PEST NAME : House Mouse (Mus domesticus)

SIZE, SHAPE AND COLOUR : Small and slender, 15gm.  6 to 9cm body.  Tail 7.5 to 10cm.  Snout pointed, ears large, eyes small, tail small and uniformly dark, fur light brown to light grey.

BIOLOGY : Gestation 17 to 20 days.  Litter size 5 to 6.  Litters per year 5 to 10.  Weaning period 3 weeks.  Maturity 1 ½ months.   Life span 9 to 12 months.

PREFERRED FOODS :  Cereal grains, seeds, nuts, high fat and protein content products, chocolate, vegetable matter etc.  Water nil, all extracted from foodstuffs.

PREFERRED FOODS :  Are  mainly scavengers in food factories, chiefly raiding compactors, effluent areas and  bin areas.  Will eat a wide range of foodstuffs including meat products, fats, pastry, cake and bread material, cereals and vegetable matter.  Omnivorous.

HABITAT : Around any  food processing building especially where waste management is poor, will nest under canopies and in warehouses near the main food source.

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