Skip to content
The most common mouse found in buildings is the house mouse, weighing less than 25g. The fur colour varies between light brown and grey. Body length ranges between 60-90mm, and the tail can add an additional 100mm. Mice have an acute sense of hearing, frequently using ultrasound to communicate, and are particularly sensitive to any sudden noise.
Mice live in nests that they build out of cloth, wool and paper. Nests are often built inside houses, in places such as roof spaces, under floors or in wall cavities, and wherever there is access to a good source of food, especially during the winter. Mice can squeeze through cracks as small as 5mm, but mouse holes are normally 20-30mm in diameter. Mice are mainly active at night and can often be heard running about as they search for food.
Their favourite foods are cereal products, although they will eat almost anything. Most of the damage they do is by gnawing and ripping open packets. They also spoil food with urine and droppings. Mice will gnaw their way through wood to get to sources of food.
There are a number of signs to look out for and if found, may indicate mouse activity.
Droppings are often black, rod shaped and 3-6mm long. Fresh droppings will be soft and moist. Each mouse can leave approximately 80 droppings per day. Common places to find mouse droppings are under the kitchen sink, around central heating boilers and in roof spaces.
These are dark grey marks left on surfaces by repeated contact with the oils in mouse fur.
Sometimes nests can be found indoors for example in lofts, under floorboards or in airing cupboards.
Mice gnaw continually on materials such as wood, carpets, paper, pipe cables and furniture. Check for damage to foodstuffs in cupboards.
In addition to the damage caused through gnawing, mice have been known to spread diseases such as salmonella and listeria, which lead to food poisoning and stomach upsets.
Householders can assist in preventing mouse infestation by taking a number of simple precautions:
It is important to get rid of mice quickly, as house mice reproduce rapidly. It is possible to carry this work out yourself however, a professional pest control expert will always have more technical expertise and access to rodenticides that are not available over the counter.
If you decide to carry out the work yourself there are two options, - poison or break-back traps.
Mouse poison (Rodenticide) can be brought from most hardware stores and most garden centres. Put poison in a safe and secure place out of reach of children and pets and ALWAYS wash your hands after use. Rodenticide can take 4 - 12 days to take effect. This may result in a localised foul smell due to the presence of carcasses.
Break-back traps may be set and these should be placed next to walls where mice tend to travel. The trap should be baited with chocolate, biscuit or cereal. Use several traps and examine them daily, removing dead mice as soon as they are discovered. All traps should be handled with care.Warning : Use biocides safely. Always read the label and product information before use
This page was last updated on Tuesday 26 January 2016