Deer mouse ??

Last two nights I've caught a big mouse in my kitchen cabinet, not happy and neither is the dog. None last night.





Late last fall my son spent a couple nights at a campground and when leaving his camper at my place for the winter said he heard something in there so I ended up trapping this...





Sure looks like the same kind to me. For years I've battled black Voles in my garage and running them over with the lawnmower but never a mouse like this deer thing if that is what it is.

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Field_...als/Deer_Mouse


Notes: Unfortunately, deer mice are the primary carriers of the hantavirus.

Of the people affected, half have died.


Wouldn't that be something, die from a stupid mouse?

If anyone has ever seen one, is that what I have here?

Thanks

 

Not an expert, but yup, that's what I'd call it. And I'm sure that it doesn't make you feel any better, but, just in case, we've gotten three or our of those and about the same number of gray house mice over the past month or so. Brick ranch, caulked, sealed, etc., so I'll be darned if I can figure out where they get in, but we keep a half dozen traps set around the house and every third or fourth night we'd hear one trip within 5-10 minutes of when we turn the lights out. I think though it's been about two weeks since we got the last one so hopefully that's it for this year. Usually we'll get one or two in the late fall and that seems to do it, but it's like they got a head start on us this year.

 

It does look like a deer mouse from the images I found. I haven't heard of anyone contracting hanta virus in a long time; I don't even hear anyone talking about it anymore. Don't know if it isn't an issue anymore or if we've gotten complacent. I have mice in the attic, basement periodically as well as an outbuilding. I don't even think about diseases from them, never have nor did in my career. My co-workers never thought about it either. Not saying that's a good thing, maybe famous last words but it doesn't seem to be an issue anymore.

When I clean up droppings I either use our central vacuum exhausting to exterior or wet paper towels to keep the dust down.

I use rodenticide and/or mouse traps as the mood strikes me. It does seem like rodenticide is becoming implicated in the deaths of birds of prey so I suspect in due time we will be using pretty much only traps unless a new type of rodenticide is invented that works.

If mice haven't been a big deal in the past, then probably multiple mouse traps will do well for you as opposed to rodenticide.

 

Deer mouse, common field mouse, it started off bad this year, must have caught 10 in the garage and a couple in the bonus room.

All you can do is toss them!

 

I go thru this every fall. I'll set traps until there's no more activity.

 

Whenever I move a piece of plywood that was left around the yard for a few months I find mouse trails and usually a nest, sometimes a mouse scurrying away. To me that is an indication where they live during warmer weather and when it gets cooler they head for my house. My objective will be many traps outside set up to take advantage of their love for those scrap pieces of plywood, some arrangement that is sunken into the ground and covered. If I can keep the outside population down or at least down close to my house then I'm hoping there will be fewer mice searching for winter housing.

Bud

 

I think that a lot more people have them running about their homes than realize it, and if they want in it doesn't matter if you live in a mansion or a log shack, they're coming in. But do agree that environment is a huge factor, so anything that you can do to keep things cleaned up around the house can help. Many times though, there are natural factors that you can't do a lot about. We have apple trees between the house and shop, and the apples are of course falling about the time the leaves are, so I typically hold off mulching the apple leaves until the deer have cleaned up the apples. But invariably, once the apples are gone and I mulch those leaves I'll see a lot of mice scampering away from the mower. And although they're cute I guess I always hope that I'm getting some of them with the mower because I know they're going to be looking for warmer quarters once it starts to get colder.

 

Today is a week since trapping the second mouse with no more caught, dog isn't camping out in front of my kitchen stove ready to leap. I'll have to take a look at the natural gas pipe coming through the floor for a hole.

Reading about that virus, 131 people in 25 years is 5 a year so I guess it isn't all that wide spread, I will spray any droppings with bleach though.

Thanks guys

 

Thanks for the update Baldwin! Sounds like you've got things under control.

In addition to steel wool, this copper "stuff-it" is very good; I always have some on hand.

https://www.domyown.com/stuffit-copp...tml?sub_id=229

 

Yes, I bought some of that copper stuff back in October for my garage and will in the house if I find a hole.

I don't know but one was a little bigger than the other, maybe male and female?

Almost 2 weeks now and nothing new, think I lucked out.

Good dog - could have been a while before I even knew they were there without him.

Thanks