File:Control of rats and mice (1948) (20504302768).jpg

Title: Control of rats and mice
Identifier: controlofratsmic142stor (find matches)
Year: 1948 (1940s)
Authors: Storer, Tracy I. (Tracy Irwin), 1889-1973
Subjects: Rats; Mice
Publisher: Berkeley, Calif. : College of Agriculture, University of California
Contributing Library: University of California, Davis Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: University of California, Davis Libraries

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driest desert areas, and from sea level to the high mountains. Ex- clusion and trapping are the best methods for control of these mice. The head-and-body length of adults is 3 to 5 inches, and the tail is 21/^ to 5 2/3 inches long in different species. The eyes are large and black, the ears thin and mice, often invaded by white-footed which may cut clothing or bedding to obtain nest material, and eat any human food not in mouse-proof containers. They are particularly undesirable because in some parts of California they are infected with plague. The owner of a cabin must make special effort to build out these small rodents.
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Fig. 16.—The white-footed mouse, or deer mouse (Peromyscus). Its head-and-body length is 3 to 5 inches and the tail about the same. The large black eyes are conspicu- ous, the ears are large, the upper surface of the body is usually pale brown (bluish gray in young), and the feet and under parts are white. prominent; the upper surface of the body is pale brown to gray, and the under parts and feet white (fig. 16), White-footed mice are strictly night- time foragers, but they are active through- out the year. They make no runways. They hide and nest in cavities of old stumps or downed logs, in rock piles, and probably in burrows. From 2 to 6 young are produced in a litter, and several broods may be borne during the year by one female. In nature these mice feed on a wide variety of plant materials. About homes, cabins, and barns where no house mice (Mus musculus) are pres- ent, they will come indoors and become household pests. Mountain cabins that are closed after the summer vacation are The detailed directions for exclusion of house rats and mice (pp. 13-21) should be adapted as necessary to make cabins rodent proof. Old and loosely built structures, and those of "rustic" design with bark slabs and other rough or irregular materials will need special attention. Buildings of natural stone combined with wood afford many irregular crannies where mice may hide, especially after parts of the struc- ture have settled. Foundations of loose stones not solidly cemented, or of partly rotted logs, give shelter to the mice. Besides openings on the first floor, the roof, upper windows, and chimney top are paths of entry to mice in winter when snow blankets most or all of a building. (34

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