Our Wild Neighbors
House Mouse
Mus musculus
Close to humans and their seeds!
© Musée de la nature et des sciences de Sherbrooke
Description of the animal
- Small rodent.
- Length: body 7.5 to 10 centimetres by adulthood, tail same length.
- Weight: between 20 and 50 grams.
- Grey fur, lighter colour on the belly and body extremities.
- Scaly tail.
- Pointed nose, rounded ears, and long whiskers.
Habitat and needs
- Is the champion among nibblers.
- Has an omnivorous diet, with seeds a preference.
- Is active mostly at night.
- Reproduces at an alarming rate. A Mouse gives birth to about 40 offspring per year.
- Rarely lives more than 12 months.
Relationship
- Mice live near humans. They can sometimes be heard at night, and signs of their passage: droppings, crumbs, holes… are greeted with despair. Mice waste more human food than they eat.
- They can inhabit homes, living inside walls, in attics, and under floors or kitchen counters.
- White Mice are widely used in laboratories. Some are adopted as pets.
Living with them
- To prevent them from making nests in the house, cut off their access to food. Thus, you should:
- Store food in metal or plastic containers with airtight lids.
- Remove bird feeders.
- In more serious cases, take major steps and set traps. This means trapping them one at a time or calling in an exterminator.
Participating cities where this animal has been seen
- Sherbrooke, Québec
- Regina, Saskatchewan
- Vernon, British Columbia
- Moncton, New Brunswick