Get Rid of Mice : Habits

When attempting to get rid of mice, understanding their routine makes this task much more likely.

If mice have good living conditions (food, water, and shelter), they can multiply rapidly. They sexually mature in two months, producing about 8 litters per year - each litter has 4-7 pups.

House mice in a city environment may spend it's entire life in buildings. In rural and suburban settings, it may not only live inside, but be found outside near foundations, in shrubbery, weeds, crawl spaces, basements, or in garages.

Mice survive well on weeds, seeds, or insects, but when their food supply is shortened by the colder months they move inside nesting closer to a food supply. Their nests are made from soft material like paper, insulation, or furniture stuffing. These nest are found in walls, ceiling voids, storage boxes, drawers, under large appliances, or within the upholstery of furniture. Outside the nests are found in debris or in ground burrows.

Mice are "nibblers" eating many times in different places, they do have two main meal times - just before dawn and at dusk - they do "snack" at other times at intervals of every 1-2 hours. They can eat about 10 to 15% of their body weight every day. Mice also cache food as supply permits. They get much of there water from food products.

Mice are active mostly at night, but they can be seen occasionally during daylight hours.

A house mouse is an excellent climber and can scale most rough vertical surfaces. It will travel horizontally along wire cables or ropes and can jump up 12 inches from the floor onto a flat surface.

An awareness of these routines should be considered when attempting to get rid of mice.