Lat: Mus musculus.
A grey mouse with a slightly lighter underside. Together head and body measure 8 – 9 cm, while the tail is a little shorter. It originates from southwest Asia, but is now widely spread around the world. It adapts easily and is found wherever people live. In the summer many house mice live in fields, but most seek houses in the autumn. This takes place from mid-August and the biggest invasions takes place in mid-September.
Inside buildings mice live wherever they can find food and nesting material. House mice can survive without drinking water and therefore thrives well in granaries, mills and warehouses. Nests are built in hidden places and are disordered piles of available materials. Both rock wool and glass wool are excellent materials for nests. House mice can survive in rooms with temperatures below the freezing point, as long as there is sufficient food and nesting material. There are even examples of house mice breeding in deep freezers.
House mice breed all year round and can give birth to a dozen litters a year. Although house mice are omnivores, they prefer seeds, especially cereals and cereal products. A house mouse can eat 3 grams of food per day. The house mice do not have fixed feeding points (as rats do), but they eat more randomly in small quantities and in many different places. The result is that they contaminate and destroy more than they actually eat.
Mice contaminate food with urine and droppings. A large mouse population can destroy packaging, electrical appliances etc.
"Pests in House and Home"
"Bed Bugs - Bites, Stings and Itches"
"Food Pests"
"Husets dyreliv" (Insects Around the House - Only danish)
"Skadedyr i træ" (Timber Pests - Only danish)
"Stuefluen" (Common Housefly - Only danish)