The Difference Between Rats and Mice

Pest Control, La Plata, MDRats and mice are both rodents but third cousins at best. If your home or business has rodents, you want to clearly identify the invasive rodent in order to control and get rid of it. However, most non-professionals can’t accurately identify and trap rodents because they don’t know which kind of rodent trap to apply. Barefoot Pest Control is known as a highly effective service for rodent pest control in La Plata, MD.

As animals, both rats and mice are considered unwanted pests. Both of them carry germs, search for constant sources of food, and cause damage wherever they decide to nest. They both reproduce incessantly and make themselves comfortable any place there is water and food.

There are a few stand-out points that help to tell a mouse from a rat. For example, if you have time to look at a rodent’s tail, you’ll notice that mice have hairy tails while rat tails are hairless and often peeling or flaky. Additional ways rats and mice differ from each other are in appearance, behavior, and diet, as mentioned in the following comparisons:

Appearance

• The color of mice is white, brown, or gray. They weigh under pound and have droopy ears.
• Rats are larger than mice; they can be up to 15 inches long. They can be white, gray, black, or brown.

Behavior

• Rats are shrewd, careful, and tend to avoid unfamiliar items. They eat any kind of human food, including meat, fruit, and starches.
• Mice are curious and can be easily lured with traps set into their paths.

Diet

• Rats eat anything and everything.
• Cereal, grains, and plants are the foods of choice for mice.

The sooner you get the proper controls you need, the less time you provide for the rodents to populate.