What is the difference between shrews and mice

They tour the kitchen and dog dish whether we are there or not, at all times of the day. I caught one easily by putting a dog kibble in a mousetrap. I cannot smell the shrews, But do you suppose it is smell that is deterring our dog? I caught what I believed to be a short-tailed shrew in the wall of my basement. It was incredibly easy to catch and actually let me touch it when getting it into a container to move.

It had the five toes, dark grey velvety fur, pinpoint eyes and long nose, but the behaviors was really off from what I have been told. It seemed more frantic being in the wall then it did being trapped and relocated. Am I wrong in thinking shrew? Meadow voles often frequent the ground beneath feeders to eat seed. Short-tailed shrews can often be seen in similar locations, but would most likely be stalking a meal of meadow vole.

If, when the snow melted from around the base of your feeder this springtime, you noticed shallow burrowings along the surface of the ground, and little piles of bunched up grass, then you definitely had meadow voles.

Hungry shrews will commonly come out into the open to get food. From your description—yes, it sounds like you had a northern short-tailed shrew. I also know from experience that, when distressed, shrews emit a piercing, high-pitched call. Setting aside the nursery rhyme, Three Blind Mice, there are no short-tailed mice. Both can reach the size you describe. From your description, and the fact that your critter was going after seed, it does sound like a meadow vole.

Shrews are largely carnivorous, but they will eat seeds, especially when food is scarce during winter months. It does, indeed, sound like the small mammal that your dog brought home is a shrew. JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address. I am wondering what I have eating sunflower seed outside by my bird feeders. Long 4 or 5 inches dark gray no apparent ears or tail.

I have some burrowed under choke cherry trees and under a bird bath. Are they shrews? We have them in between our roof metal and insulation. My question was about the noise we hear…. I believe I have a shrew living in my house. At first I thought it was a regular mouse, but then I got a good look at it. I have been unsuccessful trapping with regular mouse traps.

Any suggestions? Would anyone know what it might be? I tried to look it up and the only thing that came up was a northern short tail shrew. I know I have mice in the house but could there be shrews, too? I live in Maine. Are there any short tail mice…or would it be a vole or mole?? So if what I caught in my birdseed bag in my house is definitely not a mouse, then it must be a vole, right? This morning I saw something moving in the bag of bird seed so I quickly closed the bag and took it outside.

It had a short tail so not a mouse, but it was mouse sized. Its fur was brown. I tried to get a picture but it kept moving and I let it go. I know that we have mice, shrews, voles, and moles around here; I live in Long Island New York if that helps. Nancy, from the description given above, it sounds like a shrew!

My dog caught one this afternoon. My shrew had black teeth and a pointed head as well. If you managed to hear the capture, it gives out high pitched squeals. It was wet, dead but not mutilated. It is very small. I photographed it pretty well up close. The teeth are black. Would you like to see the photos…I can email them.

Both shrews and mice are considered nocturnal critters, but you can occasionally find them around at different times during the day. You may see mice scurrying around early in the mornings or late afternoons looking for food. Shrews are also constantly on the hunt, regardless of the hour. They have an incredibly high metabolism, needing to eat two to three times their own body weight each day. Mice are very social animals, whereas shrews are not.

As any exterminator will tell you, mice live together in groups and will build huge nests to defend themselves from predators. A shrew typically lives a solitary life until breeding season arrives. Both of these pests are incredibly quick, so you might not be able to get a very close look at them when you have an infestation in your home!

If tiny, scurrying furries give you the creeps, you've probably never taken the time to learn what distinguishes creatures like a mouse and a shrew. Side by side, there are a few obvious differences, but the two resemble each other enough that you might think a mouse and shrew are related. They're actually from different families, and that's just one of their differences between them.

Although they're both small, furry and many times gray, shrews and mice are not both rodents. Mice hail from the rodentia family, but shrews are classified as insectivores. The classifying difference between the two is found in their diets. While a shrew might eat roots, seeds and other vegetation when necessary, his main diet is meat: beetles, crickets, snails, earthworms, millipedes, scorpions, small snakes and birds, mice and even other shrews.

Conversely, a mouse will occasionally eat insects like beetles and cockroaches, but prefers his diet mostly vegetarian: seeds, roots, stems, grass and leaves. You'll find mice in many colors including gray, but also ranging from white to light brown to black. Shrews' coats, however, come in one color only: gray. Shrews are usually smaller than mice, and their noses are much more pointed. Mice have large eyes, while shrews' eyes are so tiny they're almost invisible beneath their fur.