The common house mouse thrives in fields and crops as well as your home, according to the University of Missouri Extension. They will eat and contaminate food, damage buildings, and are known to transmit diseases such as salmonellosis. Squirrels and chipmunks, which can cause similar problems as their rodent cousins, are  capable of moving into a house, creating problems. How you get rid of mice, squirrels, and other rodents is the same as for the rat.