Mice and Rats: What’s the difference?

Do you have a problem with mice and rats in your home? There’s nothing worse than seeing those bacteria filled droppings or gnaw marks in your kitchen or other areas of the house. It makes your space unsanitary, and you feel invaded.

Many folks use the term mice and rats interchangeably. However, there are big differences between the two pests you should learn. If you compare the two side-by-side, you will see they’re quite different.

When you encounter these pests in your home, you will need to learn their behaviors, what they like to eat, and understand their habits to combat them successfully. Most people try to use the same methods to fight the rat as they would the mouse, but the attempts will be unsuccessful.

Although both pests are part of the rodent family, what they eat, how many times they breed, and their general lifestyle is vastly different.

Mice and Rats: How to Identify A Rodent Issue

Identifying a rodent issue in your home is not difficult. You look for the telltale signs that are always left behind. Rats leave larger droppings like pellets, while a mouse leaves smaller droppings that look like a dark grain of rice.

The average rat will lay more than 50 droppings each day because they are frequently eating. A mouse spreads about 75 pellets each day. Both mice and rats eat a lot, but much of the droppings you see is an attempt to mark their territory. Like a dog, these rodents like to urinate and defecate to show dominance.

Another common sight when you have a rodent problem is chew marks. Rats tend to chew on wood or drywall, while mice love to chew on paper goods. The rat can chew through almost anything, except for glass, metal, or robust plastic.

Mice can chew through anything but steel wool. Part of the chewing process is to keep their incisors sharp and whittled down. Unlike your teeth, a rodent’s teeth don’t stop growing, so they need to keep them ground down as they can grow through the roof of their mouth.

A mouse only needs a space that’s about one-fourth of an inch to get into your home, while the rat needs about a one-half inch opening. The most common entry points are around pipes, through the toilet or plumbing, and in basements and attics.

Do You Have A Problem with Mice and Rats?

Both mice and rats are nocturnal, so they usually only come out at night. You might see one of them scurrying across your kitchen floor during the day. Neither the mouse nor the rat sees very well, and mice are colorblind. However, their other senses are very keen and are beneficial to them.

There are well over 70 different types of mice and rat species in the world. In the US, the house mouse, Norway rat, and roof rat cause problems. Mice tend to be more curious in their behavior and rats are more cautious. Knowing the difference in behavior helps when dealing with them.

You can set a trap on the floor for a mouse, and they will quickly take the bait, but the rat will be suspicious and will leave it be. It’s best to set an empty trap around the area of concern when dealing with a rat. It won’t be until they feel the item is no longer a threat that they will engage with it.

Rats tend to prefer higher areas, specifically those that dwell on roofs. Mice can climb wires and ropes, but they tend to stay lower in your home. Both can cause significant damage to your home.

Mice and Rats: How Are They Different?

Physical Characteristics

If you’re lucky enough to see the pest that’s wreaking havoc in your home, then you might be able to identify it based on their appearance. The largest rodent is the roof rat, but Norway rats aren’t exactly small.

The Norway rat is a plump creature, and its snout is blunt. Their small ears have a dark coating of hair that matches their shaggy coat. The full-grown rat can weigh up to 11 ounces, which means it can do quite a bit of damage.

The roof rat tends to have a more slender physique. Their nose is pointed, and their ears are rather large. They don’t have the fluffier hair of the roof rat, and their ears are bald. These rodents are gray, and you may see variations of black shading along their body.

The full-grown roof rat will get around 7-8 ounces, and their smaller stature makes them prey to the Norway variety. In fact, the Norway rat and roof rat cannot live in harmony because the Norway rat is the dominant vermin. The two species often fight and are known for their aggressive behavior towards one another.

The tiny mouse is small and comes in a wide variety of colors. Full-grown, a mouse weighs around .5 ounces. Their nose is pointed, and their ears are large for their body size. They have a bit of hair but not much. Traditionally, their bodies are brown, but you may see some shades of gray or white mixed in. The tail is always darker than the body.

The mouse is faster and can jump up to 13 inches high, but the rat can jump up to three feet. A rat can fall from nearly 50 feet in the air without as much as a scratch. Rats love water, and they are excellent swimmers. Both mice and rats can climb high and use cable lines and electrical wires to get into your home.

Meal Preferences

When it comes to diet, this is an area where mice and rats vastly differ. You probably set a trap with peanut butter or cheese for the mouse, but the rat prefers grains and meat. Rats drink a lot of water, unlike the mouse.

In nature, rats tend to stick with a plant-based diet. Inside your home or roaming through the city, they love to munch on dog food, garbage, and meat. However, they won’t turn down anything you cooked, especially when food sources are not plentiful.

A mouse loves food high in carbohydrates. They tend to snack on seeds, nuts, and grains. While people always think mice love cheese, they would much rather have peanut butter on the trap.

Breeding Habits

No matter which of these critters are in your home, it’s essential to get control of the situation immediately. Both mice and rats have crazy-fast breeding abilities. The rat can start reproducing at around 90 days old, and the mouse can start having pups after 30 days.

A Norway rat can have up to six litters, a roof rat eight, and the mouse anywhere from 5-10 each year. The size of the litters varies greatly. The Norway rat can have 12 kittens, the roof rat eight kittens, and the mouse 12 pups. It’s easy to see how the problem can quickly get out of hand.

Damages

It’s essential to get on top of any rodent activity as the damage they can cause to your home could be devastating. By the time you notice you have a problem, there is already damage. Mice and rats are very destructive, and the speed at which they multiply makes time a big factor.

Due to their chewing behaviors, a mouse or rat can cost you thousands of dollars in repairs. Sadly, your homeowner’s insurance isn’t likely to cover such issues. They can chew through wires, pipes, and even gas lines. The cost of replacing these major systems can be devastating to your budget, especially when they weren’t anticipated.

While mice are smaller, their ability to get into areas the rat can’t make their presence more costly.

Mice and Rats: The Health Issues Rodents Bring

Mice and rats disrupt the sanitary nature of your home by contaminating your surfaces. Since they like to crawl in cabinets and on kitchen counters, they leave behind a toxic trail of urine and feces that can be dangerous. Have you ever put toast in the toaster to notice later there are droppings inside? Gross.

The toaster is just one common place you will find droppings, now think of all the places you didn’t see evidence of them. Unlike their pellets, their urine is undetectable. Your home can turn into a petri dish of bacteria when you have just one present, but what if there’s more than one rodent?

Since mice and rats carry parasites with them, the potential for you or your family member to contract a serious disease is a viable threat. Here are a few of the conditions that pests can cause:

• Hantavirus

• Listeria

• Rat-Bite Fever

• Salmonellosis

• Allergy Issues

Have you ever heard of the Bubonic Plague? Back in the 14th century, this plague wiped out almost 50 percent of the European population. It had such a devastating effect on society it was called the “Black Death.” The epidemic was caused by fleas that infested the rats. The rats brought them in among the people where they contracted Yersinia pestis bacteria.

The urine of mice and rats is quite triggering to human allergies. A study found that more than 82 percent of homes have trace amounts of urine from rodents, and this could be a significant cause of the allergies you experience. Shockingly, you can be allergic to both rat and mouse droppings just as you are mold, or dust, or pet dander. Another alarming fact is that rodents are blamed for causing up to one-quarter of all house fires by chewing on wires.

Mice and Rats: When Just A Trap Won’t Do

When you see these telltale signs of rodent activity, you probably head to the store to pick up traps. It’s the logical thing to do. While this method might work if you just have one straggler that got in, it won’t put a dent in an infestation. Since both of these pests like to travel in groups, you may see one, but there are many more that you don’t see. Have you ever seen the movie, Ratatouille?!

It takes the skilled technicians at Kapture Pest Control who know the behaviors of these critters to combat them. You must first seal any entry points. They have ways of getting into the home that you probably have never considered. While the most commonplace is around your plumbing, it’s not the only location.

Your home needs to be examined for any damages caused by mice and rats. Our experts at Kapture Pest Control can bring a wealth of guidance to handle these pests, plus we can help with removal services of the deceased bodies. Once we get all the mice and rats out, we can develop a maintenance plan to KEEP them out.

Other Helpful Articles