Shrew

Peak Nuisance Period:Any time of Year.

Common Nuisance Situations:

• The pugnacious nature of shrews sometimes makes them a nuisance when they live in or near dwellings.
• Shrews occasionally fall into window wells, attack pets, attack birds or chipmunks at feeders, they feed on stored foods, contaminate stored foods with feces and urine, and bite humans when improperly handled.
• Potential exists for the transmission of diseases and parasites.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NORTHERN SHORT-TAILED SHREW IS VENOMOUS. ALTHOUGH NOT FATAL TO HUMANS, IT WILL CAUSE SEVERE PAIN. PLEASE CONTACT GOT WILDLIFE? LLC FOR PROPER, SAFE AND HUMANE REMOVAL.

There are 6 types of Shrews that call the Northeastern part of the United States home:

Long-Tailed Shrew AKA Rock Shrew Masked Shrew AKA Common Shrew Smokey Shrew

Pygmy Shrew Northern Short Tailed Shrew North American Least Shrew

Animal Characteristics

Shrew Type	Description	Diet	Habitat	Breeding
Masked	Grey brown in color-light grey underside-9cm long, 5 gr in weight – active all yr	Insects, worms, snails, salamanders and small mammals	Humid areas, damp northern forests	Mates in spring & fall – 3 to 6 young 1x/year
Smokey	Dull grey/lighter underpants/longtail brown on top, yellow underneath 11 cm long-5gr/active all yr round	Insects, worm, snails, small rodents	Found near streams in cool damp decidous mixed woods	Has 2 to 3 litters of 5 to 7 young
Pygmy	Grey brown or red brown w/lighter underparts-5 cm long & 2.5 gr in weight. Active all yr round	Insects, worms & small invertebrates	Northern coniferous & deciduous forests	Mates in early summer-1 litter of 5 to 8 young
Long Tailed AKA Rock Shrew	Slate grey with a pointed snout less than 9 cm long, active all year round	Insects, worms, snails, salamanders and small mammals	Humid areas, damp northern forests	Mates in spring & fall – 3 to 6 young 1x/year
Northern Short Tailed	Fur is thick,velvety, can be black, brownish black or silver grey-4.4 to 5.5 inches long- 15 to 30 gr. VENOMOUS. Active all yr round.	Earthworms, voles, snails, other shrews, salamanders, mice	Grasslands, old fields, marshy areas, forests, gardens	Mates March – September-2 litters of 4 to 7 young
Least	Long pointed snout and a long taildense coat that is grayish brown or reddish brown with a white belly-up to 3 inches long. Active all yr round	Small insects, corpses of dead animals	Grasslands & old fields	March to late November-2 litters of 3 to 6 young

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