Mice ?

[Lindsay-c]

I'm not too clever about wild mice and they've been eating the food I leave out for the birds...

I have the food up on a small lilac tree out there and if I step out and the light comes on I see them scurry down the tree and off under the fence...

A while back they'd been coming into the house for food...

Can't get a picture because they are fast and I don;t have a camera suitable for in the dark...

My neighbour reckons they are Field mice (I thought they were yellow-necked mice but they aren't found in my area) and he told me that because they are field mice they won't come into the house as pests and they will only come in for food... I thought if one type of mouse likes to and decides to live in human houses why wouldn't another type... whether they are field mice or not, does anyone agree/disagree with my neighbour?

[Dogghound]

Yes if they are wood mice (same species as field mouse) they do come into buildings. However just because they are in your garden doesnt mean they will come into your house. However hard winters and cold weather often draws them into buildings. They can be a pest too.

[Kayleigh]

They could be woodmice but without a pic its impossible to tell..

[Roger B.]

Bank voles are often mistaken for mice (see my profile picture).

I know of one bird feeding station that supports a thriving population of bank voles.

Wood mice have much larger eyes and ears than voles.

[The Woodman]

We have an influx of woodmice and bank voles in the house over the winter months. I cannot remember ever trapping a field vole despit high numbers locally in some years.

Wood mice are very common and the house mouse appears to be a rarity in Cumbria from the paucity of reports.

Wood mice (and voles) can be destructive in the house but in my experience tend to keep themselves to the wall cavities, roof voids and underfloors. They also import food stuff such as berries and seeds and use regualr feeding stations in the roof void of our house. We never see a wood mouse in the rooms of the house but I know others do in their houses.

Going back many years I used to see house mice regularly in the kitchen and find eaten food and droppings on work surface and in cupboards of former residences.

Recently I went to find some fishing tackle for a friend in my big blue seat box in the storage under the house. A new,unopened packet of Berkeley WD40 flavoured Power Worms (artificial plastic worms) had been chewed to bits and I'm now considering using these to bait traps!

[~T~]

Originally Posted by Lindsay-c

I'm not too clever about wild mice and they've been eating the food I leave out for the birds...

I have the food up on a small lilac tree out there and if I step out and the light comes on I see them scurry down the tree and off under the fence...

A while back they'd been coming into the house for food...

Can't get a picture because they are fast and I don;t have a camera suitable for in the dark...

My neighbour reckons they are Field mice (I thought they were yellow-necked mice but they aren't found in my area) and he told me that because they are field mice they won't come into the house as pests and they will only come in for food... I thought if one type of mouse likes to and decides to live in human houses why wouldn't another type... whether they are field mice or not, does anyone agree/disagree with my neighbour?

Last Autumn I had wood mice nest and have young in my kitchen. I was very surprised to find a ones that had barely left the nest in my traps.

[WildGirl]

Hello, Seems as Field mice and Wood mice look very alike, it would hard to tell what they are even with a picture. I'm currently keeping two wood mice and they look alike to Field mice, but Wood Mice are alot more common around here. Generally the only reason for Mice actually coming into a house is for warmth, maybe food. Overall all wild mice do the same thing.

[The Woodman]

Hi WildGirl

Your Wood and Field Mice could well be one and the same species. There are only four native species, Harvest, House, Wood and Yellow-necked.

When I was much younger the common name of Wood Mouse was never heard, all outdoor mice were Field Mice!

There's some useful guidance on the Mammal Society's website
Mammals of the British Isles - Factsheets & Information

Woodmice are a very attractive species but there is a limit to their welcome in our house as they can be very destructive.

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by WildGirl

Hello, Seems as Field mice and Wood mice look very alike, it would hard to tell what they are even with a picture. I'm currently keeping two wood mice and they look alike to Field mice, but Wood Mice are alot more common around here. Generally the only reason for Mice actually coming into a house is for warmth, maybe food. Overall all wild mice do the same thing.

Wood Mice + Field Mice look alike because they are the same thing! There is the closely related Yellow-necked Mouse which is quite similar.

[Roger B.]

Originally Posted by The Woodman

Your Wood and Field Mice could well be one and the same species. There are only four native species, Harvest, House, Wood and Yellow-necked.

The Woodman is quite right: there is no such species as 'field mouse' in the UK.

Some people incorrectly use the term 'field mice' when referring to the smaller species of vole (i.e. bank voles and field voles).