Photo © iStockphoto/Geoff Kuchera

Deer mouse and white-footed mouse
(Peromyscus maniculatus and P. leucopus)

• Common in and around buildings, nesting wherever it is dark and protected
• Indoors, nests inside walls and voids (including ceiling voids), under stoves and refrigerators, inside equipment, in boxes, behind kickplates, in clutter and debris, inside furniture and drawers, and in wire chases
• Outdoors, nests in burrows, hollows of trees and logs, and in brush and debris piles
• Prefer cereals and grains, but will happily feed on meats, pet food, butter, sweets, nuts, seeds, insects, and practically anything that people will eat
• Primary feeding activity periods are dusk to midnight and just before dawn
• Primarily nibblers, feeding on small amounts of food at many different sites
• Get most of the water they need from moisture in their food but will drink water if available

• Most common mammal inside buildings
• Secretive, small, and prolific and can build to high numbers in homes and structures
• Can climb vertical walls, run across wires (even upside down), run on narrow ledges, jump up 1 foot or down 8 feet without injury, live at temperatures as low as 24 degrees F. (-4 degrees C.)
• Female can breed year round and produce 50 offspring in that year
• Can breed at 2 months and breed again 2 days after giving birth
• Can compress body to width of skull so can squeeze through a slot only 1/4-inch high
• Curious when encountering anything new in their territory
• Forage 10-30 feet from nest looking for food
• Contaminate food with their urine (they dribble urine throughout the day) and droppings (75 per day), and damage materials with their constant gnawing