I have visitors in my shed from time to time in the shape of Field Mice. They can cause quite a large amount of damage if left to flourish. I have an ingenious live trap which works remarkably well. It is not baited but simply placed along side the walls of a building. Mice will always keep close to the edges of a wall and quite by accident they enter the trap which closes behind them. I usually then release them on the banks of the local river which seems a responsible thing to do. Today I caught one and I released it in the garden to take these photographs. It did not immediately run for cover which was a surprise and I managed quite a few photos before it made it’s escape.
In the UK the true field mouse is the long-tailed field mouse or wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus). They have a solid brown coat with a white belly as shown in the picture. For their size, they have very large eyes and ears. They grow to roughly 10cm long and weigh 30 grams when full grown. They are omnivorous and eat a range of seeds, worms, berries, small insects and carrion. In deciduous woodland they will eat acorns and sycamore seeds for the winter, buds in spring, insects and seeds in summer and berries and fungi in autumn. However they will eat their own tail if faced with starvation. They are prey to many animals, including owls and foxes and therefore have a short life, normally living for 6 to 12 months. However in captivity they can live for over 20 months. They live in any place where it can find food or shelter but traditionally live in hedgerows, forests and grass lands. They make their nests wherever it is warm and there is cover. This means that they will usually nest underground but will nest in other warm environments. They are mostly nocturnal and have great hearing and vision. However, they prefer dark moonless nights.