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October 17, 2005
Mouse 3 Dan 0
So having laid the traps last night early in the evening and blocking the entrance beneath the sink I was hoping to have fully sealed everything and to see no mouse droppings. Instead this morning I found what I take to be incontravertible evidence that the mice have reproduced and now include a population of both a large mouse with large chocolate jimmy/sprinkle sized poops and a smaller mouse with poppy seed sized poops. Neither the big mouse or the baby bothered to check out the inside of the mouse trap to eat some yummy peanut butter that I had put inside. I also started dreaming of the better mouse trap including fanciful visions with a camera tracking system to watch the mouse piped into my computer in the bedroom, a net that would pull up suddenly when weight or motion sensors were activated, or just a giant bell jar that would be dropped from above. While all of these are somewhat impractical I may have to resort to them at some point. But since I needed to feel like I was making progress while waiting for the first round of traps to take effect I considered poisoning the mouse, then figured I would probably accidentally poison the dog who is dumber than a mouse or my newborn baby when she is born. I also recieved some tips from a local blog reading helper who suggested a fancy trap that lights-up when the mouse walks in and zaps them. I have to deal with my guilt meter internally about the death sentence for the mouse if I could just drive them a few miles down the road but the cat is probably a death sentence for the mouse too, it just seems more natural that way.
So I posted the following onto craigslist Boston in search of a cat that might be interested in hunting on my turf:
Free cat sitting in Brookline (Brookline)
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Reply to: anon-104785383@craigslist.org
Date: 2005-10-17, 6:14PM EDT
My wife and I are about to have a baby in late October and discovered that we have a mouse that has moved into our kitchen. We aren't ready to take on the lifetime responsibility of a cat to help with the mouse scaring duties but we have had a cat living the in the apartment in the past. If you are interested we would be happy to give your cat a home for a few weeks or a month while you are away. In exchange they will police the kitchen for the mouse and obtain a loving family atmosphere from my wife and I as we are home full time while you are gone.
Posted by dhousman at October 17, 2005 06:08 PM
Comments
Mice can't eat through steel wool. If you wish to contain rather than trap, this might be a good idea. We put it around all openings in the hardwood floor where the radiator pipes come through. Worked like a charm.
To capture the critters without causing them more than a panic attack, you might try a small bathroom basket. It must be plastic and have no texture inside. Tip it no less than 45 degrees (a compass is not necessary -- eyeballing will do). Prop it on a couple of books or something else you have that is stackable and can create steps. Put some peanut butter in the bottom. Also try some uncooked rice or corn kernels (frozen is fine) in addition to the PB. The mouse, or mice, follow the scent of PB into the bucket, and then have something to eat inside. They can't climb out because the sides are so smooth.
I have heard of some mice being able to jump out of these containers, so you also might consider covering about 80 percent of the opening with some plastic wrap. That's enough to keep them from jumping out without suffocating them.
I heard about this method after I chased whole family of mice around my house for a week. I finally resorted to glue traps and caught two in one trap when I observed they followed the same path back to the stove. They were cute when they were in my basement, but it was all-out war when my wife found mouse poop in the dog's dish. Good luck!
Posted by: Tim at October 18, 2005 01:53 PM
Sorry about your mouse problem. I feel your pain. I'm starting to suspect that I have ninja mice. They eat the peanut butter, yet somehow manage to not become caught in the trap. These mice couldn't be more brilliant if they had George Clooney, Brad Pitt and the rest of the Ocean's 11 cast behind them.
Posted by: Marilora at October 18, 2005 02:51 PM