Mouse Mythbusters

Mice are known for their ability to sneak through small spaces, but Idaho-based Barrier Pest Control decided to find out just how small in an experiment the firm posted on social media.

In a video uploaded to Facebook, Kirk Dean, co-owner of Barrier Pest Control, showed viewers his step-by-step process for conducting an experiment to answer the question, “Can a mouse fit through a hole the size of a dime?”

Dean began by purchasing a 2½-gallon aquarium with a black divider in the center. He removed the divider and measured all four sides to get its exact length and width. Using a CNC machine, he created three plexiglass dividers with different-sized holes for the mice to go through. One had quarter-sized holes, one had nickel-sized holes and one had dime-sized holes.

Once he made the dividers, Dean put two mice on one side of the container and slid the divider with quarter-sized holes into place. He stuck a bit of peanut butter on the other side of the container to lure them through the holes. The mice sniffed around the container. Although they were skittish at first, they eventually made their way through the quarter-sized holes.

“You can just see him go through,” Dean said in the video. “They’re not afraid anymore. They’re just passing through like it’s nothing.”

Dean repeated the experiment using the divider with the nickel-sized holes and achieved the same results. Then, it came time for the dime-sized holes. Although the larger of the two mice had to contort their bodies, both made it through the holes several times.

“So, the answer to ‘Does a mouse fit into the size of a nickel, quarter and a dime?’ The answer is a resounding yes,” Dean said in the video.

The author is a Cleveland-based writer.