(no subject)

[rootofnewt]

so... i was sitting here, watching The Governess, when i heard a sound. it resembled a jumping bean-ping pong ball trapped inside a rubbermaid container. i froze, looked at boy. he said, "stuff is shifting like mad in this house," referring to the loud shffffff-thump heard earlier from upstairs (probably my clothes rack)...

so, we gingerly stepped toward the kitchen. i fully expected to see the damn mouse dragging off a full rubbermaid bin.

but no.

the mouse was caught.

i know there's a crack I can get through, i just know it

please let me go, big scary monster

so, after grabbing the camera and clothes, we grabbed the trap and drove a few miles down the road. we pulled over on another part of the farm and got out. i tipped the box up and slid up the clear lid. it took the mouse a few seconds to realize "HEY! I CAN LEAVE!" after trying to climb *up* (toward the lid and side i was holding, it turned around and jumped out.

it then jumped in zig-zag fashion and ran straight underneath the car.

oh, well. we probably didn't run it over. if it survives the night and is extraordinarily lucky, it won't get eaten by a harrier hawk tomorrow.

well, it DID evade that trap for several nights, even snatching bait WITHOUT tripping the trap door. it might live a long life in the field and woods.

and there are a half dozen houses between here and the point of exile.

trap is re-set. i'll clean the counter tonight and all surfaces in the kitchen, so we can know whether there are other mice by tomorrow. this weeked, we shall clean scrupulously. that damn mouse pooped *everywhere*. gotta wash all the sheets and blankets left out (it couldn't manage to get on our bed and poop, thankfully), dust, sweep, mop, etc. ah, well. we needed to do some "spring cleaning".

Comments

[firinel.livejournal.com]

yay! such a cute mouse though - damn shame you don't own a snake or know someone close by that does.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Congrats!! Glad you finally caught the culprit. Hope zie was the only one. :-)

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

Cute pic!

I had mice in my old apartment and I trapped many in the plastic "safe traps" and released them in fields.

[lupa.livejournal.com]

you know, those lil disease-carrying critters have no business being that damn cute.
but congrats at catching it!

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

Whoo-hoo!!

I can see the TV show now: The mouse hunters. You'll have to put on horrid fakey aussie accents, though ;)

Krikey!!

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Awww. Those big, innocent eyes...

[ismene.livejournal.com]

Awwww. So cute! Its expression reminds me of my long-deceased mouse Ivy.

[stmaybe.livejournal.com]

i'm sure you're glad to be rid of the mouse & i hope that's the only one - but can that little critter work the cute factor or what!?

[absinthea.livejournal.com]

We have a wee little mischievous brown field mouse living in our garage. Hes so tiny and cute, but I don't care to share my home with a rodent on *its* terms, so like the mean people that we are, we set D-Con (yes, yes, I know the shit is awful...but it was late last night and I wasn't feeling like running out to search for a cute trap like you have) out for him. *wrings hands* I'd love to catch him and keep him, but you know how that would go over.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

i won't use poison. rodent poison generally sends the animal running outside for water. at that point, it becomes prey and introduces poison to the food chain. we've got a cat who runs around, lots of bats, and tons of raptors. i don't want to kill a harrier who spots a slow, poisoned vole.

i'd use a kill trap before i'd use poison. and i nearly DID, because this bugger was so tiny he wasn't tripping (or he was escaping from) our three different kinds of humane traps.

Lowe's has all of these, by the way. The green Victor is worthless, as are the grey one-mouse Victors. I didn't buy the Tin Cat because it's the same style as the green victor, just bigger.

The Tom Cat (which worked) can kill if wound too tight (break the neck, whiplash, etc), but generally doesn't. I repeatedly tripped the door until it wound down, then wound it myself, since the box could've been opened before hand.

this is the time of year mice come inside (for warmth and food). it's something i expected, but i thought the darn thing would be easier to catch.

[karenthecroccy.livejournal.com]

Mice scare me. They move too fast and make me nervous. But it was too damn cute!! :)

Glad you're rid of the poop-machine.

[circumspectly.livejournal.com]

what a cute lil mousie...too bad they're such nasty lil suckers to live with. waaaaaaaaay back when, when i was living in a really CRAPPY apartment, there was a mouse that lived in our kitchen. i fed it breadcrumbs. because...well, one little mouse really couldn't contribute much to the years of caked on filth and be-grimed-ed-ness of the hateful place.