Mouse or Rat? Good/Bad?

Hello all.

I went to put some stuff in my compost bin just now, and a mouse or rat popped up to see what was going on. It hung around just long enough for me to get a good look and say hello, but not long enough for me to get a pic.

Its body was about 2 inches/ 5cm long (not including tale). It was brown, and to me looked like a mouse. I've seen plenty of rats over the years and I don't think this one was a rat, but I could be wrong.

I'm inclined to leave it be, figuring its almost certainly doing no harm, and has just found its self a nice cosy place to live with a regular supply of veg peelings to munch on. Is that a fair conclusion, or should I be taking some action to get rid of it/them?

 

Don't sit on the fence Marley, spit it out, tell us how you really feel about rodents

 

That's my understanding too, and this one had a classically mousey pointy face, but although very small for a rat, was quite large for a mouse.

 

Had Weil's when i was younger not nice at all, as Marley says Rats pee constantly

 

I caught it from handing stone that was under a polythene sheet & covered with rat poo.

I'd prefer a bad case of flu.

 

Oh well, it might just be a mouse.
I have mice in the garden most of the time, local cats keep the population under control well enough.
I did spot a rat last autumn, went out and bought some really expensive bait.
Was going to put it down the following weekend.

In the mean time it turned up dead on the allotment, with teeth marks on its neck.

 

I'm pretty sure this is him/her:

http://www.pestsolutionsltd.co.uk/pest-library/rodents/field-mouse-apodemus-sylvaticus

 

This is a mouse. It's a very hungry young one that appeared on the patio last year. It was so intent on eating that it even let our son stroke it while it was sitting on his hand.

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