Frequent questions about mice

The easiest way to distinguish a mouse from a rat is by size. As an example, one of the most common rats, the Brown Rat, Rattus norvegicus, also called the Common Rat, Norway Rat, Sewer Rat, Wharf Rat, and other names, weighs up to 12 ounces (340 g), while an adult House Mouse, Mus musculus, weighs only about an ounce (28 g).

The “Field Mouse” isn’t a House Mouse that lives outdoors. Instead, it’s a term used for several different mouse-like rodents. In the United States, it usually refers to the Meadow Vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus, also known as the “Meadow Mouse” (shown in the illustration above). This vole is larger than a House Mouse and has short legs, small ears, and a short tail. Its coloration ranges from silver-gray to dark brown. Mice and voles belong to different scientific families.

Deer Mice (Peromyscus spp.) are connected to hantaviruses, which can be spread to people, but the House Mouse is not. (A study reported in New Scientist Magazine¹ shows that the greater the mammal diversity in your yard, the less chance that the Deer Mice living there will be infected with hantaviruses.) House Mice are associated with some other diseases, however, such as typhus and salmonella. Your chance of contracting diseases from any species of wild mouse is low unless you put yourself at risk by handling them or inhaling their dried fecal droppings. 

All mice should be respected for the vital role they play outside, but promptly remove any that invade your home. If you happen to handle a mouse, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly afterward. Be aware, too, that mice may bite in self-defense. (Hopefully, you’ll trap mice humanely to be released outdoors. Don’t touch baby mice; mothers will kill those that smell of human scent.)

Well, our web name, WelcomeWildlife, pretty much says it all—we’re all about wild-life, not wild-death. Vermin is a hateful word for sentient animals that are too often given no thought and whose lives are seen not to matter. But the truth is that mice play an essential role in nature as a primary food source for predators, while simply looking for ways to survive, as all animals must. Of course, nobody wants them in their homes, but if that happens, they can be trapped humanely and released outdoors.

There are non-lethal, common-sense ways to control rodent populations in a yard, such as eliminating potential nesting places and easy sources of food for them. Also, a wildlife-friendly yard plays host to many predator animals that feed on mice, which helps to keep their population under control. Check out this page that’s all about the House Mouse.

Look for their trail of small, oblong, black feces along baseboards—this marks their traveling lane. Place a humane trap baited with peanut butter along the trail. (Our favorites are these: Ketch Clear Top and Captsure)