WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MICE AND RATS?
NEWTOWN PA
They are furry, they are usually brown or gray and they always run around on four feet. If you're just looking at the basics, it's difficult to tell the difference between rats and mice.
Beyond their appearance, rats and mice have many other, more unpleasant, things in common. For instance, they can make a huge mess in your house, and they spread enough illnesses to make your whole family sick.
So, does it matter if the rodents infesting your house are mice or rats? It definitely matters to exterminators, who need to identify the specific species to ensure proper control methods are used.
Keep reading to find out what the differences are between rats and mice and why these should matter to you.
Mice and rats are both rodents. Accordingly, they certainly share some characteristics in common. Perhaps the easiest way to differentiate between the two is their size. Mice tend to be much smaller and more slender while rats are heavier, bulkier and longer.
Another way to tell the difference between rats and mice is to look at their tails. Relatively speaking, the mouse's tail is long, slender and at least sparsely covered in hair. Rat tails tend to have no hair as well as being thicker and shorter.
RAT OR MOUSE: WHAT SEPARATES MICE FROM RATS?
Other characteristics also help to set rats and mice apart. For instance, mice generally produce seven to eight litters each year with approximately four to 16 pups in each litter. Rats are slightly less prolific, with females averaging between three and six litters each year with each litter consisting of between five and 10 pups.
It's also possible to tell mice from rats based on the waste products that they leave behind. Mouse droppings generally are cylindrical with pointed ends. Overall, these droppings are between one and two millimeters long, and the average mouse will eliminate approximately 80 droppings every day.
Rats have banana-shaped droppings that measure between 10 and 20 millimeters. With approximately 40 droppings being produced by each rat every day, it's easy to see how an infestation can quickly create a huge mess.
You might also be able to determine whether you are dealing with mice or rats by looking at the animal's ears. Mice tend to have large, oversized ears relative to their body size while rats' ears appear smaller.
Perhaps the quickest and easiest way to identify a mouse vs. a rat is to gauge their size. Mice usually are about 12 to 20 centimeters long including their tails. Weight can be anywhere from 12 to 30 grams.
Mice are considered small rodents, but rats are considered either medium- to large-sized rodents. Some of them are 40 centimeters or longer. Given their larger, bulkier bodies, rats also tend to weigh considerably more than mice. Weights of between 150 and 300 grams are not unusual.
The difference in their sizes also makes a difference when it comes to food consumption. The relatively small mouse may eat only about three grams of food per day. Additionally, only about three milliliters of water are required for the mouse to survive.
On the other hand, rats generally eat between 15 and 30 grams of food every day. They also require more water, frequently drinking between 15 and 60 milliliters each day.
MICE AND RATS: BOTH RODENTS, BUT DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS
The closer you look at these rodents, the more evident it becomes that these are not the same animals. Observe the mouse's tail, and you'll soon see that it is long, thin and hairy. Moreover, the ears are large and floppy.
By contrast, rats have long tails that typically do not have hair. The tail actually is covered in scaly skin. The rat's smaller ears usually stand up rather than flopping over.
Also, take a look at the animal's snout if you get an opportunity. The rat has a blunter snout than the mouse does. Additionally, mice have snouts that are triangular shaped, and they tend to have longer whiskers.
Coloration can be similar, with white, brown and gray being common for both animals. However, rats also may have black fur, a feature that is rarely, if ever, seen in mice.
DO MICE AND RATS BEHAVE THE SAME?
Both animals are rodents, which means that they share many behaviors in common. For instance, both species tend to be nocturnal. This behavior pattern helps them to escape the notice of predators, like people.
Surprisingly, the tiny mouse tends to be the bolder of the two animals. This may be attributed to the mouse's innate curiosity about all new places and things. Even traps are of great interest to mice, and they will explore these thoroughly, frequently without setting them off.
The timidity of the rat is one of the things that helps it to stay safe. Rather than exploring new things, like traps, in its vicinity, the rat is more likely to employ avoidance. If a new item is left long enough in the rat's territory, it will eventually examine it, but this can take considerable time. Accordingly, trapping rats can be an enormously difficult task.
Mice and rats also have different nesting preferences. Keep in mind that mice are tiny, and this means that they can squeeze into incredibly small holes and cracks. Adept at climbing, mice also may be found in attics or nesting in voids above the ceiling.
Although some rat species are good climbers, most of these animals prefer to stay at lower elevations. A crawl space or basement might look ideal to them.
Of course, some rats, like roof rats, love to be up high, and many mice are not afraid to live in your basement. It is this kind of adaptability that has helped rats and mice to thrive throughout millennia.
WHICH ONE CAUSES MORE DAMAGE: RATS OR MICE?
This can be really difficult to determine. As rodents, both rats and mice are equipped with teeth that never stop growing. They need to gnaw on a near-constant basis to keep their teeth healthy and usable.
This is one of the reasons why rats and mice will chew on absolutely everything they find. Gnawing on a hole, crack or gap in your home's exterior is a tried-and-true method for making that opening larger so they can come indoors. Furniture, doors, window frames and virtually all common household items are susceptible to incurring damage caused by rats or mice.
As far as which one does more damage, a number of factors may affect this. Rats are larger and have stronger teeth and jaws. Accordingly, they may be able to exact more damage in a shorter amount of time. Able to gnaw through cinder blocks, sheet metal, glass, wood and aluminum, rats can be enormously destructive.
Still, don't forget that mice reproduce even more quickly and in greater numbers than rats do. A mouse population can explode with shocking speed, which means that your home and belongings will sustain more damage simply because there are more rodents present.
ARE RODENT INFESTATIONS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH?
You might think that property damage is the worst thing that rats and mice can do. Unfortunately, these rodents also make people very sick.
It might seem obvious that being bitten or scratched by a rodent would be bad news. These rodents are filthy, and these wounds could make you seriously ill.
However, fewer people realize that you do not ever have to come into contact with a rat or a mouse in order to get sick. Rodent waste products are extremely dangerous. Improper cleanup and removal of feces and dried urine can release contaminated particles into the home's air, easily making the human occupants seriously ill.
Similarly, people frequently suffer from bouts of food poisoning whenever a rat or mouse infestation is underway. These rodents simply cannot resist the allure of the kitchen and pantry. Given their ability to gnaw through virtually anything, it is easy for rodents to chew through cardboard, plastic and paper to get at the food inside the container. If people accidentally ingest this contaminated food, they can become sick.
Even the pests that may infest rats and mice are dangerous to people. Recall that it is infected fleas on rats that spread the bubonic plague, and other diseases may be transmitted this way as well.
ARE YOU DEALING WITH RATS OR MICE?
Either rodent is a danger to you and your family. Early, effective control is essential to minimize the damage to your home and the threat to your health.
You may not ever get a good enough look at the infesting rodent to tell if it is a mouse or a rat, but a licensed exterminator is trained to look for various telltale signs that make identification certain.
Once establishing whether mice or rats are infesting the property, the exterminator can take appropriate steps to destroy the population and clean up the home so that it is safe to occupy again.
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