Mice are like tiny, flexible daredevils who fit into minuscule spaces and make surprising leaps. A mouse’s acrobatics and daring are a result of two things.
First, they are small, and the world is large, so they need to climb, jump and scurry to escape predators.
Secondly, they need to hunt for food spread-out in a massive world. Do mice eat grass seed? I will share all the tricks mice use to get a meal and explain what they eat in nature.
Grass seed makes up a significant part of mice’s diet in addition to other vegetation, berries, nuts, and seeds. Mice eat 15 to 20 times a day and often prefer eating seeds over other forms of food due to the high carbohydrates it contains for their quick metabolism.
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Will Mice Eat Grass Seed
Almost any mouse will eat grass seed. However, given a choice, mice, like humans, have favorite foods. TV tells us that they commonly love cheese, but that isn’t always true—mice like carbohydrate-dense foods as a general rule.
House mice are omnivores. They will eat vegetables, insects, and other proteins. However, these particular mice tend to prefer fruits, grains, and seeds. Since grass seed is a seed, it is on the menu.
Additionally, mice will eat 15 to 20 times per day. Even one mouse could put a significant dent in your grass seed over time. However, there’s rarely just one mouse.
Mice become sexually mature and can mate at just four to six weeks old. Average litters have six to eight babies, and mice can mate immediately after giving birth, which means they can have a litter as often as every twenty-five days.
One pair of mice can have an average of 32 to 56 pups in a year. That’s a lot of mouths eating your grass seed.
Do Mice Like Grass Seed
Not only do mice like grass seed, but they often prefer seed over other forms of food. The high-carb seed is great for its quick little metabolisms. Worse still, your grass seed isn’t safe even after you plant it.
According to the RHS, both mice and voles will go after planted grass seed. Both house mice and field mice are more than happy to chew through your tasty grass seeds. It doesn’t stop there either.
Mice will eat the young shoots as the grass grows, too, so your grass is never really safe. Though they prefer not to eat tougher, established grasses, they can handle it in an emergency.
Most organic materials make at least passable mouse food. That is a large part of why rodents are so successful as a group.
Do Mice Eat Grass Seed In Garage
If you leave grass seed in your garage and some mice can reach it, they will eat it. Mice are nocturnal because it helps protect them from daytime predators, plus it’s easier to sneak around.
All they do from the time they awaken to the time they sleep is forage for food and eat it.
When you leave tempting mouse diet-friendly treats laying around like grass seed, birdseed, or even pet food, they will happily help themselves. A plastic or canvas bag is no deterrent.
One of the defining traits of rodents is that they have perpetually growing front teeth. Chewing isn’t a problem for them; it is a necessity.
Giving mice the small challenge of gnawing their way through cardboard, plastic, or even wood is like doing them a favor.
Mice will even chew through the liner around a refrigerator door to squeeze their way inside and eat other foods commonly store in a garage.
These ravenous rodents don’t have a sense of personal space, but they do have an excellent sense of smell.
Does Grass Seed Attract Mice
Mice love grass seed, so you can bet it will attract them. Not only is this food good in a bag, but they can eat it right off the ground or wait until it grows to eat the new shoots.
Unfortunately, grass seed will also attract other members of the Rodentia family, such as rats. Mice and other rodents are survivors who will not hesitate to eat any food that draws their attention.
Perhaps this is why rodents make up roughly 40 percent of all mammals. Mice will even eat penkoted grass seed.
However, this is one type of seed they shouldn’t get into because it can be toxic for mice.
Do Field Mice Eat Grass Seed
Field mice primarily eat seeds from trees, but they will eat grass seed as well. Additionally, these little outdoor mice like berries, fruit, fungi like mushrooms, and nuts.
However, they also snack on proteins. Mostly that means insects and snails.
The diet is the same, but the difference between house and field mice is more than just their location. Luckily, identifying the two species is fairly easy.
House mice tend to have more rounded ears and uniformly colored coats. Meanwhile, field mice often have lighter whiteish grey belly fur and a ruddy brown coat with a line of yellowish fur on their chests.
Will Grass Seed Kill Mice
Penkoted grass seed is toxic to mice. However, they can eat other varieties without any trouble. Since grass seed is a favored snack for mice, most varieties are simply ‘fair game.’
Penkoted grass seed is easy to spot as it is colorful. Moreover, it’s not a species of grass but rather a treatment.
Pennington Seed Penkoted Seed Technology helps prevent fungus and promotes healthy lush growth, so it’s popular among lawn aficionados.
How To Stop Mice Eating Grass Seed
There are three simple solutions for keeping mice out of your grass seed. First, you can avoid keeping it around.
Buy exactly the quantity you need and sew it within a day of bringing it home. However, this isn’t the most practical solution for many homes.
Second, you can treat your garage, lawn, home, and other areas you don’t want mice with peppermint. Sure, your house will smell like the holidays all year, but the menthol bothers mice.
Their sensitive noses don’t handle it well. Sadly, this will not keep out the most determined and hungry mice.
Choose metal storage containers for grass seed. It’s wised to keep metal bins for other foods as well. Not only will this prevent mice from chewing into the container, but the metal is nonporous and easier to clean.
Oils from seeds, nuts, and even the fats in pet food can contaminate plastic bins many people prefer for long-term storage.
Instead of dealing with rancid oils and fats soaking in, you can easily wash them away with regular dish soap when the container is metal.
Helpful Tips To Know About Mice Eating Grass Seed
Mice are going to try to eat your grass seed if you give them a chance. Fortunately, you don’t need to put up with these pesky scavengers.
Here are some helpful tips to know about mice eating grass seed.
- Mice are nocturnal and typically wait until sounds of human activity have ceased for the evening before they come out. However, you can help deter them by leaving a nice bright light on in your pantry or garage. It’s not a perfect system, but mice prefer to work and eat in the dark.
- Take care of mouse infestations as soon as you see the first mouse. Because they can breed so rapidly, mice will number in the hundreds or thousands within just a couple of months.
- Mice are most likely to invade your home during the summer’s heat when they are looking for food, and especially water.
Final Thoughts
Mice love grass seed regardless of their species. In fact, all rodents will eat grass seed if it’s easy to reach or they are hungry enough.
However, for hungry mice, the grass is a delicious and desirable treat. Since a mouse will eat all night and can make more mice quickly with their alarming breeding rates, it’s best to deter them.
Use peppermint oil and metal storage bins to keep mice away from grass seed and other food items you store inside.