Field mice are typically gray or tawny-brown in color, with white hairs on their underbelly that extend back behind their tail. They also have feet that are lighter in color or white. The tail of the field mouse is short, about the same length as its body, and covered in fine hairs. An adult field mouse can reach a length of 5 to 8 inches from nose to tail. Field mice are distinguished by their large dark eyes and thin, prominent ears.
Are Field Mice a Threat
Field mice are considered dangerous because they carry the lethal hantavirus. Hantavirus can cause Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, which causes severe respiratory problems and is spread by field mice urine and feces. Field mice are also dangerous because they can bring parasites like fleas and ticks into your home and contaminate food and food preparation areas with bacteria, urine, feces, and saliva. Field mice can cause structural and personal property damage by chewing on and through wires, pipes, insulation, drywall, clothing, furniture, flooring, pictures, books, and other items. How big do filed mice?
Where Do Field Mice Build Their Nests
Field mice prefer to live outside, burrowing and nesting in places such as fields, farmland, logs, tree stumps, tall grasses, and dense brush and vegetation. Field mice are great climbers. If they can get into your house, attic, basement, barn, garage, or shed, they will take advantage of the opportunity to build nests.
Why Do I Have a Problem With Field Mice
Field mice prefer to live outside and are usually only a problem for homeowners in the fall when the weather cools down or after their outdoor nesting areas have been disturbed during the harvesting process. Field mice typically enter homes through spaces along the roofline, through the chimney, and around or beneath exterior doors and windows.
What Is The Best Way To Get Rid of Field Mice
Contacting a professional pest control expert is the most effective way to solve a field mouse problem. Our professionals at Spokane Pest Control will work with you to perform a thorough inspection and develop a pest control program to eliminate field mice. To control field mice and other common pests in and around your home or business, we use the most advanced pest control methods and products available. Contact Spokane Pest Control today to learn more about incorporating our 100 percent guaranteed pest control services.
How Can I Avoid Future Field Mouse Problems
Preventing field mouse problems can be difficult, but there are some things you can do around your home to deter them and keep them from getting inside. Fill any gaps in your home’s foundation, exterior walls, and around utilities that enter your home. Inspect your home’s roofline, repairing any holes that are discovered and ensuring that the chimney has a tight-fitting cap. Tree branches should be pruned away from the exterior of your home. Make certain that outdoor trash cans have tight-fitting lids. Garden areas, woodpiles, and compost piles should be kept away from the exterior of your home.
What Do Field Mice Eat
Field mice are a common type of small mammal. The various species of mice can look quite similar, with brown fur, long tails, and small rounded ears. The field mouse is typically five to six inches long and weighs less than an ounce. The field mouse’s white underbelly is the best way to tell the difference between it and a house mouse. The coats of house mice are solid brown or gray. So to get rid of mice you’ve to contact field mice pest control.
What Do Field Mice Consume
The diet of the North American field mouse is similar to that of other mouse species. It is an omnivore, which means it consumes both plant and animal matter. Field mice are known to prey on arthropods, and caterpillars are among their favorite foods. Their primary source of plant food is seeds, but they also consume nuts, flowers, fruits, and fungi.
Feeding habits differ slightly between subspecies in different regions. Field mice in Colorado, for example, feed primarily on pinyon seeds, whereas those in Idaho rely heavily on wheatgrass seeds for survival. Their diets are similar, but the exact seeds harvested vary depending on location and subspecies.
Foraging Behavior of Field Mice
During the cold winter months, seeds and plants are typically scarce. As a result, when the temperature begins to fall in fall, field mice begin to build food caches or stores. They hide food underground or in hollow logs and use the cache when they are unable to find food during the winter. They usually build their nests close to their food cache.
The Role of Field Mice in the Food Chain
Field mice provide food for a wide range of other animals. Because mice are nocturnal, they tend to avoid daytime predators like hawks. Owls, foxes, mink, bobcats, weasels, ringtails, coyotes, and snakes are their primary predators. They are also frequently preyed upon by domestic cats. Poison-based pest control methods, unfortunately, can cause illness or death in predators that feed on poisoned mice.
These tiny mammals also contribute to the food web by assisting trees and shrubs in dispersing their seeds. Field mice, in addition to plants, aid in the dispersal of fungi spores.
Reproduction of Field Mice
There isn’t much better as a food source than a mouse! Field mice, like nearly all mice, reproduce in large numbers. Females can breed when they are about two months old, and the gestation period is less than a month. They have five children on average, and the babies are self-sufficient at about a month old. Females can re-breed shortly after giving birth, so a female can have several litters in a single season.
Subspecies of Field Mice
Across their range, different populations have enough genetic differences to be recognized as distinct subspecies of field mice by researchers. Though the species as a whole has extremely prolific numbers, some subspecies are not as successful.
The island deer mouse is another example of distinct subspecies. This field mouse subspecies lives on the Channel Islands off the coast of California. Each island, however, has its own distinct and genetically distinct subspecies of field mice. This subspecies, like its mainland counterparts, prefers to feed on caterpillars and seeds.
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