Habits of Mice in Ohio
Mice are nocturnal by nature, meaning they prefer to sleep away the days and become mostly active during the night. Once awake a mouse has typically a few things on its mind, food, reproducing, and survival.
Mice have a small territory often less than 30 ft in diameter from where they are nesting. Which means those habits of mice living close by will include raiding the food pantry for a midnight snack. Mice have an appetite for just about anything they can find, if the pantry is closed no problem its on to the dog food, cat food, or maybe that piece of candy the kids dropped into the couch. Being such a small mammal other habits of mice do not typically include drinking water, usually the moisture they gain from eating is just enough.
Perhaps after filling up on the food you may have provided for the mice its on to find a mate to reproduce. But mice don’t typically stray more than 30 ft from their nest, and that’s right another mouse is surely close by given the rapid reproduction rate mice have. Mice are capable of having up to 6 litters of 6 per year and right around 2 months of age is when they start having those litters.
Last but not least is survival, mice have many predators most of which live outdoors, thus another reason mice do not have to out for that matter and actually prefer not to go outside. Staying indoors increases the chances of survival for mice because there is ample shelter. If mice do happen to stray outdoors they will use as much cover as possible such as flower beds, wood piles, and decks to avoid detection of predators.
Usually a longs nights work ends with mice returning to their nesting area just in time for the sun and homeowners alike to arise and once again go undetected.