A little house guest

sfell

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I'm not sure if you all know or not, but I moved over Labor Day Weekend. Well, when we first got in we found what I thought to be roach droppings/eggs in the cabinets and hubby thought it was mouse droppings. Well I convinced hubby that I was right
and we went to Wal-Mart and bought some Combat Roach Bait.

This Sunday, I got up and decided to fix myself a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. I pulled out a couple of slices of bread (the bread had been on the stove) and noticed the same corner was missing on each slice. So, I looked at the bag and there was a "hole" where the slices had been. I then looked at the stove and noticed several "droppings" that hadn't been there before.

So, I showed hubby the bread, telling him that he had been right
and we decided to get ready and head to Home Depot for some mouse traps.

Well, as we are getting ready, I noticed several *partial* candy corns, from the closed candy corn bag on my dresser, which hadn't been there before. So, I pick up the bag and sure enough, it had been chewed through.

So, we go and get one of those humane traps and a couple of the sticky traps. I didn't want the sticky traps, you end up having to kill them because they don't end up coming off of them, but hubby insisted because the rodent may be too big to fit in the mouse trap.

Well, that night as were in the bedroom watching tv, we see it in the room and it darts into the bathroom into a crack between the bathtub and the cabinet. So hubby takes some expanding spray foam to block the crack in hopes of cutting off one of it's entrances/exits. A little bit later in the bedroom, I see it again, but this time it's heading for the bedroom door that we had closed with a piece of carpet in the crack to keep it from getting in/out. Since it couldn't get out that way, it darts back behind the entertainment center against the wall in the bedroom.

After moving a couple of things, it runs out and gets behind the chest-of-drawers. Now the chest has an opening in the back at the bottom, but that's the only opening. So, hubby started to move the dresser in an angle so that one corner is up against the wall; making him have to go the other way so we could trap him. As hubby starts angling the chest more and more, the mouse keeps moving to stay under the dresser. Basically, the chest is forming an angle with the wall to make a triangle and the only way for the mouse to escape is one side of the triangle since the other two sides are the wall and the chest. I then get the sticky traps to make the final "wall" of the triangle between the chest and the wall and I put the humane trap in the middle as close to the dresser as I can. I was hoping that creating the third wall with the sticky traps would force it into the humane trap. Then hubby starts slamming the drawers to make the mouse come out but it doesn't work. Then I use a flash light in hopes that the light will make it come out. Still, no mousie. So, hubby goes and gets the Lysol to spray the entrance in hopes that it forces mousie out. Well, it worked but mousies went to the sticky traps. It got caught on one and pulled itself back under the chest. We take out the drawers so we can get to the mousie and poor little mousie was all stuck in the trap. It was such a cute little brown mousie and it was squeeking since it was in distress. We manage to get mousie and the trap into a box and my husband goes outside to "dispose" of cute little mousie.

I was very sad about little mousie, I cried a little. I felt so bad because it's just one of God's creatures and we killed it
I wish I would have thought to try and unstick it and save it
 

katl8e

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Just remember, "cute litle mousie" is a disease-carrying varmint. If left alone, it will become hundreds and thousands of its kind. Better to get rid of one, than have to pay an exterminator.
 
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sfell

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Yeah, I know, but I couldn't help but think of the mice you see in the pet stores; they don't have diseases though.

We priced exterminators in case this mousie isn't the only one. They said that the first visit is $150 and that they have to come every 3 months for a year (3 visits after the first) at $95. So, in all, before tax, it would end up costing us $435 if we have to use an exterminator.
 

whisker's mom

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Sabra....sorry you feel bad. I know where you're coming from. We have had a few of those cute little mousies here also. They really are cute looking but I much prefer them doing their cutelooking act outside my home. If you want to feel better, we once had one that discovered the inside of my toaster. I, however, did not discover this hiding spot for who knows how long. I shudder every time I stop and wonder how many toasts did I make after it paid us this visit????? Hey....didn't someone here go through a toaster experience a while back?????

My hubby disposes of these visitors because I tend to run away and hide. Amazing how something so tiny can succeed in making me climb up any piece of furniture that can sustain my weight or...make me run faster than I could ever imagine possible. We have had 2 in the past 2 months. Whiskers finds them God knows where and decides she wants to play with her new toy for a while before bringing it over to share with us. I have such a thoughtful kitty.
 

kumbulu

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Awww Sabra, the little mousie has gone to a better place.
I had to laugh, reading about you two hooning around after this tiny mouse, I could just picture it!
 

debby

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Sabra...I know how you feel about the mice being "cute" and all, and I have even had pet mice in the past...but you can't feel bad about killing the ones that get into your house. As someone said, they do carry diseases, and if you just turned it loose outside, it would probably come back in the same way it got in to begin with.

However, I think those sticky traps should be outlawed!!! I think they are so cruel!! It isn't so bad if you kill the mouse, like your hubby did, but many people won't do that, so after the poor mouse gets stuck there, they just toss it out in the garbage or outside somewhere, and the frightened little mouse is left to slowly starve to death. It is so inhumane!!!!!! I prefer a regular old mouse trap....they almost always get caught by the neck and killed instantly...no suffering.
 
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