My husband and I were peacefully watching TV when he suddenly jumped up and shouted, “There it is!”
“What? What?”
“The mouse! It just peeked its little head out from behind the TV cabinet and then ducked back in.”
We have a mouse in the house that has been bedeviling us for the past week or so. We first found evidence of its visit in our bread drawer. When we took out anything edible there it moved on to the pantry. We learned that it likes crackers, cookies, cereal, and sunflower seeds – all organic and pesticide-free. The mouse has discerning taste.
We bought a new kind of plug-in trap that emits high frequency sound and claims to repel mice but it seemed to be having more of an effect, and not a good one, on our pet cockatiel so we bought a humane, catch-them-alive trap instead. We baited it with peanut butter and waited. The trap was sprung but the mouse remained free. We bought a different kind of trap and tried again. And then a third, with the same results. Was the mouse toying with us? I could imagine it laughing when we checked the traps in the morning and found them empty.
Now, I am all in favor of sharing and recycling, but there are some health issues here. I hope this critter realizes that its choices are limited. Either we catch it alive, and soon, and release it to run free in a field somewhere or it eventually will have to be (I hate to even think of it) captured in a conventional trap and sent on to mouse heaven.
Does anyone have a suggestion for how to entice a mouse into a trap for its own good?
“What? What?”
“The mouse! It just peeked its little head out from behind the TV cabinet and then ducked back in.”
We have a mouse in the house that has been bedeviling us for the past week or so. We first found evidence of its visit in our bread drawer. When we took out anything edible there it moved on to the pantry. We learned that it likes crackers, cookies, cereal, and sunflower seeds – all organic and pesticide-free. The mouse has discerning taste.
We bought a new kind of plug-in trap that emits high frequency sound and claims to repel mice but it seemed to be having more of an effect, and not a good one, on our pet cockatiel so we bought a humane, catch-them-alive trap instead. We baited it with peanut butter and waited. The trap was sprung but the mouse remained free. We bought a different kind of trap and tried again. And then a third, with the same results. Was the mouse toying with us? I could imagine it laughing when we checked the traps in the morning and found them empty.
Now, I am all in favor of sharing and recycling, but there are some health issues here. I hope this critter realizes that its choices are limited. Either we catch it alive, and soon, and release it to run free in a field somewhere or it eventually will have to be (I hate to even think of it) captured in a conventional trap and sent on to mouse heaven.
Does anyone have a suggestion for how to entice a mouse into a trap for its own good?
NOTE: My friend Harriet May Savitz and I wrote a picture book called The Story Blanket, which deals with sharing and recycling, kindness and community. It was just reviewed by www.saffrontree.org , a lovely site with a positive outlook on children's books and reading. It's a great place to see what the young world community is reading. Here is the review if you would like to check it out.
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Having had an occasional mouse in the house has made a killer out of me. I cannot share my quarters with those rather cute (when they are not running about) little creatures. My weapon of choice is a sticky pad. It works for me and I feel no guilt when I use them. So there!
ReplyDeleteI heard about the sticky pads. I hope not to have to go there but you're right, not a good idea to share living quarters with rodents, even those as cute as mice.
ReplyDeleteWhat are sticky pads? We have had a mouse problem off and on for years and have had to send each one to mouse heaven. If there is an alternative out there, that works, I'm anxious to hear about it.
ReplyDeleteA sticky trap is a glue trap that the mouse's feet stick to. I heard from some users that it is cruel and the mouse suffers as it tries to free itself. I won't be using it.
ReplyDeleteWhat finally worked? The trap in the photo looks very friendly.
ReplyDelete