Finding rodent droppings in your home is never a good sign. Once you have found the droppings, the first thing to do is try to identify what kind of droppings they are. So, how do you tell the difference between rat and mouse droppings?
Mouse Droppings
Mouse droppings are usually black or brown in colour and relatively small, ranging from 3-7mm. This is similar to a small grain of rice. Their droppings are found in any of the areas that they have explored. Mice are known to produce up to 80 droppings a day and they produce these whilst on the go, so they will be scattered.
The appearance of mouse droppings are very similar to those of bats. As bats are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is important to identify any bat droppings. Unlike mouse droppings, bat droppings crumble easily.
Rat Droppings
Rat droppings are much larger in size that those of mice, averaging around 12mm, similar to the size of an olive stone. Rats are very clean animals and their droppings tend to be found in one location. So even though they produce up to 40 droppings a day, you may not see any evidence.
Rat droppings and grey squirrel droppings are very similar and it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate. If a grey squirrel infestation is suspected, often other signs of activity will need to be looked for.
If you have any suspicious droppings and would like more information, get in touch with Pest Solution’s friendly and knowledgeable staff by clicking here.
