Below are pictures and descriptions of the most common rodents you may encounter in and around your home or office. Click any picture to enlarge. You’ll find a DO-IT-YOURSELF self help section at the end of each description.
The Field mouse is not a common problem to urban homes or offices and are more common in rural areas. They grow to about 3 to 4 inches excluding the tail and weigh about an ounce. They are nocturnal. Rodents are all shy and fear you more than you can imagine. They live in areas that have stable temperatures. They feed on anything that doesn’t eat them. They nearly eat their body weight each day. They have about 7 litters per year with 6 to 7 surviving pups each litter. When conditions are right, the population can explode very quickly. DO-IT-YOURSELF: Harborage reduction is best. Place glue board or traps in their path if the problem is inside. Use seed based rodenticides if the problem is outside.
The House mouse is the most common of mice found in our homes. They especially like crawl space homes as there is more opportunity for the conditions they need. The adult grows to 4″ in length excluding the tail. They weigh between 1 and 1.5 ounces. They are scavengers and will eat nearly anything. They are nocturnal and are very shy. They have around 7 litters per year with 6 to 8 surviving pups per litter. DO-IT-YOURSELF: Reduce points of entry by using wire or steel wool, expanding foam will not block an active passage. Place glue boards or traps in their path. If outside only, use a seeded rodenticide.
White Footed Mouse
The White Footed mouse is most common in eastern US. They are more common in rural areas and not much of a problem in our area. They are a smaller rodent with a length of about 3″ excluding tail and weight less than one ounce. They are nocturnal and very shy. They feed on nearly anything but prefer grains. They average 3 litters per year with an average of 5 surviving pups per litter. DO-IT-YOURSELF: Place glue boards or traps in their paths if the problem is inside. Use seeded rodenticides if the problem is outside only.
The Norway rat is also known as a sewer rat, brown rat and wharf rat. It is the most feared of rodents in the US due to it’s size. They grow to about 11″ in length and can way just under a pound. They burrough and live in the ground, but we find them elsewhere. They are carnivors but will eat nearly anything for survival. We commonly find the partial remains of a rat on our traps when Norway rats are present. They average 5 litters per year with an average of 8 surviving pups per litter. This picture has always fascinated me and is clearly not typical for our area. DO-IT-YOURSELF: When the rodent is inside, we recommend trapping. The Norway rat is very inteligent. Be sure you wash your hands before touching the traps. Try using raw bacon as the attractant. Be as strategic as possible and rely a lot on the rat accidentally tripping the trap. I’ve seen Norway rats walk right around the trap when not sufficiently placed. Outside, use rodenticides. Place as much in their path as possible.
Roof rats are by far the most common rodent we find in our area. They are also known as fruit or citrus rats. They grow to about 9 inches in length and weigh about 8 ounces. They are herbivors but will eat nearly anything for survival. They are excellent climbers and they are commonly encountered in attics. They average 6 litters per year with an average of 6 surviving pups per litter. They are nocturnal and very shy. DO-IT-YOURSELF: Inside, place traps in their paths. Peanut butter is the standard, but we find tomatoes, bell peppers and chocolate candy to work equally as well. If outside only, use rodenticides in their paths.