Deer Mouse: FAQs and Things to Know About This Mouse Type - Best way to get rid of mouse in house

Content:

Introduction
What is a Deer Mouse?
Where Do Deer Mouse Live?
What Do Both Types of Mice Eat?
What are the Dangers and Diseases They Cause?
How to Avoid Deer and House Mice from Homes?
Conclusion

Have you heard about a deer mouse before?

Do you easily confuse them with other types of mice?

Here is the perfect content you need to know about deer mice and how to keep them away.

Introduction

The first thought after seeing a mouse is to ask oneself, how do I get this animal out of my house? After this, the next line of action is that one would want to eliminate them. However, to eliminate any mouse, it is important to know the type of mouse.

Generally, the common types of mice are deer mice and house mice. Do not feel bad if before now, you cannot differentiate between a deer mouse and a house mouse. Let us take an examination of both types of mice.

What is a Deer Mouse?

A deer mouse is different from other types of mice. Their differences are in their physical features and how to eliminate them. Before talking about a deer mouse, it’s important to know what a deer mouse looks like.

As their name implies, a house mouse is easily seen in kitchens or stores looking for food.

Their common fur colors are gray and brown. Although this is a rare condition, some house mice are black. Their eyes are beady, black, and small.

Generally, their overall size is less than 5 inches (this includes their tails). They always have growth of hairs on their tails.

A deer mouse can look similar to a house mouse save some major differences. A striking one is the color of their fur. A deer mouse has dark gray or brown fur on its head and backs. Only their bellies and legs are white.

There are deer mice facts that help to distinguish them from other types of mice. An astonishing fact is that a deer mouse has larger and bigger eyes in addition to their rounder ears. Also, they can be as long as seven inches while their tails have no hairs.

Where Do Deer Mouse Live?

Deer mice and house mice do not have the same natural habitats. However, both types of mice can be seen in homes.

A house mouse is more common in homes as they enjoy maximum comfort in their small openings and warmth. In winter, they need a place where they can get shelter, food, and even water. They love to dwell in urban commercial places like stores, and offices. They love dark places where it is hard for a human to reach or kill them.

A deer mouse prefers locations with enough grasses. As a result, they are more common in rural areas as they hide in pastures, barns, or homes far away from the city. One of the other amazing deer mice facts is that, if there are deer in that rural area, there is a higher probability of having deer mice around.

A deer mouse can make their nest inside the house during the cold winter. More so, it is easier for them to get food and warmth in their homes during this period. They love to move around during the day to hunt for food and resign to their nests when it is dark.

What Do Both Types of Mice Eat?

Both types of mice will feed on any crumbs they see lurking around in homes. Hence, the major difference in their feeding habits is how they eat.

For house mouse feeding habits, they feed on food and leave little nibbles around them. They can eat through any packaging and feed any food materials in it. They can eat multiple food items and leave traces at every point of the house. They love to eat through everything that appears edible to them.

The feeding pattern seems different in deer mice. They seem to be more organized as they love to store gathered food. They take the food far away from where the foods were originally placed to their nest such that it is hard or impossible to know that some foods are missing.

They do not leave traces and this makes it difficult to eliminate them with bait. Rather, it is better to set traps or trace them to their nests and destroy such a place. Nonetheless, using a food bait will appropriately get rid of a house mouse.

What are the Dangers and Diseases They Cause?

Both house mice and deer mice can cause a lot of damages to homes. They can damage electrical wires, damages, and even furniture. In turn, this has a great economic implication. In addition, they can cause diseases.

The least anyone wants is to experience house mouse infestation. In addition to their destruction of home damages, they can be vectors to salmonella – a condition that can terminate life. In addition, they can invite fleas, and lice into the home.

On the other hand, a deer mouse can be worse. Since they are more found in rural areas, they are more exposed and are vectors of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome – a condition that can be fatal if not urgently treated. Also, it is easy to contract the disease via inhaling their feces or urine if the deer mouse is infected.

Another health condition they can transmit is Lyme disease. This condition affects the immune of humans as it allows the body to experience every form of the disease.

How to Avoid Deer and House Mice from Homes

The most appropriate way to avoid both deer mice and house mice are to prevent them from coming into the house. The following steps are healthy tips that will help;

Block entrances and holes

In preventing a mouse from coming into a home, it is important to block every hole. Also, it is necessary to seal entrances that can allow these tiny creatures into homes. Deer mice are great climbers. Hence, it is essential to examine higher places too and seal such entrances.

Ensure proper hygiene of the house

Dirty things attract mice into the house. Dirty things like clothes, food, paper piles, and all forms of dirt are invites for them. The following tips will go a long way in achieving proper hygiene in the house.

Sweep crumbs of food at the dining or food store
Put dirty clothes in a laundry basket and not on the ground
Clear the house of paper piles
Ensure there are no clusters in the garage or house
Discard trash and empty bins as early as possible

The above steps will go a long way to reduce mice from coming into the house.

Get a cat as the pet

A mouse dreads the sight or sound of a cat. Even if the cat is a pet that is being pampered, its sight or sound will be enough to force a mouse away from the house.

Consult professionals

There are professionals who specialize in dealing with mice and exterminating them from homes. If the situation at home is mouse infestation, exploring their services is the best call before the mice take full control of the house.