House Mice and Deer Mice: What’s the difference?

A mouse is any small rodent of the Genus Mus with characteristics of a sharply pointed nose, with a circular shaped body covered in fur; with commonly a hair-free tail and large ears. There are several species of mice divided into families and subfamilies. In this article, we’ll talk about two varieties; the house mice and the deer mice.

A mouse is not to be confused with a rat. While they are both descendants of the rodent family, rats are generally cylindrical in shape and somehow larger as compared to mice. Mice are also commonly found in buildings compared to rats as they can easily find their way in tight spaces and are climbers.

House Mouse (Mus musculus)

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The best-known mouse species is the common house mouse (Mus musculus). It is also kept as a pet among humans, named a house mouse due to its preference to stay indoors with humans, although they do reside in fields.

House mice have a small body, not exceeding five inches. House mice are usually gray in color, with some members of the species fading to a darker shade. They mostly invade human structures/houses during cold seasons since most of their foods, plant roots, and seeds are gone. The goal of their invasions is to find new food sources.

Mice that live near human settlements should be controlled because they are disease carriers. While rats are perceived to be more dangerous to humans than mice, mice cause far significantly greater harm to clothes, wooden furniture, papers/books, and many other house property. Mice may live alone or in clusters. After six weeks of life, female mice are usually ready to breed. The breeding age for males is usually eight weeks of life.

Deer Mouse (Peromyscus keeni)

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The name deer mice comes from their close color resemblance to the deer- a brownish color fading to black with a brown belly. Their staple food is grains, leafy vegetation, insects, and fruits.

Unlike the house mouse, commonly found in urban environments, the deer mouse is native to rural areas and wooded buildings. Most of these species have adopted a polygamous lifestyle. These mice prefer the outdoors, where they live in tree holes, hollow dug logs, under stones, branches, or caves. In the few occasions where they stay indoors, you can find them in deserted areas where minimal human activity occurs, such as attics, garages, basements, and unfinished wall spaces.

Deer mice are nocturnal. During the day you can find them in hideout locations, hibernating in their houses and nests they have built out of plant matter. The deer mice do not interact within their groups with their litters. Although deer mice live in individual home structures, these homesteads do tend to extend. To protect themselves from the environment and predators they build nests. Birds of prey and snakes are their natural predators. House mice take up shelter indoors, especially when the environment outside is not favorable, either in terms of weather or food scarcity.

Deer Mouse Subspecies

The scientific name for a deer mouse is Peromyscus. The species has almost 56 different subspecies. They are all tiny mammals that are numerous in numbers. The deer mouse is closely related to the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus, such that they are commonly referred to as cousins. Because the two species closely resemble each other physically, the only way to differentiate them is through red blood cell tests. The deer mouse can also be distinguished based on its appearance by its long and multi-colored tail. Deer mice are commonly bred in laboratories for scientific studies, especially due to their hygienic selves.

There are marked differences and similarities between the two species of mice. In terms of body sizes, they are identical with very few variations. Below, the article outlines how deer mice are different from house mice. These are the differences that arise between these two species, most of them being observable. This includes:

Lineage

Although they have some similar physical traits, these two species of rodents are from different families. House mice are from the Murids family of animals, while deer ones are from the Cricetidae family. The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. The murids are the largest family of rodents and mammals, containing over 700 species, including many mice and rats.

Physical traits

A house mouse possesses a sharp nose accompanied by small spherical ears and a long, hair-free tail and comes in a wide color range, including tan, brown, black, grey, and rare cases white. Deer mice are grey brownish-orange in color accompanied by a white beneath (its most noticeable physical trait) and white feet. Their tails are usually shorter and hair covered- covered with fine hairs.

A house mouse is slightly shorter than a deer mouse. In length, they’re approximately five inches from the nose to the tail. A deer mouse is around seven inches over the same length.

Habitat

House mice, as their names suggest, generally tend to stay indoors. It is also associated with urban and suburban areas. On the other hand, the deer mice species enjoys being in the open. It can be spotted in semi-rural areas and around homes, rather than in them. Deer mice prefer woodlands over wetlands. They often live in hollow trees or nests underground.

Feeding habits

House mice are opportunists, taking advantage of any food sources that arise. They will gather and search for food in homes and eat whatever is available; grains, clothes, and plastic pieces. Deer mice are gatherers. They will collect food and stock it for future use. This adaptation makes it very difficult to lure deer mice into traps compared to controlling house mice.

Movement patterns

When it comes to movement behaviors, the house mouse can be attributed to being a good jumper and can jump up to a distance equivalent to one foot straight upwards. Deer mice, on the other hand, are good climbers. They can access food sources and shelter by ascending over a tree and using the tree branches as a transitional path, or by climbing gutters and vertical water pipes and therefore gaining access to the roofs. This can be said to be an adaptation for an easier access to the upper units of a house.

Disease carriers

House mice are linked to the spread of lymphocyte related meningitis of the choroid plexus and rickettsia pox. Deer mice are vector carriers for Hantaviruses. This virus is found in the saliva, urine, and feces of the mouse. It is spread to humans mostly via inhalation of airborne particles.

Both of these mice are capable of ferrying fleas, lice, and other organisms in their hairy bodies, but deer mice are more predisposed to it because of their outdoorsy movements.

Both of these can propagate disease-causing bacteria, but they do vary. Since house mice are generally found indoors mostly and cover a larger surface area, they can disseminate disease-causing organisms in wider places compared to the deer mice. But deer mice frequent outside garbage pits, trash cans, and other outdoor areas, making them likely to bring filth and other debris indoors.

Activity patterns

Dice mice are nocturnal. They are most active during the night. It is easier to come across most of them after dark. House mice, on the other hand, are mostly diurnal. Diurnal means they are primarily active during daylight periods of the day.

The article has brought out the difference between house mice and deer mice. Next time you come across one, don’t get confused.