(please, if you know me, do NOT answer that questions!)
Again, I find myself in the middle of a mouse fiasco.
At times, I wonder if I should just wander out into the garage and bring in the old hamster wheel and start feeding these things by choice.
THGGM thinks mice are cute.
From the outside, our home must look like a giant slice of swiss cheese to these mice. At least, it is THAT easy for them to get in.
It isn't that we are not catching them. Oh, are we EVER.
I just asked THGGM, "How many?" and his reply was, "I am NOT counting!".
Last night, he emptied two traps as he left the house at 7. At 7:10, two traps went off at once. I nearly shouted "Jinx! Buy me a coke!" Yes. I am that weird.
Youngest Son and his girlfriend were in the kitchen last night making caramel brownies. I didn't mention the carnage a mere inches from their domestic selves. THGGM took care of it when he got home. And, again when he got up in the morning, and there are several more waiting for him when he wakes up from his bliss-filled nap.
Yesterday there was a squirrel sitting on a table on my front porch looking into my living room. Right into my eyes. I'm sure it's eyes were saying, "Excuse me, ma'am, but could you kindly unlatch the front door and let me in too, please?" Then, when crossing my front yard last night, a very large bunny ran in front of me. Need I remind you that I live in a parking lot? There are not woods, fields, meadows or even Mr. MacGregor's vegetable garden near by.
No garbage is left out side, no piles of leaves are left laying around. I'm totally stumped.
In the entire time I lived at home with my family of origin, I remember only ONE mouse episode. ONE. My sister remembers the day clearly, because I announced to my family one Sunday afternoon, "LOOK! I am reading my Sunday School paper to my NEW friend!". Apparently, the mouse had appeared between the cushions of the couch I was sitting on. Later that night, they killed my 'new friend' but he did not go down when flushed, which I discovered on my way to bed that night. This was a horror of great magnitude and caused me (and my long suffering mother) much trauma. I refused to sit down on a toilet for YEARS.
Last night, as I entired the kitchen to load up the dishwasher, there was a small mouse running around on the floor, in a weird sort of formation. I screamed. It LOOKED at me. Then, it ran under the stove. And, kept peeking out at me. Like, "Is the big screaming lady still out there? Yes, yes, why I believe she is." Then it would check again. On about it's fourth peek, I was no longer there.
In the morning, it no longer was.
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7 comments:
This is all very exciting to read about. But I was disappointed when I re-read the part about the squirrel and realized that he wasn't in the house. Too bad that.
I do believe you should write a book...just about your "mice adventures"! You are under a plague I believe. Sounds to me like you may need some kind of exterminator as this problem goes beyond the norm. Amazing that they frequent your home when you have a hunting cat around too!! I know how this must be difficult as the few times we have had problems, I felt so dirty and violated to have these creatures running amuck all over the house!! One thing I have learned is that usually invasions come when there is some building going on nearby because that disrupts the usual mice habitats and they must seek new homes. Well, sounds to me like you need to be sure to have plenty of watering bowls as you had for your dog...better they drown than run around freely! My sympathies!!!
This time of year my house is full of mice. They come in to get warm. Then they find a quiet corner where I don't notice them and multiply.
I'm trapping them as fast as I can. I feel bad about the cute little gray ones, but the bigger black ones are just plain ugly. Mouse prejudice.
Not MORE mice!!! They always seem to be peeking around a couch corner. I hope you get them all! And, we always say, "Jinx, you owe me a Coke, too! :-D
What is your favorite way to catch the mice? We are having no luck catching them here. They just walk around all the types of traps and bates!! We have spent way too much money and time trying to catch them with little results. Any ideas would be appreciated!! We use a bit of peanut butter on the traps.
We had a young family of mice that took up residence in my wrapping paper closet this summer--a momma and 4 itty bitty squeakers. Yes, we have a cat and you can imagine the delight on his face. Kinda like a Snickers bar for cats! ((shuddering))
Anna, I once lived in a trailer on the edge of a woods with a field across the road. I found the best bait is chocolate chips wedged into the teeth of the cheapest trap...most times I did not even have to rebait it---just call someone, anyone from church who would remove the dead mice from their traps...I actually kept a tally on that go round and the final count was 11 mice in 2 weeks. I could hardly sleep, and it got to be a joke with all the men in the church. Attack cats are my first choice, though.
Thank you for all of the kind comments! (and for not 'shunning' me due to my rodent problem.)
I'm going to give the chocolate chip bait a try. We have been using peanut butter in those hard plastic traps. There is one problem with these - the very smallest ones get trapped in them alive. Mice scream. My nerves are TOTALLY shot.
I also have one of those things that make the low frequency noise - that kept them off my counter. It seems to work for that, but not much else.
Another thing that helps, although it doesn't KILL them, is to dampen cotton balls in mint extract. They do not like the smell. Put the cotton balls in places were you suspect you might DIE if you were to find a mouse there.
Next up, I just might try borrowing a few barn owls from the local nature center.
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