If you’ve noticed mice (or signs of them) in your home recently, perhaps it is time to educate yourself on what it is that mice eat.
By understanding what it is that mice eat, you will be able to effectively starve them out (and force them to abandon your home in search of new and readily available food).
Here is what mice eat:
What Mice Eat
Believe it or not, as with many humans (including myself) chocolate and peanut butter are two of the mouse’s favorite foods to munch on given the chance. That said, candy and sweets of any sort are likely targets for a mouse meal.
Here are a few of the most significant foods found in your home that mice prefer to eat:
1. Vegetables and Plants
Out in the wild, as well as on your kitchen countertops, mice are known to consume just about any sort of vegetation. This includes plants, grains, oats, corn, roots, bark from trees and more. So, if you keep a bowl of veggies on the counter, perhaps it is time to think twice about such food storage arrangements.
2. Fruits
Along with vegetables and plants, mice also love to munch on nearly any sort of fruit that they can find. The sweeter, smellier, and seed-bearing types are among their most preferred types of fruit to eat. Again, if you happen to keep a nice bowl of fruit on the table, you may want to consider putting it up somewhere unaccessible to mice.
3. Insects
Another primary source of food for mice is various types of insects. Especially out in the wild, as well as in attics, crawlspaces, and walls, mice eat insects without question as they are mostly full of protein and vital fluids. Crickets, centipedes, and other similarly sized bugs all fall victim to these furry little whiskered pests.
4. Meats
Not so different than insects packed with protein and fluids, mice also gobble up meat anytime they have the chance. This may include food scraps left out on your counters, found in your garbage can, and even worms and other forms of meat and protein found about your property.
5. Nuts
Another major source of protein, mice are indeed fans of nuts. These may be found in the wild, in your garden, or even on your kitchen counter. If you keep a bowl full of nuts around, consider keeping an air-tight lid on them from now on. This will go a long way in discouraging mice from snacking on your nuts. Likewise, peanut butter is one of the most preferred foods that mice can’t get enough of.
6. Chocolates
Surprise, surprise. Not only men, women, and children around the world love this succulent treat. Mice, in fact, are extremely fond of chocolate. Even more accurately, they are enthralled with the smell of chocolate.
Believe it or not, chocolate even works in mouse traps better than most mouse bait that comes from the store. That said, chocolate-covered peanuts are among the chocolate treats that mice have the hardest time resisting.
Eating Habits Of Mice
Mice, like many scavenger-type rodents, are omnivorous and will eat just about anything that their stomachs can digest (which is quite a variety of things). That said, there are of course particular types of food that mice do indeed prefer in their diet over all else.
Being picky about their food isn’t what mice are known for. Rather, they will happily devour just about anything they can find in your home. And, despite popular belief (thanks to cartoons) mice actually aren’t all that into cheese Truthfully, it is one of their least favorite foods.
Mice, which are extremely curious by nature, love to investigate new things. That means they are not afraid to try new foods. And, because of their size, and curiosity, mice are known to nibble on as many numerous sources of sustenance that they can find rather than consuming copious amounts of one type of food.
This ‘nibble here and nibble there’ type behavior of mice leads to the damaging and contamination of the food items in your home that they feed on.
Final Thoughts Mouse Diets
Like most of their close cousins in the rodent family, mice are survivors and known for basically stockpiling as much food as possible. Anything more than a few nibbles will then be carried back to the nest for munching on later when food becomes scarce.
Knowing what mice prefer to eat, and keeping these food sources contained, is the best course of action in order to get rid of mice, prevent them in the first place, and keep other types of pests from popping up due to the food stores hidden away in your walls and crawlspaces by hoarding mice.