Learning Center – Rats and Mice

 

ratMice: There are several kinds of rodents here in Southern Utah among them are, Field mice, White-footed mice, and pack rats.  Field Mice have a small body and head. They tend to be a bit smaller than the average house mouse. They have big eyes and ears that average about 4 inches in length. White-footed mice can cause something known as the Hanta-virus — a virus that can be fatal to humans. It’s spread through their feces. These mice like to burrow in the ground to make their nests, they are found mostly outside, in Cedar City. Pack rats are gray in color with white on their bellies, they can cause immense amounts of damage and are found often in rural areas.

Rats: The best-known rat species are the Black Rat (Rattus rattus) and the Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus). The group is generally known as the Old World rats or true rats, and originated in Asia. Rats are bigger than most Old World mice, which are their relatives, but seldom weigh over 500 grams (1 lb) in the wild.

Mice and rats are mostly blind and have a sense of smell four times greater than that of a dog.

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.