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Tag: field mice

  • What Do Field Mice Eat & Why It Matters

    What Do Field Mice Eat & Why It Matters

    Introduction

    At SayNoPest, one of the most common questions we receive is about what do field mice eat. And knowing their diet will help you take the first step in getting rid of these unwanted visitors from your home and garden. If you want to know exactly how to protect your home from these pests, you first need to know what do field mice eat in detail.

    Field Mice

    Most field mice live only several months to a year; however, they never stop searching for food and shelter during that time.

    Food consumption plays a big role in life-sustaining endeavors. As opportunistic feeders, field mice consume whatever is at their disposal, thus they quickly adjust to changes in the natural environment. This indicates that eating habits of field mice can be different depending on the season as well as the location.

    It is obvious that their characteristic of food searching often make them go into places like gardens, sheds, and even homes, especially when foods become scarce outside.

    Life Cycle of a Field Mice

    • The life of a field mouse is a road of rapid growth and reproduction.
      A female, in a period of 20 to 25 days, carries a pregnancy and then gives birth to a litter that can have from 2 to 11 pups.
    • Two weeks after birth, the opening of eyes and ears, and the appearance of fur begin.
    • At three to four weeks of age, they quit sucking and enter the stage of eating solid foods and learn the basic of foraging from their mother.
      Field mice are able to reproduce very quickly and do so after their sexual maturity, which is typically reached somewhere between five to eight weeks.
    • This rapid growth permits them to reproduce throughout the year, occurring multiple times.
      A solitary female is able to give several litters in a year thereby resulting in a population explosion provided the food is abundant.
    • After they have become adult, field mice continue their relentless search for food, make their nests, and protect their territory from other mice.
      Their short life-span implies that they have to find food and shelter every day that they can hide from predators.

    What Do Field Mice Eat?

    The answer to what do field mice eat is pretty simple!

    • Seeds and Grains- Field mice are mostly herbivores, however, they have no preference. Their diet is mainly includes seeds, grains and green plants such as grass, clover and leaves.
    • These foods give them the necessary nutrients and moisture, particularly in the warm season when the vegetation is plentiful.
    • Fruits and Berries- They change their diet to fruits, berries, mushrooms, and even insects when there is no plant food.
    • Nuts- In general, animals living in the wild are not picky eaters, they will eat whatever they find, including nuts of different kinds, such as acorns, hazelnuts, beech nuts, as well as the occasional insect or invertebrate.

    Among other reasons, their great adaptability explains why field mice diet may vary with seasons-

    • At the time of spring and summer, these rodents have a feast of both fresh greens and insects.
    • And during the winter, after collecting and storing seeds and nuts in fall, they can hibernate or not but they will have food.
    • Besides that, the field mice have been known to be destructive as they can drive birds away if they raid their feeders.
    • At the same time, they gather and store food in the vicinity of their nests.
      Of course, this action will give them the security of a food supply in the time of scarcity. But this may lead to over-eating so that there will be a shortage of the stored food.
    • Additionally, their omnivorous nature makes them a never-ending problem to the farmers and the homeowners.

    Conclusion:

    Knowing what do field mice eat is a major factor in keeping them from invading your house or the garden. On top of that, their easily available diet and high reproduction rate make them extremely difficult to handle. Knowing what do field mice eat allows you to make use of this information in order to be one step ahead of the rodents take food away from them, close up your home tightly, and don’t risk your health.

    Be Cautious!

  • Field Mice: Tiny Yet Huge Troublemakers

    Field Mice: Tiny Yet Huge Troublemakers

    Imagine stepping into your garden and finding a quick, brown blur darting through the grass. That’s probably a Field Mouse one of the most common rodents in the United States. You have no idea about the energy these mice have.  Do not ever judge them by their furry appearance. The possibility of damage they can do to your house is quite extensive. Here we are going to give you all the facts that you need to know about Field Mouse vs House Mouse.

    What Does a Field Mice Look Like?

    These usually have a 3-4 inches long body, keeping their tail aside. The tail is often just as long as their bodies. The color of their coat could be anything from sandy or red-brown on the back to white or gray on the underbelly, making them very easy to recognize among other mouse types. Their tail is dark on the top and light from the bottom, besides being bi-colored it is also covered with fine hair.

    The Deer Mouse or “Field Mice” are the rodent species that have exceptional hearing capabilities. Their night vision and hearing are perfect for detecting food and avoiding predators. Spotting a mouse with a round body, big eyes, and a tail as long as its body, I can tell you to not think further, because it is a Field Mouse.

    Major Differences between a Field Mouse vs. House Mouse

    While both are small rodents, Field Mouse vs House Mouse have very different lifestyles and habits.

    • Habitat: Field Mice can be seen in open areas such as fields or gardens. They occasionally enter buildings if the weather outside is bad or during winters. House Mice prefer to live inside, so they are more likely to stay near you.
    • Behaviour: Field Mice are solitary animals but during winter they may form small groups for warmth. They often store their food near their nests. House Mice are more social and they store food less frequently.
    • Droppings: The droppings left by Field Mice are pointed at the ends, while House Mice make round ones. This might help you know which species of mice has occupied your place.
    • Smell: House Mice have a strong, foul odor, whereas Field Mice do not have any as such.
    • Feet: Field Mice have large hind feet for jumping, whereas House Mice have smaller feet due to which they can easily enter your house even through tight indoor spaces.
    • Reproduction: Both are prolific breeders, but the Field Mice can breed as high as 6-8 litters in a year and each litter can have 10-20 pups. Thus, they can cause a huge problem if they are left uncontrolled.

    Field Mice Dangers

    Don’t be fooled by how small and cute field mice look, they can actually cause a lot of problems in your home and on your property.

    Health Hazards-

    Field mice can spread dangerous diseases like:

    • Hantavirus (a severe lung disease),
    • Salmonella (causes food poisoning), and
    • LCMV (Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis, which affects the brain).

    How?
    Among the animals, the mice are the most dangerous ones. It was claimed that such diseases can be spread by the mice’s excretions, urine, or even saliva. For example, imagine if a mouse has wandered on your kitchen counter and has left its droppings. You without realizing it have prepared the food, this might lead to you getting very sick.

    Field Mice Bring Parasites

    Field mice don’t come alone, they bring ticks, fleas, and mites attached on their bodies to your house.

    • Ticks can cause joint pain and fatigue.
    • Fleas can cause illnesses like typhus.

    So, a single field mouse could bring a whole group of tiny pests into your home.

    They Chew Everything

    Mice chew constantly because it is the only way to keep their teeth from getting overgrown. This results in:

    • Chewed electrical wires, that could spark and cause a fire in the house.
    • The destruction of pipes and the insulation can result in costly repairs.

    They Destroy Food and Crops

    Field mice can sneak into:

    • Pantries and eat through packaging to get to grains, cereals, or snacks.
    • Gardens or farms, where they eat seeds, vegetables, and damage crops.

    Conclusion:

    Field Mice are indeed very cute, but they are capable of causing damage to health and property that are definitely not minor.  Field Mice are dangerous because their number increases a lot faster. They spread diseases and are very destructive. It is crucial to solve the Field Mice problem as soon as possible.

    In case you think that these pests are in your home or yard, act immediately! Waiting too long can lead to serious consequences that would make you regret.