What does field mice eat

Homeowners may also unknowingly carry them inside in bundles of firewood. More often, the pests harm the lawns and gardens of private residences, commercial farms, and other businesses. Their small size helps them hide in tall grass, squeeze through gaps in fences, and get into orchards. Field mice usually pose little threat to humans. In addition, rodents are known carriers of fleas and ticks, which can spread harmful bacteria.

Field mice mainly feed on seeds and grass, though they will gnaw on tree bark or roots if food is scarce. This activity, coupled with constant digging, creates an unsightly and sometimes expensive mess in lawns.

A field mouse problem can even result in economic loss for farmers and gardeners. The best way to avoid a field mouse issue is to maintain your lawn. It thrives in woodland, rough grassland and gardens. This species of mouse does not have a very strong smell.

Diet Field mice tend to mostly eat seeds from trees, but they also eat snails, insects, fruit, berries, nuts and fungi. Field mice and people Field mouse, also known as wood mouse , is the most common and widespread mouse species in the UK.

Harvest mouse Micromys minutus. Distinctive features and behaviours Nests are spherical and made of tightly woven grass and are elevated from the ground in tall grasses. Lives in long, tussocky grassland, reed beds, hedgerows and around woodland edges. Blunt nose, short, rounded hairy ears and golden-brown fur. Its tail is almost as long as its body. Diet It's mainly vegetarian, eating seeds and fruits, but it also eats invertebrates.

Yellow-necked mouse Apodemus flavicollis. Distinctive features and behaviours The yellow-necked mouse can be easily confused with the more common wood mouse, and the two were only identified as separate species in Distinguish it from the wood mouse by its collar of yellowish fur, which forms a bib on the chest that can be quite difficult to see.

The yellow-necked mouse may also be larger in general and lighter in colour but this only helps if you've got them side by side! You're only likely to come across this mouse in southern England, parts of the Midlands and south Wales.

Diet It feeds on buds, seeds, nuts and small insects. Bank vole Myodes glareolus. Distinctive features and behaviours The bank vole is the smallest UK vole with a reddish-chestnut coat and an off-white underside. Like all voles, it's a stocky little animal with a blunt snout, small eyes and ears. Its tail is short — just half the length of its body. At first sight, they can be confused with field voles, which are greyer with a shorter tail, or wood mice, which have a longer tail and move much more quickly.

They can climb bushes in search of food. Diet Fruits, nuts and small insects. Field vole Microtus agrestis. Distinctive features and behaviours Also known as the short-tailed vole, the field vole is a very common species in grassland, heathland and moorland in the UK. This species is less likely to be seen than bank vole as it spends more of its time in runs and burrows. It can be aggressive to other trespassing voles. Diet It eats grass, seeds, roots and leaves. Water vole Arvicola amphibious.

Also known as the water rat, it's the largest species of vole in the UK and is sometimes mistaken for the brown rat. It lives around water: rivers, streams, ditches and ponds. When it enters the water it makes a distinctive 'plop' sound. Look for its glossy brown or black fur and blunt muzzle with small, black eyes. Its ears are rounded and almost hidden, and it has a dark, slightly furry tail.

Diet It eats vegetation including grasses, reeds and sedges that grow near the water's edge and nearby bulbs, roots, buds, twigs and fruits. Common shrew Sorex araneus. What is a baby shrew called? Distinctive features and behaviours The common shrew has a short tail that is only half the length of its body. Its body is mainly dark brown with chestnut-coloured sides and grey or silver undersides.

One of the most endearing habits of shrews is the shrew caravan. They may do this when moving from nest to nest — babies follow their mother forming a furry train by holding on to the base of the tail of the shrew in front. Diet It scurries though the undergrowth in woodland and grassland searching for insects, worms, slugs, spiders and larvae. Pygmy shrew Sorex minutus. Pygmy shrew can be distinguished from common by its paler, grey-brown fur and a long, slightly hairy tail.

Field mice also feed on insects such as grasshoppers, spiders, moths, and caterpillars. They also eat the insect larvae that they find burrowed into the ground.

They mostly do this during the winter when berries and seeds are scarce. The digestive systems of these wild mice are incredibly strong, so they can feed on carrion, which would sicken many other animals. Field mice can steal and eat bird eggs from nests when seeds and nuts become less available. How to get rid of field mice? Click here to find out.

You can work towards blocking access to or eliminating the food sources that are attracting the critters to your property. You could use the food to bait mouse traps. Traps are helpful in capturing pesky rodents. You can enhance their efficiency by using bait. Learn more about the best mouse bait to use here. Updated: Oct. The seasonal food habits Can they enter your home in search of food?

What do wild field mice feed on? Do they feed on acorns? Other plants What about insects? Field Mice Predators You now have a good idea of what wild field mice eat. But do you know the animals that find these mice to be pretty tasty? In the wild, field mice make burrows to protect themselves from predators.

Owls, hawks, cats, dogs, snakes, rabbits, wolves, and bears are some of their natural predators. They often eat seeds of trees, helping gardeners in the process by preventing the appearance of huge numbers of unwanted seedlings. Due to their love for seeds, berries, and fruits, field mice can enter storage facilities and cause costly damage. When they enter greenhouses during the winter, they can destroy a significant number of seedlings overnight.

Field mice feed on tree barks, especially in the colder seasons. They leave rings of bare wood around the trunks of trees and shrubs. When they girdle or strip the barks of fruit trees, they bring about economic losses. Field mice frequently eat from planted crop fields and gardens.

When they regularly eat the leaves and roots of plants, they adversely affect the plants by inhibiting their growth. A huge field mouse infestation can drastically reduce the harvest of your farm or garden. As you already know, these rodents store food in their burrows to last the cold winter months.