WESTCHESTER COUNTY #
WESTCHESTER COUNTY #
Mice, moles, voles, and shrews are all common small mammals that can become a nuisance for homeowners in the Westchester, NY area. It’s important to be able to tell the difference between these nuisance critters, because each creates a specific type of damage, and each may require different methods of removal.
Mice are small rodents with prominent front teeth, long tails, slender bodies, and large ears. Out of all of these animals, mice are the ones that you will find indoors the most often. Mice will raid your kitchen pantry for dry, prepackaged food, tunnel through your attic insulation, and build nests in your basement.
You can often tell if you have a mice infestation by seeing their small droppings around the house, especially in the kitchen, or smelling a strong urine odor. Gnaw marks on food packaging, baseboards and doors are also a sign of mice, as is scratching and running sounds coming from your attic space or inside your walls.
Mice can gnaw through wires and chew on wooden support beams and other structures in your home, so these rodents are most often associated with internal damage to the home, while moles, voles, and shrews are more associated with external damage to the home.
Moles are the most distinctive critter here, with cylindrical bodies, large front paws armed with long, sharp claws for digging, extremely small eyes, and no visible ears. Moles live underground, digging out large tunnels throughout your yard and feeding on earthworms, grubs, and other insects.
Moles can kill your lawn by tunneling through the soil underneath, disrupting the soil and destroying the root system of your grass. Moles can do the same inside your garden, killing vegetables as well as flowers and bushes. Unlike mice, you almost never find a mole inside your home. Some common signs of moles on your property include volcano-shaped mounds of dirt near the entrance to their tunnels, and raised ridges in the lawn that correspond to where they are digging underneath.
Voles are closely related to mice, often called “meadow mice” or “field mice”, but there are some key differences that set them apart. Voles are chubbier and stockier than mice, as opposed to the slimmer build that mice often have. While mice have long tails and big ears, voles have short tails and small ears. Mice more commonly get inside the house, but voles are commonly yard pests. Voles can live above or below ground, and stay active-year round. Voles are herbivores that feed on grass, roots, and bark. You can tell when you have a vole problem by spotting small surface runways, similar to tiny trenches, dug out through your yard. Spotting chewed bases of your plants and stripped bark can also indicate a vole problem. It’s important not to ignore voles, as they can destroy your garden and damage trees and shrubs.
Shrews are similar to mice, but they have smaller eyes and an elongated, pointed snout. Shrews have denser fur, usually of a uniform color, either brown or gray. Shrews are more insectivorous than mice, and they are very aggressive hunters for their size. Much like moles and voles, shrews are rarely seen indoors, however, you might spot them inside garages or sheds. However, they prefer to live in leaf litter, under logs, or near foundations. Shrews are less destructive than mice, moles, or voles, but they can bite or scratch when handled.
If you have mice, moles, voles, or shrews causing problems on your property in the Westchester area, contact the experts at Westchester Wildlife. Our team can correctly identify the type of critter you are dealing with, and begin working on a treatment plan, and once the animals are gone, we can offer exclusion work and preventative treatments to keep them from returning. Contact our team today to get started with a FREE estimate at (800) 273-6673!
Toll Free: 800.273.6673
Phone: (914) 760-5713
PO Box 579 Brewster,
NY 10509 USA
* Westchester Wildlife, LLC is not affiliated with the County. All services are fee based.
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