Are Mice Solitary Creatures?

When a mouse is sighted in a home, it is almost always just that – one mouse. We don’t see them in groups, or even duos, always just the one. Are they loners? Do they tend to keep to themselves?

Wild Life

In the wild, mice are territorial. This is particularly true of male mice, and they will attack other males who stray into their territory. Females are less combative, but do maintain a smaller territory. But when it comes to breeding, things get very social, very quickly. A male can have several females within his territory, and each one can have up to ten pups in one litter. The young are capable of reproducing within six weeks, and with a gestation period of about twenty days, the definition of “solitary” goes away pretty quickly.

Domestic Tranquility

In the wild, not many baby mice survive for long. That’s why mice have evolved to have large litters. But there is a particular species known as the house mouse. Needless to say, before there were houses, there were no house mice. They have adapted to live within walls and ceilings, and enjoy all the creature comforts that you do – heating and cooling, shelter from the elements, and a ready and vast supply of food that does not need to be hunted down and killed.

The house mouse life is a great life. And another benefit is protection from predators. You may have a house cat, but it can’t catch a house mouse that stays inside the walls. The mouse’s brief forays out into the open to get food are kitty’s only opportunity. This means most of the litters survive, and your house mouse population can skyrocket in a very short time.

Sooner, Not Later

When you spot one mouse in your house, how long has it been there? Has it started a family? Has it started more than one? Every day you delay and “think about” calling a professional exterminator brings you one day closer to the next litter. When you call Mice Mob Exterminators to evaluate your mouse situation, you are taking the quick and necessary step to eliminating a possible infestation, and certainly preventing one in the near future.