Is it Mice Or Rats?
WouterThe first step to determining whether a rodent problem is caused by mice or rats is to determine what species is present. There are several differences between these two rodents, and one way to tell the difference is to look at their droppings. Rats produce larger droppings, and the difference is easily noticeable. These droppings are darker in color and larger than those of mice.
If a patient possesses a urine sample from a rodent, the best way to determine whether the problem is a mouse or rat is to use a syringe and a dipstick. Another method is to use a small tube to catch the rodent’s feces. Regardless of the source, the rodent should be examined carefully to rule out trauma.
Rats are larger and more aggressive than mice. Rats also have larger teeth and are more likely to bite. Black rats are smaller than brown Norway rats and are much larger than house mice. Moreover, young rats may look like deer mice and may have long, hairless tails. Mice, on the other hand, have thin hairs on their tails.
Rats often hideout in tight places, including areas in the middle of walls. They also like to hide in empty drawers. Biblical references to the plague do not mention rats, but rather mention the plague as a crop pest. This was because people couldn’t have known that rats could carry fleas. However, Chinese poet Shih Tao-nan was the first to mention rats as the cause of the deaths from the plague.
