BLOG

Lifecycle of The House Mouse

One of the reasons why mice have been so successful as pests is their reproductive capacity. A single female mouse is able to produce eight litters of baby mice each year, with about six pups per litter. That amounts to 48 new mice each year from a single female.

Baby mice

The female mouse will be pregnant for about 21 days before giving birth to blind baby mice that are completely dependent on their mother. After another 21 days, the mice start to get their independence, and they are able to leave their mother’s side and venture out of the nest for short distances.

Adulthood

It takes mice 35 days to reach sexual maturity, and at six weeks of age, they start to mate. So after 9 weeks, you can have as many as six mice capable of reproducing from one female. This is why a mouse infestation can explode very quickly, and it’s also why you want to be able to detect it early on and have it removed.

Detecting a house mouse infestation

The most common sign that there is a mouse infestation is the presence of droppings. These droppings are black and tiny, and they will be grouped up in areas where mice are very active. You might also see a live mouse out in the open. This is a sign that the infestation has grown quite large and the mice are becoming bolder. Other signs include a distinct ammonia odor throughout the building, gnaw marks in areas where mice are active, and scratching or gnawing sounds at night.

Removing a house mouse infestation

It goes without saying that you can’t really wait until all the mice inside the home die out. They will simply reproduce and grow in numbers as time goes on. As such, the only approach if you have an infestation is to remove it, and for this, you will likely need the help of a pro. DIY mouse control efforts usually fall short of killing the entire mouse population in the building, and the mice will simply reproduce and replenish their numbers over time. A pest control pro is able to ensure that the infestation is removed quickly, safely and completely.

If you have a mouse infestation in the home, or if you have any questions about how these infestations are removed, contact us today.