The house mouse, with the exception of humans, is the most wide spread mammal on the face of the earth. They build their nests near their food source, which can be in a wall, attic, or basement near food sources. This can be cereal products, dog food, bird seed, etc. They are capable of significant damage due to their habit of chewing holes in walls, chewing on wires, and contaminating food with their urine and fecal droppings. They can cause major damage if they get into computer centers. Mice can survive without liquid water, but will drink it if it is available. House mice are mostly restricted to buildings, but in the fall, field mice, such as the deer mouse, will enter buildings for the winter. The mouse is the usual culprit when someone in suburbia starts hearing scratching in the walls or seeing droppings around that resemble black grains of rice. Deer mouse droppings have been associated with Hantavirus, a potentially fatal respiratory disease. However, the disease is not known to have occured in Connecticut. Cleanup of their droppings, if significant, should be left to professionals.