Mouse in My House

I love lots of fourlegged creatures. Ask my mom, always bringing something home that I shouldn't. Of course I then married a man who is pretty much the same way. We've had hamsters, English budgies, parakeets, turtles and lots and lots of fish over the years. Almost forgot a couple of cats and then there's the horses and dogs. Then after a spectacular incident several years ago with a budgie, the hamster, a German Shepherd and a little cocker mix, it was determined that we really can't keep prey and predators in the same house.

As winter approaches, especially living out in the country, the outside critters make plans for winter. That usually means moving indoors if they can. It's just a given that they attempt to come inside and we make all attempts to keep them outside. Last winter I had a tribe of mice invade my suburban. I spent the entire winter cleaning out, trapping and chasing those damn things. I relocated some to various show sites over the months and finally as spring approached, was able to get rid of them. But not before they ate the wiring in a couple of places. So this winter, I was very proactive-moth balls, traps, cedar blocks, you name it I tried it. Of course you can't use bait with the livestock around, but I did everything but. I won this year-they decided that the 'burb was not the appropriate place.

David and I also laid out a maze of traps and sticky boards in the garage. That turns into a freeforall on days when you are cleaning the garage as David likes to keep a count on his hunt. Well anyway, we have managed to keep a pretty good handle on the population at home. So no mouse in the house or so I thought.

Seems since they couldn't invade me at home, how about in the office. Yes that's right, my office. I work as a purchasing/inventory coordinator at a pool construction and service company. My little office is shared by our construction/project manager. Thank God he's a former California boy and dislikes it cold, so our little corner of the world is always toasty. I also usually keep some sort of chocolate in the office in a small basket. Unfortunately, seems mice like to keep toasty and well feed on chocolate too. Moving files the other day, we found their stash of a 1/2 of a bag of Hersey Kisses-Cherry Cordials. I was pissed as those are my absolute favorite ones and since they had been disappearing at an alarming rate, I figured that I had another fan of them in the office, just didn't figure it was a fourlegged friend. This meant war. I called my warehouse/maintenance crew and begged for mouse traps. I was not going to let those damn mice get away with it. Set the traps, left for the weekend, leaving instructions for the retail guys to come in and do a body count for me. Darn it - nothing. I had stuffed peanut butter all over the traps and they were all licked clean. Defective traps, no bodies, I was bound and determined to win this one. So I resorted to my preferred weapon-glue traps.

Now let me digress here a little. Glue traps are great for catching mice and small bugs, but at times I have also caught a labrador, a cat, my shoe, the pomeranian, and my bare foot in the sticky things. The lab went after the dog food used as bait-stuck it right square on her nose and while I was laughing so hard I couldn't stand up, I had to pull it off her nose. The cat and pomeranian, well paws stuck on them and no clue what they were thinking when they decided to attach themselves to the trap. My foot and shoe-just plain forgot where I put the traps and bang, stuck. I knew what the dogs felt like.

So back to my office. I set my traps and once again, left for another weekend. Previously I had cleaned all the files out, desk was picked up and yet again, I found another stash of the Kisses, rotten little **(%^^%^%. Hoping that on Monday I have a substantial body count.

I came in, examined the traps and was getting a little depressed until I looked under the counter and bingo--time to all the cororner! Two bodies, fat little buggers too. I had been hoping that all the sugar and caffeine had given them heartattacks-would have served them right for eating my candy. But heck, I got'em that's all the mattered!

So far nothing else has shown up. Maybe I scared them off, who knows. New strategy-glass bowl with lid for the candy! Then they can just stare in the "window" at the goodies, but beware, I still plan on having those traps out-I will not be defeated again!

Later gators.....
c