Mice Facts
We have previous discussed the importance of rodent control in and around your home. Once rodents are inside your home, they spread disease, leaving droppings and urine behind, while destroying your home and putting your health at risk. It is important to prevent rodent infestations before they start or at the first signs of a mouse in the house. Besides homeowners finding mice creepy, gross or just part of nature, below are mice facts that are quite interesting.
Every year, rodents gain access to homes, causing property damage, contaminating food sources, triggering allergies and, in some cases, causing illness/disease.
- A female house mice can give birth when they are only two months old, and they are able to have to up to a dozen babies every three weeks. This means she could have as many as 150 offspring in a single year!
- Life expectancy is normally less than 1 year, but mice have been known to live as long as 6 years.
- Mice have keen senses, except for sight because they cannot see clearly beyond 6 inches and are color blind.
- They are excellent climbers and can run up most roughened walls. Mice run horizontally along pipes, ropes, and wires. Mice can swim but prefer not to do so. They can jump 12 inches high and can jump down from about 8 feet high without injury.
- Mice can survive and thrive in cold at 14° F.
- A mouse requires about 1/10 ounce of dry food and 1/20 ounce of water (normally obtained from food) each day.
- A mouse produces about 50 droppings each day.
- Over a 6-month period, a pair of mice will eat about 4 pounds of food, produce about 18,000 droppings and void about 12 ounces of urine.
- The most common way mice transmit disease organisms is by contaminating food with their droppings and/or urine.
- The most threatening organism spread by mice is Salmonella, a cause of food poisoning, spread via droppings among others like Hantavirus.
Thomas Pest Services has been solving rodent and insect problems for those that live, work and play in the Capital Region and surrounding towns like Chatham, Schenectady, Latham, Saratoga Springs and Queensbury with third generation experience. Rodent removal is serious and Thomas Pest Services is licensed in getting rid of rodents, contact us via phone at 1-877-518-2847, via web for a free estimate, Facebook or Twitter!