What Are Brown Mice?

December 27, 2021

Recently we’ve noticed a lot of inquiries about brown mice and thought it might be prudent to share a bit about these mice. The thing is, there is no such thing as a brown mouse… at least not here in Maine. Not that there aren’t brown mice in our state, there’s just not a critter that bears that name on their family’s crest. Now that said, homeowners are probably seeing brown mice in their home and so let’s take a few minutes to determine which mouse could be the culprit.

Types of mice in Maine

Here in the Pine Tree state, there are a few species of mice that actively enter homes and businesses and they are the common house mouse, deer mouse, and white-footed mouse. Visit our mouse identification page to learn more about these rodents but before you go, take a look at the pictures below. You’ll notice that all three mice have a bit of brown in their fur.  You see where we’re going with this? It’s entirely possible that any of these pests could be infesting your home. 

white footed deer mouse outside a maine home looking for food

White-Footed Mouse

deer mouse inside a maine garage making a nest for winter

Deer Mice

house mouse in a maine home's kitchen looking for food

House Mice

Learn More About Mice In Maine



Are brown mice dangerous?

No matter what species we’re talking about, mice should be considered dangerous in more ways than one. First, mice may carry and spread disease to people and pets. In Maine, the white-footed mouse is the primary carrier of the bacteria which causes Lyme disease. Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) is a respiratory illness associated with mice and can be fatal in some cases. It is caused by the inhalation of feces, urine, or saliva of infected rodents, through the bite of an infected rodent, or by handling nesting materials, droppings, or urine. 

In addition to the health risks just mentioned, mice should be noted as a dangerous animal for the damage they cause.  Mice are notorious for chewing and will gnaw on anything they can get their incisors on. This includes clothing, cardboard boxes, Christmas ornaments, drywall, insulation, and wires (which can cause house fires). They also contaminate building materials with their droppings and urine, and often establish nests in attic insulation and in and among items stored in other parts of a house. 

How to get rid of brown mice

Regardless of the type of mouse infesting your home, the best solution is to contact a pest control company that is well-versed in rodent control. Here at Pine State Pest Solutions, we offer rodent control services in Portland, Auburn, and throughout our multi-county service area. 

When you contact us for help getting rid of mice in your home, we’ll tackle this pest problem by developing a solution tailored specifically for your home. We’ll use the right equipment in the right places AND we’ll address and correct how they’re getting in. Simply setting a couple of traps inside and a bait station or two on the outside will not resolve a mouse infestation and if that’s what your current rodent control provider is doing, call us right away!

Home pest control services that target mice & other ME pests

For comprehensive protection against mice and other pests that make their way inside, we highly recommend signing up for one of our Home Protection plans.

Home Protection Plan

Starting as low as $35/month*

local maine pest control specialist knocking down cobwebs

Pine State’s Home Protection is an affordable pest control plan that is ideal for homeowners who want general pest control services that target common house-infesting insects and rodents.

When you sign up for this ongoing service, you’ll receive an initial service visit to treat the existing pest problem and then seasonal service visits spread out over the year to ensure pests stay out. That’s a total of four services annually.

Pests covered under Pine State’s Home Protection plan include carpenter ants, cornfield ants, crazy ants, field ants, little black ants, pavement ants, Asian lady beetles, carpet beetles, cigarette beetles, drugstore beetles, flour beetles, ground beetles, hide beetles, larder beetles, saw-toothed grain beetles, warehouse beetles, boxelder bugs, carpenter bees, centipedes, clover mites, American cockroaches, brown-banded cockroaches, German cockroaches, wood cockroaches, field crickets, house crickets,  European earwigs, cat fleas, dog fleas, firebrats, cluster flies, fruit flies, bald-faced hornets, European hornets,  deer mice, house mice, millipedes, Angoumois grain moths, drain moths, Indian meal moths, Mediterranean flour moths, mud daubers, Norway rats, paper wasps, pill bugs, rice weevils, silverfish, sow bugs, springtails, cellar spiders, daddy longlegs spiders, house spiders, jumping spiders, sac spiders, wolf spiders, Western conifer seed bugs, and yellow jackets.

 

Sign Up Today!

 

*Some exclusions apply- please see your agreement

 

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