Deer Mice
Deer mice get their name because their fur looks a lot like deer fur. They are most commonly found in open grasslands, brushy country, cliffs, forests, pasturelands, and croplands.
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Size: 5" to 8" long
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Shape: Mouse
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Color: Brown to Dark Brown
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Legs: 4
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Wings: No
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Antenna: Yes
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Common Name: Dear Mouse
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Kingdom: Animalia
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Phylum: Chrodata
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Class: Mammalia
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Order: Rodentia
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Family: Cricetidae
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Species: Peromyscus maniculatus
Diet:
Deer mice eat seeds, small fruits and berries, beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, leafhoppers, and an underground fungus. They prefer to eat insects when they can find them.
Habitat:
The deer mouse makes its home outdoors in hollow tree logs or piles of garbage. They are nocturnal, so they sleep in their nests during the day. They also use their nests to raise their young and to protect them against harsh weather. When a deer mouse does come indoors, it prefers quiet places, such as attics.
Impact:
Deer mice can spread the potentially fatal Hantavirus. The virus can be spread by touching infected mice or by breathing in the fumes released in their urine.
Prevention:
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Mice eat 15-20 times a day, so keep your homes clean and do not leave food out.
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Be sure to empty kitchen and household garbage cans frequently.
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Make sure that your home and storage areas are clean and dry.
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Make sure that you clean your sheds, crawlspaces, and garbage cans often.
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Close up any small holes and cracks they can come in through.
House Mice
The house mouse is the most common rodent pest in most parts of the world. A female house mouse can give birth to up to a dozen babies every three weeks. That’s 150 babies a year!
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Size: 2"
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Shape: Mouse
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Color: Light brown to black
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Legs: 4
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Wings: No
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Antenna: No
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Common Name: House mouse
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Kingdom: Animalia
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Phylum: Chrodata
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Class: Mammalia
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Order: Rodentia
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Family: Muridae
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Species: Musculus Domesticus
Diet:
House mice primarily feed on plants, but they will also eat meat and dairy products. They will drink water but require very little of it. They will eat their own droppings to acquire nutrients produced by bacteria in their guts!
Habitat:
House mice live in structures, but they can live outdoors. They breed throughout the year and often share nests with their "relatives".
Impact:
Even the smallest amount of mouse urine can trigger allergies, particularly in children because their immune systems are still developing. Mice spread disease through bite wounds and by contaminating food and water with their waste products. Mice can also spread disease thanks to parasites, such as ticks, fleas and mites. These parasites bite the infected mouse and then spread the disease by biting humans.
Prevention:
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Mice eat 15-20 times a day, so keep your homes clean and do not leave food out.
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Be sure to empty kitchen and household garbage cans frequently.
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Make sure that your home and storage areas are clean and dry.
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Make sure that you clean your sheds, crawlspaces, and garbage cans often.
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Close up any small holes and cracks they can come in through.
Norway Rats
(Rattus norvegicus)
These rats have smaller eyes and ears and shorter tails.
Roof Rats
(Rattus rattus)
Roof rats get their name from their tendency to be found in the upper parts of buildings. Ranging in size from 6 to 8 inches in length, not including their tails, they have very poor vision and are color blind. They do have extremely strong senses of hearing, smell, touch and taste.
Racoons
(Procyon Lotor)
Habitat:
Although they have thrived in sparsely wooded areas in the last decades, raccoons depend on vertical structures to climb when they feel threatened.[163] Therefore, they avoid open terrain and areas with high concentrations of beech trees, as beech bark is too smooth to climb.[164] Tree hollows in old oaks or other trees and rock crevices are preferred by raccoons as sleeping, winter and litter dens. If such dens are unavailable or accessing them is inconvenient, raccoons use burrows dug by other mammals, dense undergrowth or tree crotches.
Humane Wildlife Trapping is recommended