The house mouse is
NEWARK, Del. - The
common house mouse is not
j very imposing creature.
It’s only about six inches
long - mostly tail - weighs
jbout three-fourths of an
ounce, and spends most of its
life pretty well out of sight.
As a result, it often goes
unnoticed, until a dog food
bag stored in the garage
develops a hole, or until a
basket of knitting on the top
shelf of a closet is suddenly
turned into a mouse nursery.
Mus musculiis, the house
mouse name, means “little
thief,” and it describes this
wanderer from Asia per
fectly, says Delaware Ex
tension entomologist Frank
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Boys. Today “Mus” is found
from the tropics to the arctic
regions all over the world.
Because the mouse is so
small and requires so little
food, it has spread much
faster than rats. It probably
has the widest distribution of
any mammal except man.
In order to control this
pest, one should know
something about its breeding
potential and habits, says
Boys. Mice are extremely
fast reproducers. Since the
gestation period is only
about 21 days, a single
female could produce as
many as 14 litters per year.
Litter size averages about
eight young. Females can
717-263-3505
J r <
rebreed a few hours after
giving birth. Mice also tend
to have community nests,
and sometimes as many as
50 young have been as found
together.
The size of a mouse’s
territory depends upon the
physical arrangement of its
environment and the
number of other mice in the
area. A mouse might not
travel more than ten feet
from its nest if food is close
by and/or if there are many
mice m the area. Some mice
may spend their entire lives
in a pallet of feed.
House mice can survive
long periods without
drinking water. If their food
$$
!■/'< J-Vjj
Approximate weight 4000 lbs,
ah elusive Utile thief
contains some water, they
don’t need any drinking
water. However, water baits
are readily accepted.
The house mouse reacts to
change by exploring it im
mediately, often in
vestigating traps even
though they are unbaited. In
fact, your control success
may be increased if you
make constant changes in
the mouse’s environment.
Changing baits or the
placement of baits or traps
helps. Mice also travel along
walls or objects and in
shadows. Where studs and
sills are exposed, the mice
will run on the sill and go
around each stud; rats will
travel on the floor. Traps
and baits should be placed
along their normal path
ways.
If you’re not sure whether
you have more than one
mouse m your dwelling, look
for small holes in walls and
doors, for tiny droppings on
floors and rafters, and for
feeding signs. When you see
mice scurrying for cover as
you enter the house, you
know you have a problem,
says Boys. Don’t fall under
the common delusion that
mice don’t do much damage
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The
Commodity Credit Cor
poration (CCC) had
$5,486,531,000 invested in
commodity loans and in
ventories on October 31,
according to Ray Fitzgerald.
Executive Vice President,
CCC, U.S. of
Agriculture. Loans out
standing totaled
and in
ventories A
year earlier, CCC had total
investment of $4,720,076,000
including $3,700,925,000 in
28”
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 30,1978
and therefore aren’t worth
controlling.
Eliminating places where
mice can live, and making
food unavailable to them,
are the only permanent
control measures. Keep the
premises clean! Avoid piles
of trash and accumulations
of junk. Pay particular
attention to the disposal of
garbage and trash. Place it
m garbage cans, not plastic
bags, and keep them closed
until the regular time for
dumping.
Food placed out-of-doors
for pets and birds should be
watched. Clean up scraps
regularly, and place bird
food in a mouse-proof feeder.
Try to keep rodents out
side buildings; close as
many small openings into
the building as you can.
Unfortunately, mice can
squeeze through a quarter
inch hole. Cover surfaces
that mice could gnaw
through, such as window
frames and the bottom of
doors, with metal flashing or
hardware cloth.
The small breakback and
choker-loop traps can be
used where there are signs of
mice. In buildings, place
traps along the wall, with
CCC gives loan summary
loans outstanding and in
ventories of $1,019,151,000.
Farmer-owned grain
reserve program balances
as of October 31, 1978,
consisted of wheat,
388,320,386 bushels valued at
$877,561,126 and feed grains,
410,935,124 bushels worth
$748,568,488. Applicable
storage payments amounted
t 05256,997,217.
SNOJAX
BOX 3098 SHIREMANSTOWN, PA 17011
Phone (717) 761-1863 J
trigger end toward the
baseboard, or against boxes
or other objects at intervals
of two to three feet. Many
traps should be used if mice
are abundant. If a mouse
hole is found, place a trap
about nine indhes on either
side. Bacon, peanut butter,
gumdrops, or rolled oats are
effective baits (cheese is
not). A little loose' bait
should be placed under the
trigger to catch mice skillful
at robbing traps. A string or
light wire from the trap to
some nearby object will
prevent a prowling cat from
carrying the trapped mouse
away, and will also keep a
mouse caught by the tail or
foot from crawling into
hiding.
If you use poisoned bait, be
sure to prepare a lethal dose,
as a sublethal dose will only
make the mouse sick, and it
will avoid the bait
thereafter.
In cases of heavy mouse
infestations, after all control
efforts on your part have
•failed, contact a reputable
pest control operator,
preferably a member of a
state or national pest control
association.
New loans made 101
storage facilities and drying
equipment during October
1978 amounted ' to
$150,259,910, as compared
with $74,910,126 for October
1977. Loans outstanding
under this program as of
October 31,1978, compared
with October 31, 1977,
amounted to $933,855,121 and
$301,978,913, respectively.
• INEXPENSIVE
113