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The house mouse arrived in Britain around the 10th century
BC, but originally it was a
wild species, coming from the Steppes of Russia and the
surrounding areas. Although
it is not originally a native species, it has made itself
very much at home, and is now
common throughout rural and urban Britain. It associates
itself with man in almost ajl his environments, but it is
not found in sewer systems.
The mouse is a rodent, one of over 1500 species of mammals
belonging to this group, although only 15 are present in
Britain. It can be easily placed in this
group by looking for the single pair of upper and lower
front teeth called incisors. They have no canine or premolar
teeth, but they do possess molars at the rear of
the jaws. There is a noticeable gap between the incisors and
the molars, known as the diastema.
The incisor teeth of rodents grow continuously throughout
the animal's life and so a mouse must gnaw on objects to
keep them worn down and at a manageable
length. The molar teeth do not grow continually. The
incisors are strongly curved and have enamel on one side
only, allowing a razor sharp edge to develop. This
means that mice can bite through wood, soft metals and even
soft stonework with ease -modern food packaging presents no
problems.
Reproduction rates of mice are impressive, and in theory
nearly 2000 offspring in one year could result from just one
pair of adults (1 doe + 1 buck), given ideal
conditions. After mating there is a gestation period of 21
days before 5-6 young are born. At birth, baby mice weigh
just 1 gramme. They are weaned after only 3
weeks and sexually mature after only 8-12 weeks. Each female
can have up to 10 litters in a year. Mice can live up to 2
years in the lab, but usually live less than
12 months in the wild.They are fiercely territorial.
Like all rodents, mice require a balanced diet, and can be
thought of as omnivores. Historically, mice tended to feed
on products of cereals and grasses, and so
they tend to prefer rodenticides containing grains etc. They
can also eat a wide range of other foods including
vegetables, fruits, fish, insects and meat. They are
also cannibalistic, and will eat each other. Local food
preferences should always be taken into account when
planning a treatment regime. Mice are inquisitive but
erratic feeders, and will eat 3-4g a day. They will drink
when a water source is available, but they can get
sufficient moisture from their food.
Mice have the same 5 senses as humans, but their touch,
smell and hearing are particularly keen. They cannot see
colour, but are good at detecting movement. |
