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Deer Mouse?

10 years ago

There's a lot of these critters in my house this winter! Is it a deer mouse? It's bigger than the tiny gray mice I'm used to; these are thick and their bodies are about 3" long. I'm thinking there must be bigger-than-average holes where they are getting inside.

Also, they aren't getting into food. What are they eating?

I live in Iowa.

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Comments (5)

Sharon McKenzie
10 years ago
Yes, it's a Deer Mouse, not a good critter to have in your home. These are the primary vectors of Hantavirus and Lyme Disease, as well as being able to carry and transmit Ehrlichiosis and Leptospirosis, the former via the ticks that feed on the mice, as with Lyme Disease.
sparky_10 thanked Sharon McKenzie
sparky_10
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for the confirmation, Sharon! What are they eating? Not my pet food, bird seed, or human food.
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Sharon McKenzie
10 years ago
They probably ARE eating those things, but you haven't seen them eat it yet. Unless you conduct a necropsy on a dead one, and examine its stomach and intestinal contents, or analyze its droppings microscopically, it would be impossible to determine what they are consuming. Deer mice are largely seed eaters, so if you have bird seed, that will attract them, but like most mice, they are opportunistic eaters and will feed on a variety of things. Due to their small size, and the fact that they aren't colony dwellers like house mice, you probably just aren't noticing the missing bird seed, pet food or human food.
sparky_10 thanked Sharon McKenzie
User
10 years ago
I'm not sure if that is a Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). The reason I suggest this is how short and apparently thick the tail is. Deer Mice are usually grayish as adults with relatively long slender tails that are as long as the body.
Another possibility are it could be a young Northern Grasshopper Mouse (Onychomys leucopus) as they have short thick tails like that.

It could be a young Deer Mouse since they can be warmer in color and the short tail could be an injury. Was it caught in a snap trap? These can cut the tails off rodents.
sparky_10 thanked User
sparky_10
Original Author
10 years ago
Ten of these critters, so far, have been either caught in traps or killed by my cats. They are all the same size, with the shorter tails. The trap under the fridge has not been touched for days (yay!) but the basement trap is quite popular. I'm using peanut butter! I smear it lightly all around the trigger plate, and the "hook" that holds the bar.

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