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Fiercely insectivorous Short-tailed Shrews - which normally eke out and extremely tenuous winter time living under the snow pack - have found easy times in the crawl spaces and stone work under my house. Shelter from the wind, warmer temperatures and prey species can all be found there. Short-tailed shrews eat mostly invertebrates but they also eat larger prey such as other shrews and mice. The saliva of short-tailed shrews is venomous and its bite paralyzes prey species before it eats them. These shrews are very common and they are very fierce; they don't willingly share their territories ... yet they seem to be proliferating under my floors.

That's okay. I don't begrudge them the space, and they keep invertebrate levels in check.

John