Mouse
Identification
The house mouse is common in all parts of Canada and the U.S.A.. The house mouse is dusty grey in colour and measures from 110 to 150 mm in length with large ears and small eyes. The tail is usually the same length as the mouse. The house mouse is sometimes confused with the deer mouse which is pale grey to reddish brown in colour and has a bi-coloured tail, with a white underside.
Habitat
Mice are nibblers and thus tend to make small holes or other slight damage in many places rather than a lot of damage at one place. The house mouse has a keen sense of touch, smell, and hearing. They can run, climb, jump and swim very well.
The house mouse is considered one of the major structural pests, causing serious economic loss, health hazards and an unsanitary environment.
Mice cause extensive damage to houses, granaries, restaurants, bakeries; any place food is handled or stored. They will gnaw through wood to gain entrance into buildings. In constructing their nests, mice will destroy fabrics and leather goods and can cause fires by chewing through the insulation on electrical wires.
Mice contaminate food with their droppings and urine. They spread such diseases as salmonella bacteria (food poisoning), lepospirae (jaundice) and typhus. As well, they carry parasites such as fleas, round worms and mites. Deer mice are known to transmit Hantavirus, a virus that affects the respiratory system of humans.