mousecapades

So, this was a bad winter for mice apparently. We had some? one? a colony?

They were absolutely driving me mad. We tried the freakishly scary snap traps. Snap traps are just as scary as having to cut the blue (or was it RED???...no...maybe it's the YELLOW???) wire to dismantle a bomb. You hold your breath, say a prayer and slowly as possible release the lever. It either ends in a "phew" or a yelp.

We tried the sticky traps. They collected dust and the random food that Miles tossed on them to attract the mice.

Oh. And, by the way, we did put peanut butter on the snap traps. I did NOT put a wedge of swiss cheese on there. I know better.

I tried "spin traps". And also an "easier" snap trap that you pinch like a clothes pin, but it doesn't snap except when it catches a mouse (which is NEVER). I also used a "sure-fire" mouse attractant which supposedly works better than peanut butter. It didn't.

But, despite all these traps around the house, the deposits of mouse poop kept coming.

So, I got out my trusty laptop and Googled "homemade mouse traps". One site suggested this homemade trap which included a bucket of water and a plank-like tipping thing. If only I had a five gallon bucket and 15 hours to make it.

But, it probably wouldn't have caught a mouse anyway.

We even saw that mouse on several occasions.

Probably the most memorable mouse moment was when our dear Makoto still lived with us.
I remember it like it was yesterday....

She was in the dining room studying quietly. The children were long in bed. And I finally found my way to my room, snuggled in, turned off the lamp and--DANG IT--I heard something maneuvering its way through the register! CREEPED. ME. OUT.

I whispered frantically, "BRENT! It's in our room! The MOUSE. I heard it!"

Faster than you can say "squeak", I jumped up, turned on the lamp, threw a pillow to block the crack under the door. Brent covered both vents with Calvin's Institutes (they have been used more as props than anything over the years). Oh, we were making a ruckus. I was squealing and shouting "Brent! Over there!" We were jumping on our bed to scare the mouse out from under it. The bed is on casters, so I started pushing off the wall to move it. We made some unusual noises.

oh. Did I mention that all Makoto knew was that we just went to bed? She had to be a little unnerved wondering...

Finally, I eked out, "Makoto!" "Makoto!"

no response.

Again, but just above a whisper calmly, "Makoto?"

"Yes?" she answered timidly.

"The mouse is in our room. We need something to trap it." I had resumed my frantic whisper.

Now, this got confusing, because even though she'd lived in our home for two months, she couldn't quite figure out where we kept a plastic bowl. So, I had to exit to fetch something to trap it with while Brent stayed on guard.

Now, I know you can't really trap a mouse with your bare hands and a bowl. But, how were we going to sleep that night knowing it was there. (And WHY? What was in there to attract it???)
Anyway, friends. We got tired. I got to the point where I could imagine the mouse crawling on our bed without feeling an adrenaline rush. Eventually I fell asleep.

But one day, I set this up (like a 9-yr-old).




I know. You're jealous of my engineering skills. Drool on.




The next morning, I caught this:




I know. Good thing I didn't mix any D-CON in with those Cheerios.



Epilogue:
About a month later, I went upstairs and found a dying mouse shivering on the carpet. Even though it was barely moving in place, I was pretty freaked out and shaky. Brent transported it outdoors and that was the short and happy life of that mouse. So, it died of old age or D-CON. Not sure which. Doesn't matter. It's gone. But, I'm sure I'll see its cousins next winter.