There are certain animals that are more likely than others to take up residence in human homes and require wildlife removal in Coquitlam. Among the most common unwanted guests are mice. Because mice breed very quickly, a breeding pair can quickly escalate into a full-blown infestation. However, mice are very adept at evading notice. Part of the reason is that their hearing is better than humans’ in some respects, and this ability might help them to avoid detection.

Frequency

The frequency of a sound refers to how high or how low the pitch is. Frequency is measured in units called Hertz, with fewer Hertz indicating a lower pitch. The frequency range that human ears can perceive starts at 64 Hertz and extends up to 23,000 Hertz. The hearing range of a mouse is between 1,000 Hertz and 91,000 Hertz. This means that humans can hear sounds at a lower frequency than mice can, but mice can hear sounds at a much higher frequency than humans can perceive.

Part of the reason for the difference between a mouse’s hearing range and a humans, is that the human head is much bigger than a mouse’s. Generally speaking, mammals with larger heads are better at perceiving low-frequency sounds, while animals that can detect higher frequency sounds tend to have smaller heads. This is not true of all animals, but among mammals, it is pretty consistent.

The ability to perceive higher-frequency sounds helps mice to communicate with one another while avoiding human detection. Mice also have the ability to produce sounds that are much higher than what humans can hear, which is how most of their communication takes place. Mouse vocalizations that are perceptible to humans are in the low range of what they can produce, even though they sound high-pitched from our perspective.

Acuity

While mice can hear sounds at much higher frequencies than humans can, their auditory acuity is not as good. This means that they have difficulty hearing sounds that are low in volume, even if they are within the frequency range that a mouse can perceive. They also have difficulty hearing sounds that are obstructed by walls and other baffling material.

The volume of a sound is measured in units called decibels. The softest sounds that a mouse can hear appear to be about 30 decibels. To put that into perspective, the sound of a whisper is about 40 decibels. Therefore, mice may be able to hear the sound of a whisper but little that’s any quieter, and then only when there are no obstructions in the way.

Degradation

When it comes to hearing, there is one way that mice and humans are similar, and that is that hearing capacity tends to decrease with age in both species. Because mice do not live as long as humans do, the degradation of a mouse’s hearing begins much earlier than it would for a human. By the time mice are 50 days old, which is not quite two months, the frequency range that they can detect starts to decrease, as does their ability to detect sounds at lower volumes. This sensitivity can decline even more significantly by the time a mouse reaches 20 months of age, which is not quite two years. It is when a mouse is 30 days old that its hearing is the most sensitive.

Mice Control in Coquitlam

When it comes to hearing, mice generally have the advantage over humans, which may be why a home can become infested without you realizing it. When you do notice signs of infestation in your home, you should call Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control right away, before the problem has an opportunity to get any worse. Find out more about the strategies we use to not only remove the mice from your home but also prevent them from coming back.