Identification
The house mouse is small, with a 7–10cm body, large ears, a pointed snout and a tail about as long as the body. Droppings are 3–6mm and pointed at both ends. Young rats are frequently mistaken for mice; the giveaway is that a juvenile rat's feet and head look oversized for its body.
Behaviour that matters
Mice are inquisitive and sample many food sources in a night, the opposite of a rat's caution. That makes them easy to bait and easy to trap, but it also means they contaminate far more food than they eat, and they urinate constantly as they travel.
Control
- Multiple bait or trap points at close spacing along runways
- Proofing: door seals, weep hole covers, sealed pipe collars
- Removing the food source by decanting pantry goods into sealed containers
