Is this a mouse or a rat?

[Hohofortherobbers]

Just seen this little fella under the shed, what do you think? Mouse or rat?

Grew up on a farm, its a baby rat for sure, absolutely no problem at all if treated sensibly, they live all around us and generally cause no issues.

Remove any food sources, they will then scurry off elsewhere, block any entrances to the property (air bricks etc, stuff with chicken mesh) - that should reduce their numbers hanging around your place as there will be nothing to go hunting for.

Sweep and wash outdoor hard surfaces to eliminate the risk of children particularly picking up urine or faeces on their hands. My gran used to scrub down the concrete and patio round the farmhouse with Jeyes fluid every week.

My pups caught a baby rat recently ( we have rat problem in next doors garden) so im
used to seeing them. The rat they caught didn’t look like this as its head looked noticeably too big for its body and its feet looked out of proportion too. I’m not sure what this is

100% a rat, mice are very small and more ‘delicate’ looking.

Our next door neighbour works in pest control for the council, just shown him this photo.

Definitely a rat.

He also said to be careful. As a rule, if you are seeing rats during the day it can be indicative of a sizeable infestation as they are nocturnal.

Baby rat with that tail

I also think it s a rat. but to be sure look out for droppings. Rat droppings are much more substantial and obvious. Mouse droppings are tiny little specks really.
If they are only outside they shouldn't cause too much issue - but yes clear up any potential food sources and keep an eye as it its a big group you will need to control that. When the weather gets cold they may start looking for somewhere warmer to stay - ie inside your house.

Young rat. And yes, they come out in the day to eat apples. Having a chat with my neighbor in his garden, they regularly come out and chomp on fallen apples. We just let them be. We are in the country, so wildlife is everywhere.

You've got a rat family under your shed. No such thing as a single rat - they have very good parents and who are fertile within 24 hours of giving birth. The young ones will be fertile at 6 weeks.

Given a litter is up to 12, that's a lot of rats coming your way potentially if you don't stop them living under your shed.
I mean, you can 'just let them be' if you like - and your neighbours don't mind - but do you really want them near your house?

100% mouse

Another vote for a mouse - the key thing is how does it run as the rats I've seen run arch their backs much more than mice. Plus it looks way cuter than a rat does

100% rat. Mice are tiny. Much tinier than the rat in the picture.

Young rat is my best guess, too.
It's not a great pic
fwiw, when moving fast, mice scurry while rats tend to bounce
mice have big ears for their body, rats have little ears.
Rats have more pointy noses and fatter tails
tails on rats/mice can both be nude
the size seems like juvenile rat but the ears are a little big... I'd still lean towards rat

shrews, voles & water voles also scurry rather than bounce

Literally my worst nightmare.

Definitely ratty I'm afraid. Get a cat (or four)

Definitely a mouse - just a big one

How timely…..Google The Giant Rat of Normanby (in the media today) and hope that your baby ratty isn’t going to get to that size.

Baby rat.

That's a mouse.

• someone who works with rats and mice so sees them every single day!

That looks like an apple that has gone rotten and fallen off way before it's ready though. My mum has an apple tree and we see it often with tiny apples that rotted and fell. It isn't a reliable way to tell.

Small Rat … unless you want an infestation, get it treated now. They will be gnawing through your wooden shed, and setting up home in there.

Yes, the apple 🍎 is small. Probably a little bigger than a golf ball.
Very concerned about shed damage now. What do I do? Trap them or bait them? I don't know what's worse to deal with, dead rats or live rats 🐀

Call a pest control company. They will sort it out and lay bait boxes.

Rat, 100%! You can always tell by the feet size.

“I’d say that that’s a house mouse - which are quite a lot bigger than field mice but still smaller than rats.”

House mice are smaller than field/wood mice.

This looks like a baby rat (I have kept both).

Mine live between the fence lines or under the deck next door. I haven’t blocked their hole because they can just gnaw a new one.

Since I’ve stopped leaving food out I haven’t seen any. I hope they’ve moved along!

Check your shed for edible things, make sure things like birdseed are properly stored- metal tins are ideal.

Move things around regularly. They don’t like that. You might not need to use pest control.