The house mouse is native to central Asia, but this species arrived in North America from Europe and other origins with settlers who came to America. Since it is an adaptable species, it closely lives in association with people in their residences and commercial places of work. The house mouse will nest in different places such as behind rafters, in storage areas, in wood piles or any hidden area where there is a close source of food. It builds its nests from paper, rags and any other soft substances.
The mouse is mainly nocturnal, although sometimes it may be seen during the day. Seeing the house mouse during the day does not mean that there is a high population present. It has poor eyesight but it highly depends on its hearing ability and its excellent sense of taste, smell and touch. Since the mouse is considered color blind for safety purposes baits should be dyed with distinctive colors as long as the dye has no offensive odor or taste because the mice will not see it.
Young ones of about 5 or 6 are born after 19 to 21 days from the day of mating. A house mouse is born hairless with its eyes closed. The growth of mice is rapid and after two weeks their bodies are covered with hair and their ears and eyes open. Mice can breed all year round but when living outdoors they will usually breed in spring and fall. A female house mouse can have five to ten young ones in a year. Thus the population of the house mouse can grow rapidly in good conditions, though breeding and survival of the young ones decline distinctly when population density is high.
The house mouse has physical capabilities such as climbing, gnawing, swimming and jumping that helps it gain access into buildings and other structures. Studies have shown that in its daily activities, a house mouse can travel an area of about three meters to nine meters, but it rarely travels long distances to look for food and water.
Mice always learn and explore about their environment by memorizing the locations of food, water, pathways, shelter, obstacles and other elements in their environment. They will quickly identify new objects in their environment but will not fear them. Mice will consume different foods differently according to their flavor and also the physiological effect it has on them. Therefore, they can simply reject baits if they do not taste as good as the food available.
When a house mouse lives in or around a structure, it will obviously cause some degree of damage to the house. In commercial buildings and homes, it can feed on various food items or pet food. Also it will contaminate food with its droppings, urine and hair. If the house mouse lives in farms, it can cause damage to food storage structures and grains. Even though a mouse does not eat a lot, it damages a lot of food because of its habit of nibbling and leaving partially eaten food. The house mouse and the parasites it carries can spread different disease to humans such as lymphocytic choriomeningitis, rat bite fever, ringworms
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