Difference Between Rats and Mice – Rodents Identification
Rodents like Rats and Mice are a common form of pest incursion in North Texas during the fall season. Rats and mice live in a warm environment; when the temperature outside begins to cool, they move towards indoor nests. Rats and mice may look pretty similar to an ordinary person. It is important to understand the difference between rats and mice to exterminate them. These rodents carry various bacteria and viruses that can contaminate your food and cause severe health problems. Besides health issues, they can damage the house; the mice in walls make nests while damaging many materials.
Physical Appearance and Size
To get rid of pests infestation, you should know which rodent you are dealing with, as just one method will not work for all.
Rats
Most people can identify rats and mice by their tails and body size as rats are significantly larger than mice with a thicker tail. It is difficult to recognize if there’s a small rat or a large mouse in your house.
● Size: Rats fall in the category of rodents of unusual size. The rats’ body size is up to 45 cm long, and weight is almost twice as compared to mice.
● Tail: They usually have much thicker and hairless tails that are scaly.
● Head: As compared to mice, rats have more blunt and flatter snout.
● Colour: Rats are in shades of Brown, Grey, White, or Black.
Mice
Mice are comparably smaller in than rats and are considered to be one of the worst home invaders.
● Size: Mice are smaller in size, varying up to 19 cm in length. The average size of a mouse is 25 grams.
● Tail: Mice usually have hairy and thin tails; they also have large and floppy ears.
● Head: These rodents have pretty long vibrissae and triangular snouts.
● Colour: Mice are found in three colors White, Grey, or Brown.
Behavior and Breeding
Rats are a little cautious when they come across new things and try to avoid it. They take more time to get used to things as compared to mice. This behavior of rats makes it difficult to catch them, as they don’t easily fall for traps. There is only one way to catch them; you’ll have to place the unset rat traps in their path and let them get used to it, after that you can put set rat traps. On the other hand, mice are curious about new things in their path; therefore, they are easy to catch using mice traps. Mice are faster than rats and can squeeze their body to pass through extremely small openings.
Mice produce larger breeds in less time as compared to rats. One female mouse is capable of breeding up to 9 litters of five babies in a year. These babies can reach sexual maturity just within six weeks and begin to breed more litters. The average life of a mouse is about one year. Whereas, a female rat can reproduce up to 6 liters of 10 babies per year. Rats reach sexual maturity at the age of 3 months and usually breed in the spring season. The average life of a rat is nearly 18 months.
Similarities Between Rats and Mice
Despite all these differences between rats and mice, there are various similarities between these rodents. These two mammals can adapt to different environmental conditions and quickly find nests to breed. Rats and mice tend to move indoors, usually in the fall season, when the temperature outside is warm. They create their nests in walls or near any food supplies where their babies can grow easily. Therefore, it is common for us to find both rats and mice in our homes, and we should take the necessary precautions ASAP. Action Pest Services offer the best pests control solutions in North Texas. They have trained and expert technicians who can find the root cause of rodents infestation and eliminate them.