Head to head
Wood Mouse vs House Mouse
Wood Mouse
VS House Mouse
The wood mouse and house mouse are the two best-known mice of Europe, yet one is a wild countryside forager and the other a species that has followed people around the world.
| Wood Mouse | House Mouse | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Apodemus sylvaticus | Mus musculus |
| Habitat | Woodland, hedgerows, fields, and gardens across much of Europe and parts of North Africa | Almost worldwide alongside people, and also in fields, hedgerows, and grassland |
| Relationship with people | Lives mainly outdoors, away from buildings | Followed people out of the Middle East with the first grain stores and now lives alongside them on every continent |
| Diet | Seeds, nuts, fruit, and berries, along with insects and other invertebrates | Chiefly seeds and grain, but in practice almost any food it can reach |
| Food habits | Stores seeds and nuts in underground caches, helping to spread trees and shrubs by forgetting some | Gnaws constantly, chewing through packaging, wood, plaster, and cable |
| Breeding | Not specifically documented | A litter of about 5 to 8 young roughly every three weeks, with young breeding at around six weeks |
| Role in nature or science | An important food for owls, foxes, and weasels | The ancestor of the laboratory mouse, the most widely used mammal in biomedical research |
| Conservation status | Least Concern, among the most common small mammals across its range | Least Concern, one of the most numerous mammals on Earth |
Wood Mouse vs House Mouse: common questions
How can you tell a wood mouse from a house mouse?
The wood mouse has large, dark eyes, big ears, and a tail about as long as its body, and it lives mainly outdoors, while the house mouse lives alongside people.
Which mouse lives in houses?
The house mouse, which has followed people around the world since the first grain stores, although the wood mouse sometimes enters buildings.
Where do the wood mouse and house mouse live?
The wood mouse lives in woods, hedgerows, fields, and gardens across much of Europe and parts of North Africa, while the house mouse lives almost worldwide alongside people.