Field Mice as Farm and Orchard Pests

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
FARMERS' BULLETIN
Washington, D. C.670June 3, 1915.
Contribution from the Bureau of Biological Survey, Henry W. Henshaw, Chief.
By D. E. Lantz, Assistant Biologist .
Note.—This bulletin describes the habits, geographic distribution, and methods of destroying meadow mice and pine mice, and discusses the value of protecting their natural enemies among mammals, birds, and reptiles. It is for general distribution.
The ravages of short-tailed field mice in many parts of the United States result in serious losses to farmers, orchardists, and those concerned with the conservation of our forests, and the problem of controlling the animals is one of considerable importance.
Fig. 1.—Field mice: a , Meadow mouse; b , pine mouse.
Meadow mice inhabit practically the whole of the Northern Hemisphere—America, north of the Tropics; all of Europe, except Ireland; and Asia, except the southern part. In North America there are few wide areas except arid deserts free from meadow mice, and in most of the United States they have at times been numerous and harmful. The animals are very prolific, breeding several times a season and producing litters of from 6 to 10. Under favoring circumstances, not well understood, they sometimes produce abnormally and become a menace to all growing crops. Plagues of meadow mice have often been mentioned in the history of the Old World, and even within the United States many instances are recorded of their extraordinary abundance with accompanying destruction of vegetation.
The runs of meadow mice are mainly on the surface of the ground under grass, leaves, weeds, brush, boards, snow, or other sheltering litter. They are hollowed out by the animals' claws, and worn hard and smooth by being frequently traversed. They are extensive, much branched, and may readily be found by parting the grass or removing the litter. The runs lead to shallow burrows where large nests of dead grass furnish winter retreats for the mice. Summer nests are large balls of the same material hidden in the grass and often elevated on small hummocks in the meadows and marshes where the animals abound. The young are brought forth in either underground or surface nests.