The first one mentioned sounds like a woodmouse or long-tailed fieldmouse. Harmless. They do come indoors though, as I discovered towards the end of my stag night many years ago.
"Hey Steve - have you got any pets?"
"er.... no....why?" (assuming they were winding me up)
"something just ran across the carpet"
I got a mousetrap the next day, thinking it was a house mouse but it turned out to be a long-tailed fieldmouse Must have come in from the park across the road.
My friends have rats under their decking - they seem to live quite amicably with them.
The problem with mice is that apparently they don't have bladders, so they leave a trail of urine everywhere. There are also loads of mouse droppings under the kitchen sink and that is where I keep all the cleaning materials, dusters, and the cloths I use to wipe down kitchen surfaces. So the mice, whatever kind they are HAVE to go.
It's hard art, but you're right - you can't have them in the house. I'm not bothered by mice or most other creatures - saw plenty when I was working with horses - but it's simply not hygienic in your home for the reason you just gave. I remember a girl I worked with getting hysterical and screaming her head off because there was a tiny field mouse in one of the stables. We manged to catch him and let him go out in a nearby field. Poor thing was terrified of her - no wonder!
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
The decision has been made, Im keeping quite for now and the mouse stays. Ill update you if he, she, they decide the conservatory looks a better option. Anyway, with all the rais we have had this afternoon they probably all drowned.
I' m squeamish about them, hysterical about rats, wouldn' t mind the odd mouse at the end of a garden, but not near the house as we had them in last year and it is the hygiene issue, esp with 2 small children, I dudn't mind them at all at stables, but they didn't t follow me home...
A wood mouse is also known as a field mouse. It's golden sandy brown and with a whiteish/creamish chest colour. The one in the photo by Bubba Ray is a young house mouse. They're darker brown and have small ears. Because that one's young, it's got ears for later ... but it is most definitely a house mouse. House mice are just a solid single dark greyish brown colour.
Field mouse ears are relatively and comparitively HUGE.... think TV satellite dishes !
IF it's living say in a hole in the wall in the well then it's more likely to be a house mouse than a field mouse because field mice live in burrows or holes in trees.
There's no such thing as "one mouse". They breed worse than rabbits and if it's got a ready made supply of feed then your husband will be right. They start breeding when they're only 8 weeks old and have about 6 young every time they breed and they breed about every 10 weeks. Do the maths
Believe me they will and do invade buildings if it's easy access and a food supply available.
Now I might have a different opinion than some posters. I live on a farm in the country. I'm VERY conscious of the damage they do and the disease they spread. Field AND house mice.
We had a field mouse get into our holiday cottage and then via a tiny gap where a pipe goes through the airing cupboard wall up into the loft and it was obviously pregnant and had young and they nibbled on electric cabling. We found them when there was a smell like something had died! It had! There were 3 FIELD mice electrocuted ... that was the smell ... and a cottage to rewire!
For sure I'd not want to encourage them anywhere near buildings and I'd be doing what I could to get rid of them and starting by removing easy food source.
You want to try to stop excessive spillage from the bird table if you can. I have bird feeders with catch trays and with metal stands... mice can climb !
Posts
probably a wood mouse as house mice are more grey colour and only live in buildings not elsewhere, leave it alone and it wont do any harm,
on the plus side if you have mice you don't have rats as they don't live together!
When I went camping last month we found this little fella just in the grass verge. His body was about the same size as a 50p
The first one mentioned sounds like a woodmouse or long-tailed fieldmouse. Harmless. They do come indoors though, as I discovered towards the end of my stag night many years ago.
"Hey Steve - have you got any pets?"
"er.... no....why?" (assuming they were winding me up)
"something just ran across the carpet"
I got a mousetrap the next day, thinking it was a house mouse but it turned out to be a long-tailed fieldmouse Must have come in from the park across the road.
My friends have rats under their decking - they seem to live quite amicably with them.
Decking .... the perfect way to encourage rats
We have a little woodmouse who lives behind one of the ashtrees - he sometimes comes out and gets some of the hedgehog biscuits
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
The problem with mice is that apparently they don't have bladders, so they leave a trail of urine everywhere. There are also loads of mouse droppings under the kitchen sink and that is where I keep all the cleaning materials, dusters, and the cloths I use to wipe down kitchen surfaces. So the mice, whatever kind they are HAVE to go.
It's hard art, but you're right - you can't have them in the house. I'm not bothered by mice or most other creatures - saw plenty when I was working with horses - but it's simply not hygienic in your home for the reason you just gave. I remember a girl I worked with getting hysterical and screaming her head off because there was a tiny field mouse in one of the stables. We manged to catch him and let him go out in a nearby field. Poor thing was terrified of her - no wonder!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
The decision has been made, Im keeping quite for now and the mouse stays. Ill update you if he, she, they decide the conservatory looks a better option. Anyway, with all the rais we have had this afternoon they probably all drowned.
Like you FG I'm not squeamish about them; it's the hygene issue
I' m squeamish about them, hysterical about rats, wouldn' t mind the odd mouse at the end of a garden, but not near the house as we had them in last year and it is the hygiene issue, esp with 2 small children, I dudn't mind them at all at stables, but they didn't t follow me home...
A wood mouse is also known as a field mouse. It's golden sandy brown and with a whiteish/creamish chest colour. The one in the photo by Bubba Ray is a young house mouse. They're darker brown and have small ears. Because that one's young, it's got ears for later ... but it is most definitely a house mouse. House mice are just a solid single dark greyish brown colour.
Field mouse ears are relatively and comparitively HUGE.... think TV satellite dishes !
IF it's living say in a hole in the wall in the well then it's more likely to be a house mouse than a field mouse because field mice live in burrows or holes in trees.
There's no such thing as "one mouse". They breed worse than rabbits and if it's got a ready made supply of feed then your husband will be right. They start breeding when they're only 8 weeks old and have about 6 young every time they breed and they breed about every 10 weeks. Do the maths
Believe me they will and do invade buildings if it's easy access and a food supply available.
Now I might have a different opinion than some posters. I live on a farm in the country. I'm VERY conscious of the damage they do and the disease they spread. Field AND house mice.
We had a field mouse get into our holiday cottage and then via a tiny gap where a pipe goes through the airing cupboard wall up into the loft and it was obviously pregnant and had young and they nibbled on electric cabling. We found them when there was a smell like something had died! It had! There were 3 FIELD mice electrocuted ... that was the smell ... and a cottage to rewire!
For sure I'd not want to encourage them anywhere near buildings and I'd be doing what I could to get rid of them and starting by removing easy food source.
You want to try to stop excessive spillage from the bird table if you can. I have bird feeders with catch trays and with metal stands... mice can climb !