underground burrows, from which they enter buildings in
search of food; they tend to remain in hiding during the daylight hours.
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Diet:
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Omnivorous, but prefer meats; they cannot survive without
water.
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Reproduction:
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Reaches sexual maturity in two months; can breed any month of
the year, litters may number from 8 - 11; they can have from 4 - 7 litters per year,
adults can live as long as one year.
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Other Info:
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The Norway Rat is the most common rat in the United States and
is the carrier of many serious diseases.
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(Rattus Rattus)
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Appearance:
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Brown or Black, 7 - 10 inches long, with a long tail and large
ears and eyes, and they have a pointed nose.
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Habits:
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They nest inside and under buildings, or in piles of wood
debris and other rubbish; they are excellent climbers and are often found in the upper
parts of structures.
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Diet:
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Omnivorous, but they prefer fruits, grains, nuts and veggies.
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Reproduction:
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They become sexually mature at 4 months of age, they can have 4
- 6 litters per year; with 4 - 8 young per litter. They can also live up to one year.
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Other Info:
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Can squeeze through openings only 1/2 inch wide, and carry many
serious diseases.
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| Droppings along well traveled pathways, in
feeding areas and near the rodents shelter. |
| Droppings may be as long as 3/4 inch and up
to 1/4 inch in diameter. Fresh droppings are soft. |
| Tracks, including footprints and tails marks,
on dusty surfaces, in mud or snow. |
| Urine along traveled pathways or in feeding
areas. Both wet and dry rodent urine will glow under ultraviolet light (Black Light). |
| Smudge or rub marks on beams, rafters, walls,
pipes, and other fixtures. |
| Gnawing marks on doors or ledges, in corners,
in wall material, on stored materials or on other surfaces. |
| Noises in the walls caused by gnawing,
climbing, clawing, squeaks, and fighting; particularly at night when rodents are the most
active. |
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