Mouse droppings are the most conclusive piece of evidence that you have an infestation in your home, short of seeing an actual live mouse running around. As such, it’s important to know how to identify, find and tell them apart from rat droppings.

What do mouse droppings look like?

Mice, like most rodents, are nocturnal animals, so they rarely travel through the home during the day. As such, you will have to look for other signs that will indicate their presence – mainly droppings. Mouse droppings will also indicate the patterns of activity of the mice, and make control easier, because where you have a lot of droppings, you have an area where you can place traps and poisons.

Mouse droppings are fairly small, reaching between 1/8th and 1/4th of an inch in length. Size is also the main differentiating factor between mouse and rat droppings, with rat droppings being much larger, at a length of ½ of an inch.

Mice will almost never leave behind a single dropping. Droppings will always be found in groups, with one mouse leaving anywhere  between 50 to 75 droppings per day.

In terms of shape, mouse droppings resemble tiny grains, and they are generally cylindrical with pointed ends. The coloration will vary, because mice are omnivores, but it is usually dark brown or black. At first, the droppings are shiny and over time they lighten, becoming browner and eventually gray. The droppings will also become more colorful (red, blue or green) when the mice have been poisoned. This is because poison manufacturers add dye to the poison to help homeowners and pest control pros figure out if the pest control efforts are effective.

What to do if you spot droppings?

The first thing that you should do if you find droppings is call a pest control pro as soon as possible. It’s best to leave the droppings where they are until after the pest control process is complete, so that the pro can take a look at them, but if you cannot set up an appointment right away, you can clean them up. Just make sure that you wear gloves and a mask, and that you dispose of them safely, outside of the home, because the droppings can carry pathogens. To set up a pest control appointment, contact us today. You can also get in touch with us if you have any questions about the mouse control process.