If you ask most people what the difference between a mouse and a rat is, they’ll probably tell you that one is cute and the other is dirty. Rats tend to have a more notorious reputation, in part due to that whole black plague ordeal a few centuries back.
However, don’t be fooled by the general cute-ish appearance of a mouse—you’re not going to find mice very cute if they infest your home. In fact, a mouse infestation can be just as bad as a rat infestation. Still, it can be helpful to be able to tell the difference. The following are five differences between a mouse and a rat:
Mice are typically much smaller than rats. The average mouse is usually between 2.5 inches and 4 inches in length, whereas rats can grow upwards of 9.5 inches in length. This doesn’t include the length of their tails. Including the tail, a mouse can reach roughly 8 inches, and a rat can grow as long as 16 inches. Rats tend to have a much heavier look to them as well.
A mouse will have large floppy ears, big eyes, small feet, and a triangular snout with long whiskers—so yes, it’s relatively cute-looking. A rat has a blunter snout. Rats have long, hairless, scaly tales that are usually shorter than their bodies, whereas mice have hairy, thin tails that are often longer than their bodies. As far as the color of their hair goes, mice usually have brown or grayish hair with white bellies. Rats are usually darker and are often black or brown.
Although both mice and rats can gnaw holes throughout your home, rats are significantly stronger and can gnaw holes not only through wood, but also through glass, aluminum, cinderblocks, and sheet metal.
Both mice and rats are nocturnal rodents. Mice leave more droppings, producing 40 to a 100 every day, while rats leave between 20 and 50 droppings a day. Mouse droppings are 0.25 inches long and have pointed ends, while rat droppings are 0.5 inches long and have blunt ends.
You can also identify the presence of rats by the grease marks that they leave on surfaces they touch.
Rats typically inhabit basements and crawl spaces, although roof rats will nest in attic areas. Because mice are so small and nimble, they have more nesting options. Their ability to climb and to fit into small spaces enables them to nest almost anywhere—they’ll often use the spaces between your walls to get to small, quiet nooks in your home where they build their nests.
Both rats and mice like to get busy, but mice tend to reproduce at a faster rate than rats. The average female rat can produce around 20 baby rats in a single year, while the average female mouse can produce upwards of 35 baby mice within a year. This means that no matter how cute that mouse was that you saw scampering around your home, you better take rodent control action or else you’re going to have a full-blown infestation within the year.
Use these tips to tell the difference between a rat and a mouse. If you think you have a rodent infestation, whether it’s a rat infestation or a mouse infestation, be sure to schedule an inspection with one of our pest control experts at Bain Pest Control today.