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BIOLOGY
The House mouse arrived in Britain
around the 10th century B.C. it was originally a wild species,
coming from the steppes of Russia.
The mouse is a rodent,
one of over 1500 belonging to this group. They are placed in this
group due to their continuously growing incisor teeth, this means
they need to gnaw to keep their teeth down, it also means their
teeth become razor sharp allowing them to bite through wood, soft
metal and even some types of stone.
Reproduction rates of
mice are impressive, and in theory nearly 2000 offspring in one
year could come from one breeding pair.
Each female can have 4-16
in each litter and up to 10 litters each year. Males and females
become sexually mature at only 8 weeks!
Wild mice only live about
12 months. They are fiercely territorial. Mice can fit through
the smallest of spaces, if you can pass a "Bic pen" under a door
a mouse can also pass under it!
DISEASE
Mice dribble their urine
all the time they are moving, the main problem this causes is
salmonella contamination.
SIGNS
OF MICE
The
main clue you will find, are small rice-sized black droppings
There
are other clues such as smear marks, footprints, smell, damage
and urine pillars
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