SHREW
Common Concerns & Safety Issues
Venomous toxic saliva, emit pungent odors and pose a threat to local bird populations.
While aromatic, shrews manage the insect population.
Customers & Locations
Parks
Athletic Fields
Golf Courses
Lake Front Properties
Private Communities
Industrial Sites
Athletic Fields
Golf Courses
Lake Front Properties
Private Communities
Industrial Sites
Business Parks
Townships
County Governments
Boroughs
Schools
Municipalities
Townships
County Governments
Boroughs
Schools
Municipalities
Professional Solutions
- Exterminate insects
- Fill outdoor holes/crevices
- Trapping
- Move any brick or firewood piles in outdoor areas or garage
Understanding the
SHREW
Grouping | Insectivore / Carnivore |
Nicknames | Often misidentified as a small mole or short tailed mouse; Lion of the Yard, and @#$%^&*! |
Best Known For | Known for their mouse or molelike features, these creatures are likely to be brought to your doorstep by cats. |
Life Span | 1 to 2 years. |
Mating Season | January to May. |
Reproductive Details | After a 21 day gestation period 3 to 5 young are born in a litter; 2 to 3 litters are born per year. |
Dispersal | 25 days after birth shrews are on their own living an independent life. |
Habitat | Shrews live under leaf debris, garden duff, and tanbark. Commonly found in ornamental planting beds that are not regularly tilled. Typically "tunneling" is limited to non-grass areas but will often use tunnels and trails in the grass created by moles and voles. He is happy to use the highway made by others. Enjoys out of the way places such as full garages, basements, drop ceiling areas, and wall voids close to the floor. Shrews are occasionally found in attics. |
Activity Cycle | Active year round both day and night. |
Food | Primarily eats insects of any type, other shrews, mice, moles, voles and subterranean fungus. Typically eats 3 times its own weight per day. He spends a lot of time in the bathroom. So would you if you ate that much! He strikes fear into all things smaller than him, as well as his size and even slightly larger critters. He is the "lion" of the yard! |
Inside Damage | As a toilet seat animal, shrews often depositing fecal matter in the same area creating odor problems in basements, under kitchen cabinets and in walls. Fecal matter accumulations are often matted into insulation requiring replacement to correct odor problems. |
Outside Damage | Often blamed for plant and grass "kill off". Plant damage is NOT the work of shrews but rather moles and voles. Shrews utilize mole and vole "highways" and often are assumed to be the culprits when seen using these trails. |
Treatment | OUTSIDE: None recommended. They eat harmful insects as well as other small rodents including mice, voles, and moles. INSIDE: Trapping. Inspect the outside lower perimeter of the house at ground level and close holes. Hole entry size approx 1/2". |
Distinguishing Features | Features include a mouse size, bullet shaped long, pointed snout, and front teeth are black. Their tails are short and about 1/3 the length of a mouse tail. Body is gunmetal-grey to black in color and eyes and ears appear to be absent. Fecal matter seems too large for an animal that is so small (3/4" to 1" in length). |
Unique Features | Only North American mammal with a venomous bite, has poor eyesight and a heart rate of 1200 beats per minute. High pitched, shrill squeal is emitted when threatened. |
Nests & Dens | Den sites under leaf debris, plants, and man made structures. |
Integrated Wildlife Management is our comprehensive and effective one-stop solution. This approach brings together the six necessary elements to successfully resolve wildlife / human conflicts and when possible, safely relocate wildlife to a more suitable habitat.