Do Hamsters Attract Mice or Other Rodents?

Many people who want a pet don’t want a hamster because they think it will attract mice and other rodents.

This is a real worry that should be looked into. As a pet owner myself, I had the same question, so I did some research to find the answer, which was a relief.

No, hamsters don’t make mice or other rodents want to live with them. Each kind of rodent has a different smell, so you don’t have to worry about mice or rats trying to mate with your hamster.

Hamsters do not deter mice either. Mice and other rodents may come into your home looking for food. Once there, they may try to get into a pet’s home to steal food.

Read on to find out more about how hamsters and mice get along and how and why you should keep your hamster away from a mouse.

Do Hamsters Attract Rats?

Rats don’t want to be around hamsters (even though they are both rodents). In fact, each type of rodent has a smell that turns people away.

So, you really don’t have to worry that your hamster will bring in these wild pests.

You might be wondering now, “Do hamsters attract mice?” The answer is no, which is good news. Mice don’t like how hamsters smell, so they usually stay away from places where they live.

But it’s important to remember that hamsters aren’t a good way to keep rats and mice away.

Even though wild rodents usually stay away from hamster cages, that doesn’t mean they won’t try to make your house their home.

If you have a hamster (or more than one) and are having trouble with pests, stay tuned. We’re going to talk about that in a bit. But for now, let’s see if your hamster might be bringing in bugs.

Do Hamsters Attract Bugs?

After you play with your hamster or clean their cage, bugs won’t be drawn to you. In general, hamsters don’t bring in any bugs at all.

But bugs and other creepy crawlies are likely to show up in your hamster’s cage if it gets too dirty from food, waste, or something else.

It’s important to remember that this isn’t because of your hamster. Instead, it’s because of the old food and trash that has piled up.

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You probably feel a huge sense of relief when you realize that your furry friend isn’t making any pest problems worse.

That’s awesome! But if it’s not your hamster, what’s bringing so many bugs and wild rodents into your house? Right now, we’ll talk about all of these things and how to get rid of them.

Rodent Species Are Not Attracted to Each Other

Even though both hamsters and mice are rodents, that’s about all they have in common. Most of the time, different kinds of rodents do not get along.

If they are put in a cage together in captivity, it could kill them both.

All rodents are very territorial, but some species are social and can live with their own “tribe mates.” If rodents get too close to each other, they could attack each other.

Hamsters and mice should never be raised in the same cage

Even if it was your goal to see if a hamster and a mouse could live together, the experiment would fail.

Mice are more social than hamsters, which is one of the many ways they are different.

Mice are used to living in groups called colonies, where there is a lot of their own kind. Because hamsters like to be alone, they can sometimes get mean.

This could start with hissing and showing their teeth, but it could lead to biting and even death.

Think about what your hamster needs. Syrian hamsters are always and only alone, so they should never have to share a cage with another hamster or any other pet.

Dwarf hamsters might be able to live with other dwarf hamsters, but only if they met when they were young.

Usually, these would be siblings. Just be sure to keep males and females apart so they don’t breed!

No one we know has tried to put a mouse and a dwarf hamster in the same cage.

For this to work, even in theory, the animals would have to grow up together from a very young age. Otherwise, the hamster would become mean.

Do hamsters attract snakes?

Some people worry that hamsters will bring snakes to their homes. The idea is that many snakes eat small rodents like mice, and the smell of a hamster could make them want to eat it.

Even though snakes hunt hamsters in the wild, they won’t be able to follow a hamster’s scent into a house.

There isn’t much chance that a snake will “sniff out” a hamster in your backyard and come inside.

Most of the time, snakes in the wild do their best to stay away from people.

Even if they knew there was a hamster in your house, they wouldn’t try to get in. There are a lot of wild animals outside for them to eat.

So do hamsters attract pests?

No, hamsters don’t bring in bugs. Hamsters don’t attract mice, rats, bugs, snakes, or any other creepy animal.

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You might think that the smell of the hamster would attract mice or rats. This isn’t the case. They are very different kinds of animals, so they will usually stay away from each other.

Snakes and bugs are the same. Because you touched your pet hamster, they won’t come to you.

When the hamster’s cage is dirty, especially if it has old, rotten food in it, pests do come. If there are old food scraps on the floor, that’s even more of a reason.

But the hamster is not to blame. At all.

How Pests Work

No matter what kind of pest it is, they all have one thing in common: they eat whatever is available.

Simply put, they eat whenever and however they can. This is the main reason farmers put scarecrows in their fields.

But you don’t have to grow a lot of plants to get bugs, rats, and mice. Partially opened food packages that are kept in the right way can be enough to get these pests into your home.

If they can smell the food and see that there’s nothing stopping them from getting it, they’ll definitely go for it.

This happens a lot more in garages, bungalows, and single-family homes than in apartment buildings.

But it could still happen (especially if people living above or below you have a pest issue).

How to Prevent Pests Near Your Hamster

The idea that hamsters attract pests comes from the fact that pests are looking for food, and there’s usually a lot of it in your hamster’s cage.

Because of this, you should keep your furry friend’s environment clean and nice to keep pests away.

If you’ve been having trouble with this lately, you might want to look at the steps below. They’ve helped us a lot!

Clean The Cage Regularly.

You should clean your hamster’s cage completely at least once a week. This means getting everything out of the bottom and throwing it away from the right way.

Sometimes, your hamster will kick its bedding, waste, and food onto the floor. If you leave it there, it will attract bugs and/or rodents.

Store The Food Properly

Pests are drawn to food, so leaving your hamster’s food stash out in the open is a surefire way to have a pretty bad problem.

Buy a tub or container that won’t let air in and is big enough to hold all the food you have ready for your pet.

Check Unsecured Areas Often

What do we mean when we say “unsecured areas”? Pests can get in pretty much anywhere there is plumbing.

They can get in through holes around the pipes or through the pipes themselves.

About once a week, take a walk around your house and look under all the sinks, showers, drains, and other places.

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This will make it easy to find paw prints and droppings.

Make Sure Your Hamster’s Cage Is In A Place Where You Can Keep An Eye On Them.

A hamster shouldn’t be in a garage, closet, basement, attic, or other space like that.

Make sure you have a good place to put your hamster’s cage so you can take good care of your furry friend.

Rodents are Attracted to Food—Not Your Hamster

One of the main reasons for this mistaken belief is that some people who had pest problems also had hamsters.

In reality, if you have pests in your home after getting a hamster, it is not because of the hamster.

Different things can bring pests into your home. Some people come in because you have a warm place to stay during the colder months.

Others come because your house might not be well-kept and has holes and cracks that make it easy for them to get in. The main reason is that you have food but don’t have a good way to keep it safe.

Most pests like small pieces of food, like crumbs, corn kernels, bits of cereal, etc., because they are small. Some other rodents and pests will want to eat hamster food because it is so small.

To keep them from coming, don’t leave food out when the hamster isn’t eating. If you do leave it out, make sure the hamster is the only one who can get to it.

Rats and mice can chew through plastic bags, so it’s best to use plastic containers.

Keep Your Hamster Indoors.

There is one important thing to keep in mind about the answer we gave. Even though hamsters don’t attract other rodents, if you keep yours in the garage or outside, you might get some unwelcome visitors.

For example, if you keep your hamster outside of your house, the other rodents will be able to smell its food better because they will be closer to it.

Even if there is no food, a rodent might still be interested in what is going on. Garages and barns often have more entrances, making it easy for other rodents to get in and make you and your hamster unhappy.

Rodents share diseases and parasites, so having wild rodents near your hamster’s cage can be dangerous, even if they don’t get into it.

If you keep your hamster inside, as most people do with their pets, other rodents or pests might not even know it’s there.

Proper Care Will Keep Your Home Free of Wild Rodents

No question about it. As long as you don’t leave too much food or water in your pet’s cage, mice and other rodents won’t be attracted to it.

Now that you know you won’t have any bugs, you can enjoy the fun and fluffy adventures a pet hamster can give you.

Final Words

Do hamsters make mice come around?

No, mice don’t like hamsters. But mice might be attracted to your Hamster’s cage if it has leftover food, a dirty living area, or is looking for a cozy place to live.

Mice are bad for our hamsters because they can spread many different diseases to them. So, we should do everything we can to keep mixe away from our hamsters.