[2] They are also accomplished jumpers and runners by comparison to house mice, and their common name of "deer mouse" (coined in 1833) is in reference to this agility.

[4][5] The deer mouse came to the attention of the public when it was discovered to be the primary reservoir species for Sin Nombre hantavirus.

[4][6][7] A recent study in British Columbia of 218 deer mice showed 30% (66) were seropositive for Borrelia burgdorferi,[8] the agent of Lyme disease.

[2] While wild populations are sometimes studied,[9] Peromyscus species are also easy to breed and keep in captivity, although they are more energetic and difficult to handle than the relatively more tame M. musculus.

[2] The Peromyscus Genetic Stock Center at the University of South Carolina was established by Professor Wallace Dawson in 1985 to raise animals of the peromyscine species for research and educational use.