I had a mouse.

He was living in my kitchen for a week or so.

I got some great no-kill traps from Home Depot. Small gray
plastic boxes with a gravity lid that stays open while the
trap is tilted forward, but slips shut once it tilts back.

Exactly these:

http://doitbest.com/shop/product.asp...386&sku=769878

Caught the little bugger twice, actually.

But not without some tweaking.

Originally, I'd heard scratching noises, like small teeth
on old pasta, coming from under the oven. And I saw little
black caraway seed-shaped rodent spoor under the sink.

That's how I knew I was being visited, and then I bought
the traps. Less than $4 for a 2-pack.

At first, I tried some Caciqe Asadero, terrific mexican
melting cheese, practically a cheese spread in its raw
form, really. Beautiful for perfectly smooth cheese sauce.

I put a few grams in each of traps and braced the baseboard
either side of the oven with them, so he couldn't miss.

Next morning, one lid had fallen, but maybe it just fell
on its own, because the cheese was inside and the mouse
wasn't. The balance on these was tricky and the slightest
touch would unset them.

And then I didn't hear him anywhere, so I figured he'd left,
so I put the traps away.

A couple of days later, I heard scratching noises again.

So I reset the traps, with Stilton, hoping that unlike the
mild Asadero it would have the aroma of rot and depth that
a mouse would seek out.

Half an hour later, sitting on the sofa, I heard a lid fall.

I went to the kitchen, lifted the trap and something jumped
inside.

But, curious like any cat, I wanted to see my prey.
So I grabbed a handy (dirty) 1-quart pyrex measuring
cup, and a heavy book (The Art of Eating, by MFK Fisher).
I placed the book over the cup, save an inch for the mouth
of the trap. I opened the trap. In the same motion, the
mouse fell from the trap, turned, and leapt out through the
tiny space remaining. He caromed off the toaster oven,
flew to the floor, tried the trash can as a hiding spot,
found no opening underneath, then turned and made for
the refrigerator. Total time to escape to invisibility:
about 0.7 seconds.

Left me standing, agape, trap and book in hand.

Damn.

There I named him. Zippy the Wonder Mouse.

I refilled the traps with store-brand cheddar (still
experimenting rather than just going with what works),
and this morning, one of the traps was sprung but empty.
I'd left the rather large chunks of cheddar an inch or
so from the back of the trap, so as to avoid having them
simply tilt themselves, but clearly, that was a mistake.
He'd reached in and got the bait, then had room to get
out without the lid dropping far enough to lock shut.

Bugger.

No more mister nice mouser.

I didn't hear anything, so I figured he had left again.
I looked through all the cabinets and drawers, and man,
mice can really make the jimmies when they want to.
My main gadget drawer was a mess. I unloaded everything
into the dishwasher, plus all the pans from one cabinet
that had several nodules in it, and ran a heavy-wash cycle
(3 hours of washing and rinsing in my Maytag MDB7600).

Then I took the Chlorox Cleanup to the drawers and cabinets.
One thing desert folk need to be careful of with rodents
is Hantavirus, so I soaked and let set before I wiped.

About dinnertime, I heard rattlings in an empty kitchen.

I went in and turned on the light, and saw the little grey
pischer run behind the microwave.

I got the traps, put just a pinch of Stilton in each, and
boxed him in.

Ten minutes later, I heard what could only be the long
wooden chopstick I'd set next to the sink. Ten feet from
the microwave.

Boshemoi! He'd walked right past the traps!

I went back into the kitchen, and he was nowhere to be found.

So returned to my movie, and waited.

Twenty more minutes, and aha! The sound of a lid dropping,
and tiny frustrations rising.

I tiptoed in, lifted the tripped trap, and sure enough,
it had a resident rodent.

Having no reason to care to see what he looked like a
second time, I slipped on my shoes and dropped him out of
the trap into the dark in the ditch beyond the backyard
fence.

Maybe the rabbits will adopt him before the snakes and
coyotes do.

--Blair
"This ain't no Habitrail."

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 07:31:16 GMT, Blair P. Houghton wrote:

I had a mouse.
snip amussing saga

Then I took the Chlorox Cleanup to the drawers and cabinets.
One thing desert folk need to be careful of with rodents
is Hantavirus, so I soaked and let set before I wiped.

Caution for others: *my* mouse had been in the silverware drawer, so I
filled the sink with hot water, detergent, and some bleach, and dumped
all the silverware in there. Sterling does *not* like bleach! It's
been several years now, and I'm *still* trying to get the black spots
off.

--Blair
"This ain't no Habitrail."

Very funny. :-)

In article , says...
I had a mouse.

He was living in my kitchen for a week or so.

I got some great no-kill traps from Home Depot. Small gray
plastic boxes with a gravity lid that stays open while the
trap is tilted forward, but slips shut once it tilts back.

Exactly these:

http://doitbest.com/shop/product.asp...386&sku=769878

I just use the cat method. Three of them to be precise.

Mice don't stand a chance here - I've actually watched two of my cats
corner a mouse and proceed to play with it, then gut it. Fascinating.

"Blair P. Houghton" wrote in message
...
snip mouse tail

--Blair
"This ain't no Habitrail."

I hope he appreciates your charity with his life and keeps his little mouth
shut. Some of them just can't help but brag about the cuisine and the next
thing you know everyone is stopping by for some Stilton. ;o)
Janet

Blair P. Houghton wrote:
I had a mouse.

He was living in my kitchen for a week or so.

I got some great no-kill traps from Home Depot. Small gray
plastic boxes with a gravity lid that stays open while the
trap is tilted forward, but slips shut once it tilts back.
(snip)
--Blair
"This ain't no Habitrail."

What's the point of no-kill traps for mice? The cheeky little buggers will
just come back inside where it's warm and go after the Stilton (again). I'm
all for being humane, but these are invasive critters. Unless you want to
start breeding them to sell to pet stores to feed to snakes, you have to nip
the problem in the bud!

I had a mouse problem when they started digging up the field across the
street to build some houses. True, your regular mouse trap is a tad messy.
And after hearing the thing snap shut and emptying it about 6 times in an
hour I decided perhaps poison bait would be better. Put it well behind the
refrigerator so as not to allow the pets access. They ate it, gluttons that
they are, then wandered off to wherever they go when you can't find them and
were not seen or heard from again.

Jill

In article , Blair P.
Houghton wrote:

I had a mouse.

(hilarious story snipped)

But, curious like any cat, I wanted to see my prey.
So I grabbed a handy (dirty) 1-quart pyrex measuring
cup, and a heavy book (The Art of Eating, by MFK Fisher).
I placed the book over the cup, save an inch for the mouth
of the trap. I opened the trap. In the same motion, the
mouse fell from the trap, turned, and leapt out through the
tiny space remaining. He caromed off the toaster oven,
flew to the floor, tried the trash can as a hiding spot,
found no opening underneath, then turned and made for
the refrigerator. Total time to escape to invisibility:
about 0.7 seconds.

"Oh, what fools these mortals be."

Maybe the rabbits will adopt him before the snakes and
coyotes do.

Or maybe not.
"Here, kittykitty; here, kittykitty."
--
-Barb
12-23-03: Tourtiere pictures and recipe have been
added to my site: www.jamlady.eboard.com
"If you're ever in a jam, here I am."

I had a mouse.


Nice story , Blair. This mouse definitly as good taste.
Rosie

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
In article , Blair P.
Houghton wrote:


I had a mouse.


(hilarious story snipped)


But, curious like any cat, I wanted to see my prey.
So I grabbed a handy (dirty) 1-quart pyrex measuring
cup, and a heavy book (The Art of Eating, by MFK Fisher).
I placed the book over the cup, save an inch for the mouth
of the trap. I opened the trap. In the same motion, the
mouse fell from the trap, turned, and leapt out through the
tiny space remaining. He caromed off the toaster oven,
flew to the floor, tried the trash can as a hiding spot,
found no opening underneath, then turned and made for
the refrigerator. Total time to escape to invisibility:
about 0.7 seconds.


"Oh, what fools these mortals be."


Maybe the rabbits will adopt him before the snakes and
coyotes do.


Or maybe not.
"Here, kittykitty; here, kittykitty."

I had a mouse. I saw it on Friday and told the Handyman to come and do
something. He put out several glue traps and the next day, yesterday, I
found its corpse.

I hope that this was the only one. Tandoora, my cat, acted like a true
feline, at least an apartment kitty: As long as she suspected there
might be a mouse in the kitchen, she hid in my bedroom.

Barbara, remember the sound you heard while you were here? Maybe it was
the mouse and not the alarm in the radiator or in the smoke alarm.
Debbie heard it, too, but now it is gone.

I live on the 20th floor of an apartment building. Exterminators come
every week to make sure that no kind of creepy crawly things live in the
building, yet I have had mice several times before. At those times, I
had three cats living with me. The cats would actually catch the mouse,
play with it for a while and then let it go. Not once did one of them
kill a mouse.

This morning, I called one of the building's porters, to check on the
traps that are still here. They were empty and I hope that they stay
that way. Tandoora is still staying out of the kitchen.

Happy New Year, Margaret

"Blair P. Houghton" wrote:

And then I didn't hear him anywhere, so I figured he'd left,
so I put the traps away.

You are the optimist, aren't you?

I didn't hear anything, so I figured he had left again.

Repeat after me: Mice don't leave.

I looked through all the cabinets and drawers, and man,
mice can really make the jimmies when they want to.

They are just disgusting.

Ten minutes later, I heard what could only be the long
wooden chopstick I'd set next to the sink. Ten feet from
the microwave.

Boshemoi! He'd walked right past the traps!

*******!

Now, I'm not saying this to be mean. If you had one mouse, you have
more. You need to keep your trap set, and perhaps think about
releasing the rodents *far* from your house. They will just come
back in. Me, I'm all for the death traps. I know that sounds mean,
but I can't have those things taking over my house.

Thanks for the funny story.

nancy

In article ,
says...
Blair P. Houghton wrote:
I had a mouse.

He was living in my kitchen for a week or so.

I got some great no-kill traps from Home Depot. Small gray
plastic boxes with a gravity lid that stays open while the
trap is tilted forward, but slips shut once it tilts back.
(snip)
--Blair
"This ain't no Habitrail."

What's the point of no-kill traps for mice? The cheeky little buggers will
just come back inside where it's warm and go after the Stilton (again). I'm
all for being humane, but these are invasive critters. Unless you want to
start breeding them to sell to pet stores to feed to snakes, you have to nip
the problem in the bud!

I had a mouse problem when they started digging up the field across the
street to build some houses. True, your regular mouse trap is a tad messy.
And after hearing the thing snap shut and emptying it about 6 times in an
hour I decided perhaps poison bait would be better. Put it well behind the
refrigerator so as not to allow the pets access. They ate it, gluttons that
they are, then wandered off to wherever they go when you can't find them and
were not seen or heard from again.

I've rescued a couple of mice from the cats. For instance, one night I
notice the smallest cat is acting a little funny so I call out her name.

She turns around and there's a mouse in her mouth. And of course when
she looks at me she drops the mouse. It runs into a corner so I grabbed
an empty plastic container from the nights Chinese take out, managed to
get the mouse in it and then took it outside and released it.

Now I just let em' have the kill. I just wish they'd leave the hollowed
out bodies in a place where I can find em' instead of having them later
deposit the now dried out hollowed out shell of a mouse on places like
my chair or the couch.

I have noted that the problem has gotten worse since they tore up the
old farmers market behind me and the old manufacturing sector that's
about a half mile to my west. And I'll mention that since the restaurant
downstairs converted once again the pest problem has gotten worse. When
the Italian and Japanese restaurants were in it's place they used to
bait like crazy and we didn't see any mice. Now I *NEVER* see the
exterminators truck. I've been meaning to talk to my landlord about
that.

Margaret Suran wrote:
Melba's Jammin' wrote:
In article , Blair P.
Houghton wrote:


I had a mouse.


(hilarious story snipped)


But, curious like any cat, I wanted to see my prey.
(snip)
Or maybe not.
"Here, kittykitty; here, kittykitty."

I had a mouse. I saw it on Friday and told the Handyman to come and
do something. He put out several glue traps and the next day,
yesterday, I found its corpse.

I hope that this was the only one. Tandoora, my cat, acted like a
true feline, at least an apartment kitty: As long as she suspected
there might be a mouse in the kitchen, she hid in my bedroom.

(laughing) Persia is terrified of mice! I was walking to the kitchen one
morning and she was ahead of me, hoping for some treat. She stopped and
uttered a squeak! I nearly tripped over her. She spotted a mouse (it was
dead) and would not enter the kitchen until I assured her it had been
properly disposed of. Sheesh, a cat afraid of mice. What will they think
of next?

Jill

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 07:31:16 GMT, Blair P. Houghton wrote:

I had a mouse.

(snip delightful story)

....and a gourmand, at that.

You will find that peanut butter on the traps is a cheap and effective
attractant. I cannot be lifted or snatched off the traps, but needs to
be licked, so the mouse comes fully into the trap.

I do understand your desires for humane trap and release, but you
should know that it is rarely one " Wee, sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous
beastie" about the place. They do pose a health hazard and if you do
not wish to do away with them, you might need to take extraordinary
measures to keep them out (it is next to impossible).

If you are going to release, you need to do so far from your home, and
you should understand that nature is not kindly to them out of doors
anyway.


Boron

Margaret Suran wrote:

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
In article , Blair P.
Houghton wrote:


I had a mouse.


(hilarious story snipped)


But, curious like any cat, I wanted to see my prey.
So I grabbed a handy (dirty) 1-quart pyrex measuring
cup, and a heavy book (The Art of Eating, by MFK Fisher).
I placed the book over the cup, save an inch for the mouth
of the trap. I opened the trap. In the same motion, the
mouse fell from the trap, turned, and leapt out through the
tiny space remaining. He caromed off the toaster oven,
flew to the floor, tried the trash can as a hiding spot,
found no opening underneath, then turned and made for
the refrigerator. Total time to escape to invisibility:
about 0.7 seconds.


"Oh, what fools these mortals be."


Maybe the rabbits will adopt him before the snakes and
coyotes do.


Or maybe not.
"Here, kittykitty; here, kittykitty."

I had a mouse. I saw it on Friday and told the Handyman to come and do
something. He put out several glue traps and the next day, yesterday, I
found its corpse.

I hope that this was the only one. Tandoora, my cat, acted like a true
feline, at least an apartment kitty: As long as she suspected there
might be a mouse in the kitchen, she hid in my bedroom.

Barbara, remember the sound you heard while you were here? Maybe it was
the mouse and not the alarm in the radiator or in the smoke alarm.
Debbie heard it, too, but now it is gone.

I live on the 20th floor of an apartment building. Exterminators come
every week to make sure that no kind of creepy crawly things live in the
building, yet I have had mice several times before. At those times, I
had three cats living with me. The cats would actually catch the mouse,
play with it for a while and then let it go. Not once did one of them
kill a mouse.

This morning, I called one of the building's porters, to check on the
traps that are still here. They were empty and I hope that they stay
that way. Tandoora is still staying out of the kitchen.

Happy New Year, Margaret

Tandoora is probably afraid of the mouse traps more than the mice.

There is a standard method to keep cats off selected places. Get half a dozen
small mouse traps. Arm them and set them _FACE DOWN_ (very carefully of
course) on whatever surface you want to keep cats off. Cover with a newspaper.
The cat will go to that spot once and never more. The traps will not harm the
cat when they trigger.

My daughter just had a baby. The cat took a liking for the crib when the baby
was not there. After having to wash the crib linens once too many times we did
just what I described. No more cat problems.

Bert

wrote:
Margaret Suran wrote:

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
In article , Blair P.
Houghton wrote:


I had a mouse.


(hilarious story snipped)


My daughter just had a baby. The cat took a liking for the crib when
the baby was not there. After having to wash the crib linens once too
many times we did just what I described. No more cat problems.

Bert

Why not simply close the door? No need to scare the poor cat to death. The
child will outgrow the crib eventually. You're going to make the cat
terrified to even go into the room with the kid.

Jill

Blair P. Houghton wrote:
I had a mouse.

He was living in my kitchen for a week or so.

[snip]

Maybe the rabbits will adopt him before the snakes and
coyotes do.

--Blair
"This ain't no Habitrail."


very funny story. i had a mouse. he knew all the tricks: we captured him
with glue. sorry for being cruel but i told my husband either him or
me... i was ready to move back to my mother. i adopted a cat
immediately. never had any more mice.

your story reminds me of a catch my cat did when i was living in an
apartament on the ground floor. he chased inside what seemed to be an
extremely large rat. We were watchig tv in the evening and i saw with
the side of my eyes a large mouse-like figure entering from the open
window, followed by my cat in a evident state of agitation.

i tought screaming very loud and repeatedly was the best thing to do at
the moment. my husband (scared as hell) didn't think so.... anyway, he
chased the orrible thing and at a closer look he discovered it was a
young opossum. he captured the thing and freed him in the garden outside
with great disappointment of my cat. the next day i saw the creature
hanging by the tail from a plant outside eating the flowers. looked at
me and ... well was not that ugly afterall....

ciao, anna maria


www.annamariavolpi.com