How To Identify the Most Common Mice

House Mouse

House mice are the most common rodents that make their way into people’s homes. These dusty brown or gray-colored critters with virtually hairless tails and short legs will inhabit almost any building or home at any time of the year. They are social creatures, meaning there will be more than one.

While they can climb and jump nearly a foot high and squeeze into spaces smaller than an inch wide, they aren’t impossible to exterminate. Since they generally stay close to their small, tidy nests, pest control services have a better chance of eliminating this pest problem quickly.

Deer Mouse

More commonly known as the field mouse, a deer mouse prefers to stay away from homes and live in wooded areas. However, you may find this critter lurking around your house, shed, or garage in the cooler months as it’s looking for a warm place to stay. These mice are great climbers, which means they can live in attics or upper levels of homes. They have large, unsanitary nests, which causes them to abandon their nests often to make new ones.

Deer mice are light brown with protruding dark eyes and have long back legs and hairless ears. One telltale sign you have a deer mouse is that the tail is as long as its body.

While house mice can carry diseases, the deer mouse is notorious for carrying the hantavirus, which can be passed to humans. Thus, it’s critical to get mouse control services involved right away.

White-Footed Mouse

As its name suggests, the white-footed mouse has white feet with a gray or brown body. It closely resembles the field mouse, but its tail is shorter than its body.

White-footed mice generally enter houses in or near forests or areas surrounded by dense brush and live solitary lives. They store food, so they are the least likely mice species to come inside your home.