Aunts in Arizona and anyone else opposed to pictures of rodents and stories of their demise should skip this post.
We had a mouse problem last week.
The Cookie House is an approximately one-hundred-year-old farmhouse, which sat empty for several years before we moved in. It's not surprising that we weren't the only creatures who found its shelter inviting.
But, Julie was disturbed with our uninvited guests.
So, we attempted to evict them. Last Thursday I caught two young mice under wastebaskets, much to the amazement of my brothers. The next morning two relatives of the incarcerated duo ventured onto the sticky traps that Julie had laid. We haven't seen any evidence of mice since, though we are still taking precautionary measures.
I found that the mouse problem doesn't end with capturing the creatures. Neither the wastebasket method or the sticky traps lend for quick, easy disposal of the trespassers.
Last Tuesday was one of those days I wished for a cat.
We have an interesting mousetrap, with a little mouse-sized entrance. We bait it with peanut butter. The mouse walks through the entrance for dinner, where he is immediately zapped with an electric current that kills it immediately...and we hope, humanely. Then we open another flip door in the back and dump the rodent outdoors near the creek; re-bait, and begin again. It's clean, reusable, and humane. Did I mention humane?:-)
ReplyDeleteA cat is another great idea...and I bet you know a sibling who has a few in her barn.:-)
~ Betsy
Thanks for the warning although I made it through without any problem....just don't expect me to pick up that sticky trap.
ReplyDeleteYour story made me think of Ben Freeze, first grader at Roosevelt, a nature lover, who daily checked the sticky trap under my desk when renovations were being done and the rodents were relocating.
May I suggest you write an eviction notice and post it near the floor.
btw- I really like the first photo (believe it or not) light vs dark, big cage vs little prisoner create to feel the helplessness and dark future for this little guy.
ReplyDeleteA cat is a wonderful idea!
ReplyDelete