Brakka Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 This little guy has been living here for about a year. I live in a duplex, and he lives in the walls. About a month ago the upstairs renters moved out, and they had some empty aquariums sitting out for the recyclers (uh, you can't recycle those) and one had a screen top. Mr. mouse might be an escaped pet, but he's a small brown field mouse with a super-long tail. My housemate & I see him every once in a while in the kitchen. We walk in and turn the lights on, and he makes a dash for the inside of our gas stove and then to a [i]tiny[/i] hole in the wall behind it. He's been getting more brave, but he still runs fast. Last night I woke up a few times to rustling in my bedroom. He usually doesn't come in there (that I know of), because there's no food in there. But last night I did eat my dinner in there, and had a bowl of popcorn while watching Kingpin. I left the popcorn bowl on a low shelf with a plate on top of it. The rustling I heard was unpopped popcorn kernels and and empty candy bar wrapper in the bowl. Just now I heard it again, and my computer is about three feet away from it. I snuck over and slid the plate to completely cover the bowl. Easy. Not very "Croc Hunter" of me, but I captured the thing! We've been trying to come up with ideas for catching it, but it basically fell into a trap so simple that I didn't even think of it. I had claimed the abandoned aquariums after the recyclers ignored them, and I just put the whole popcorn bowl in one of them with some water, a piece of bread, and a small carrot. I put a screen on top, and weighted it down with my BEATLES ANTHOLOGY book. :thu: He's still hiding under the candy wrapper. I don't want a pet mouse, we plan on releasing it up in the hills when the weather gets a bit warmer. I might be able to give him a longer life here (sans predators), but I think he'll have some fun out in the wild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mayock Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 I had a mouse living in my van. one night I was driving home from rehearsal and these two tiny red eyes appeared on my dash board,right in front of me while i was driving. I scared the shit out of me. It was summer and I cleverly took off one of my flip flops and used it to keep the "attack" mouse from charging me. After a few miles the mouse ran to the passenger side of the dashboard and jumped into the passenger seat where it stayed for a few minutes. http://www.themayocks.com Hear The Mayocks on Rhapsody and Itunes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 Yeah, they're kinda cute, but... Problem is, you probably don't have just one mouse. There are probably several, to a whole bunch. They multiply like rabbits...maybe even more prolifically. And when you find the corners of your cereal boxes chewed on, and mouse turds in the drawers, you've gotta get serious, because they're health hazards. Worse in the winter months, when they're trying to get in where it's warm. Hate to say it, but, you're probably going to have to get some ol' trusty Victor mouse traps. Do it before you become thoroughly infested. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hush Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 I think we have a problem. Killed one in the standard mouse trap using peanut butter instead of cheese. The wife didn't like the idea of killing them. So when the little poop started appearing again I used the friendly traps and took one to work and released him in the woods. Now we have a another making visits :mad: And he's so far avoiding the traps. He tips them over but hasn't been caught yet. :mad: I think he's getting in somewhere near the stove also. I hate the idea of this thing in my house!!! I want to kill the little f-er. Gonna try cheese in the friendlies see if that works better. :mad: Marc Searching for a new sig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix_dup1 Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 Once when we were living in a new house and the neighborhood was still under construction, we got a field mouse living in our vents. We were told that the construction in the area probably disturbed him from his home, prompting him to move in with us. Our cat, Felix (notice a trend here?) would sit on the floor or the backs of furniture, staring up at the vents for hours, me-howling at what he knew was there. One day I was in the laundry room, when I saw something falling through the air out of the corner of my eye. The mouse had fallen through a vent in the ceiling - and landed right in an empty bucket! We tossed him out in the field and never had any other problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pierce Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 I never get any mice. Do you think it might have anything to do with the subject of my avatar picture? :D :idea: --Dave Make my funk the P-funk. I wants to get funked up. My Funk/Jam originals project: http://www.thefunkery.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brakka Posted February 11, 2003 Author Share Posted February 11, 2003 Originally posted by Tedster: [b]Problem is, you probably don't have just one mouse.[/b] I considered that, but I don't think that's the case here. No droppings, and no torn-open bread bags (I even keep my bread on the counter by the toaster, and it has never been breached). This is another reason why I think it might be an escaped pet. But if I see another one, I will take appropriate action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel E. Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 I have killed many mice and rats in my day. Felt bad at first but got over it. Glue traps are inhumane IMHO but the standard neck breakers are swift and efficient. Peanut butter works best. "You never can vouch for your own consciousness." - Norman Mailer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliengroover Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 A few years ago a buddy of mine was fixing some power supplies and saw a dust bunny in one. So, he just, of course, casually reaches to remove it and...WHAM! Half of a dead mouse! To say he freaked is an understatment. Peace If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking 'til you do suck seed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie-brm Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by Gabriel E.: [b]I have killed many mice and rats in my day. Felt bad at first but got over it. Glue traps are inhumane IMHO but the standard neck breakers are swift and efficient. Peanut butter works best.[/b][/quote]My strategy exactly. Peanut butter and a swift crack of the neck. There's plenty of room outside for them. A half acre to them and the other 1800 square feet with a roof is mine. I do feel bad if they get caught imperfectly and survive (until I get there), but it's rare. And still better than being caught by a f*&Jing cat. It's OK to tempt fate. Just don't drop your drawers and moon her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not coaster MODERATOR Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 Many mice have the hanta-virus virus which is fatal. The droppings release it into the air. Vermin are NOT our friends. Take Tedster's advice and kill them immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anifa Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 Always before I've been the evil DECON user, but now I just bought a new pet kitten for my children and will not be able to use poisons. I don't like traps, especially the stickey traps that let the little varments die of starvation; that's cruel. DECON has always been effective, and I have indeed needed to use it at this residence as my property has about 250 acres that runs just to the south side of my home. There is only one strip of homes that lie between my home and the acreage; there are field mice that like to find warm places during the winter. I'll have to train kitty to be a great mouser, but right now I think that a mouse would scare HIM... He's not much bigger than a mouse right now. :D [img]http://www.musicbizbuzz.net/gene/Rustyo.JPG[/img] You can take the man away from his music, but you can't take the music out of the man. Books by Craig Anderton through Amazon Sweetwater: Bruce Swedien\'s "Make Mine Music" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franknputer Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 [url=http://www.ratzapper.com/]The Rat Zapper[/url] is the best! Effective & clean. You can even re-use the bait. A little blinky light comes on when you have one; then, you just dump it in the trash, reset the switch & bait, and put it back. BTW - A really stinky Brie cheese & cracker sandwich is excellent for this. Don't use sugary stuff that will melt - the sugar will conduct a charge, and you'll get false triggers. You'll have to clean it out, too. (ewww...) I paid about $40 for it, which seems like a lot - but it's got +12 kills and counting, which comes out to $4 a rat so far. No, they don't pay me (although they should!). The thing just works great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gtoledo3 Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by Hush: [b]I think we have a problem. Killed one in the standard mouse trap using peanut butter instead of cheese. The wife didn't like the idea of killing them. So when the little poop started appearing again I used the friendly traps and took one to work and released him in the woods. Now we have a another making visits :mad: And he's so far avoiding the traps. He tips them over but hasn't been caught yet. :mad: I think he's getting in somewhere near the stove also. I hate the idea of this thing in my house!!! I want to kill the little f-er. Gonna try cheese in the friendlies see if that works better. :mad: Marc[/b][/quote]The best rat poison you can get is TOMCAT all weather rodent bait. It's a green, peanut butter flavored bar/brick. It kills norway rats, roof rats, and regular house mice. Other than that...yes, a point will come when everything else fails, and they don't even want the peanut butter on your mouse traps. At that point, no animal can resist the smell of slightly decaying meat. Get a small peice of bacon and wedge it onto the mouse trap "tray." That works prett damn well at luring them out. I setup one of those TOMCAT bars there too... They sell a lot of rodent bait bars at Home Depot... but none of them work like the TOMCAT. Want mix/tracking feedback? Checkout "The Fade"- www.grand-designs.cc/mmforum/index.php The soon-to-be home of the "12 Bar-Blues Project" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audiobotica Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 It got cold. The mice moved in. The Siamese cat catches them and I toss the carcasses out for the scavengers. The two Himalayans don't have a clue, useless. Yours in Music, Ben Fury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_dont_fret Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 C'mon guys, you shouldn't kill innocent animals that just want a warm place to live. It's bad for you, being all primitive acting and such. On that note, I was picking my brother up from school today, and I saw one of those huge Ford ghetto-tanks run over a poor little squirrel. It hit one wheel, rolled, hit the other, and rolled some more. I thought it was dead, but it started moving, only on it's side, in jerky motions. Then it stopped moving, and laid on its back. I became very sad that such a creature would pay the price of death so that a gas guzzler could move. I'm very sad. Just a reminder as to how fragile life really is, and that you shouldn't take it for granted, or take it [life] at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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