7 Amazing Facts About Mice

They have beady little eyes and tiny feet, and they love to eat your cereal. But while mice are annoying household pests, they have a little more to them than that. The following are seven interesting facts about mice.

The most common species of mouse is the house mouse, or Mus musculus. However, numerous other species of mice exist throughout the world. They also vary in color and habitat. The white-footed mouse, for example, is dark brown with a white belly and is throughout southern Canada and the Central and Southeastern United States.

Mice are now all over Europe and the Americas, but experts think they originated in Asia. Traders who visited Asia first brought them to Europe. Additionally, you can still find the house mouse throughout Asia. Two different subspecies are also in northern and southern Asia.

If you want to move to avoid mice, think again. Few places on the globe exist where mice do not live. They do not live on Antarctica, but even Australia and New Zealand have mice.

The typical mouse litter contains five or six young, but litters can be as large as 12. The large litter size and short pregnancy mean mice can reproduce very quickly. This is why you need to deal with a mouse infestation quickly. One mouse can turn into 60 over the span of a year.

You have probably heard that mice are nocturnal. While this is true, this is not exactly the whole truth either. House mice often sleep in the day and are active at night, since that is when homeowners are not out of bed to scare them. However, in nature, mice are most active in the morning and evening because predators are less active then.

So many animated movies show mice enjoying cheese, and countless images of mousetraps with cheese bait exist. However, cheese is not as appealing to mice as you might think. In one study , researchers tested whether mice preferred cheese, peanuts, or grapes. Mice almost exclusively chose the peanuts. One chose the grape, but none went for the cheese.

Like rabbits and guinea pigs, mice have front teeth that continue to grow out of their jaws for as long as they are alive. To keep their teeth from growing too long, mice chew not only on food but also on wood and other hard materials. If you have ever wondered why mice chew your doorframes or other building materials, this is why.

If you have ever had mice in your house, you may have occasionally heard them squeaking to communicate. However, this is only one of their many communication measures. They also communicate using body language: swishing a tail is a sign of aggression, and putting the ears back is a defensive posture.

Mice also communicate with grooming. A dominant male will remove hair from the faces of other males so that mice can tell quickly which male is in charge.

Hopefully, you now know a little more about the world’s most common squeaky invaders. If you suspect you may have mice in your home, contact Environmental Services Pest Control, LLC . We are licensed and insured exterminators, and we offer flexible scheduling as well as emergency 24/7 service. We are also happy to answer your questions and concerns about your specific mouse infestation situation.