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mice rodents

What types of areas do mice prefer?

You might assume that all mice behave the same but they don’t. All mice want the same things, warmth, food, and plenty of space. However, depending on the type of mouse, they prefer different places to live.

One thing is factual for all mice, they like to have a large area. Mice like places to dig, run, climb, and swim. The like to roam around and be in a place that allows them to fully exercise. Mice are territorial and prefer to have a place to call their own. It’s ideal for all of these activities to be near the mouse. Mice can get a lot done in a small area.  It may be surprising but, the typical mouse does not travel further than 30 feet away from their home during the day.

There are different types of mice and they behave differently depending upon the type. House mice as well as deer mice will build their nest under rocks, their own fur, and bits of plants. Meadow jumping mice like to live in grasslands and avoid the woods. They like for the area to be thick with growth. Meadow jumping mice also like to live around marshland areas and ponds where you will also find pocket mice.

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mice rats rodents

Which prefers a balanced diet and why, a rat or a mouse?

Mice and rats are known for their preference for biting to pieces any piece of food they can find, pecking at crumbs on the floor and food in the cupboard. Despite this, you can not feed your pet with anything, since mice and rats require very specific nutrients based on certain diets.

For mice, a good starting point is a commercial rodent food. These are available in most pet stores and can come in block, tablet, or as a mixture of seeds. Also, when choosing a commercial food for your mouse, you should pay attention to certain nutritional facts, since mice require a minimum level of fiber (18%) and protein (16%) to stay healthy. Furthermore, the fat content should be limited to a maximum of 4%. In addition, they also enjoy a daily treatment. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a perfect solution. Some good ideas are peas, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, apples or bananas. It is important to be careful, however, these treats should be very small to prevent overeat.

Regarding rats, like mice, it is important to include in their diet a feed for commercial rodent. The best way to block a rat is food, as it provides a good chewing exercise.

Although mice and diets rats are very similar, rats need a slightly different mix because they need more fiber and less fat, so the food of rats should easily be located above 18% in terms of content fiber and clearly below 4% fat.

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hiding places insects rodents

In pest control what is a hot zone?

Hornets,Termites Carpenter Ants, Spiders, and Mice. These are just a few of the critters that are considered pests, and they all share some things in common. In trying to control pests there are “hot zones” in which these animals may thrive. Homes that are leaky, and have poor construction, would be an example as the animals may have an easy way to enter. So if you don’t want a squirrel or a Raccoon in your attack, make sure to have it sealed well. Often times pests love moisture and high humidity areas, because they’re fond of damp wood, you should check your pipes, roof and window sills for water leaks.This would be an example of a hot zone. Certain materials are pest Hot zones for example like cedar shingles and stucco, which animals can scale and birds can wiggle into Another example of a pest hot zone, is a building that is shared with other tenants. If you live in a multiunit building, any pest control measures you take individually will be ineffective in the long term simply because insects travel from one apartment to another. In many cases the entire building must be eliminated at one time to truly fix the problem.

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mice rats rodents

Compared to a rat how many mice traps should you actually set out for mice?

RAT TRAPS VS MOUSE TRAPS

By Jestin Ronody Marson © 2016

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It doesn’t matter how many traps you set. If you don’t block the entryway, rodents will continue to return. PERIOD! But, I digress …

Mice are much smaller than rats. They are also quicker and smarter than people think. The tricky thing isn’t necessarily how MANY traps you need, but what kind of trap and bait to use. The old fashioned, spring loaded, finger amputating mouse traps will work if you have the nerve and patience to use them. I personally would advise the slightly more expensive “clip” version (TomCat, for example) which looks more like a large “chip clip” with teeth. They are easier to set and you are not as likely to lose a finger.

You can bait the trap or not, your choice. I like to use just a small amount of peanut butter since these sneaky little so-and-so’s like to run off with cheese. Peanut butter is sticky and hard to run away with. Also, use gloves. Rodents can detect human scent. The NUMBER of traps is debatable. You should use one trap for every ten feet, setting them several feet apart. I advise every other trap to be on the floor. For instance, if you have one on the floor by the fridge, put the next one on the counter behind the microwave, the next on the floor near the stove, the next behind the toaster on the counter, etc. Another marvelous benefit of the clip traps is they are easy to re-use!

Rats are larger rodents. You should never attempt to catch a rat in a mouse trap. That’s like taking a knife to a gunfight. Rats are sneaky, but they are much bigger than mice. They have been known to reach sizes that would scare Fido and Rover, thus a larger more effective trap is required. I still prefer the clip traps here. They are easy to set and easy to use. However, keep in mind, rats have been known to run off with the trap, so make sure you are using a RAT trap to catch rats. You are going to want to put the traps near water sources, and along the wall and floor. Also, you will want to set a few in the attic. I advise at least one under the kitchen sink and one behind the toilet. The number of traps may vary, I would think one trap for every ten feet of wall would be sufficient. You may also want to look into the cage/guard that can be used in concert with the trap. This would help prevent Fido or Kitty accidentally getting caught in the trap.

The number of rat traps vs mice traps is a matter of opinion. I believe if you see one mouse, you have a hundred. If you see a rat, you probably have fifty. I believe for every one rat trap you use, you should use at least two mouse traps. That is MY opinion. But no matter what you do, if you don’t block the entry, rodents will always find a way back.