There are several
different species of mice that inhabit our
landscapes. This would include such species as the
deer mouse, meadow jumping mouse, western harvest
mouse, white footed mouse, etc. Many people also
confuse the meadow vole
as a mouse.
These all
tend to be small critters that live in either their
own burrows or in the tunnels made by
groundmoles
or ground squirrels.
They generally feed on seeds and other organic
materials.
The problem
that mice can cause is when they get especially
hungry during a long, cold winter. In these times,
the mice can burrow through mulch up to the base of
trees and begin to chew on the bark. This is
especially damaging when the tree is a young,
immature specimen with tender bark.
