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Eek! It's a Mouse in the House!

Last night, at the hour of midnight, we were awoken by the sound of chewing.

Gnaw Gnaw Gnaw,
Chew, Chew, Chew.

My husband rolled over and said, "Is that a mouse?"
We tapped on the wall, and the sound silenced.

Four hours later, we were again awoken to the sound of chewing.


Again, tapping on the wall silenced the interloper.

When I awoke at 6 am, there was that unmistakable sound again.


We have mice.

I took a trip to store and bought 2 live traps and a Pest-a-cator 2000. Hopefully, we will catch the mice in the walls in the live traps, and drive any we don't catch out with the Pest-a-cator. First, a nice dollop of peanut butter in the bait tray. Then, trap placed along wall.

Then, we wait. I hope we catch them. I plan on releasing them on the banks of the canal down the street, which is likely where they came from, looking for warmth and food. I bet they LOVED the peppermint bark! Karen in Wichita said...

Oh yeah, we have 'em too, after the last cold snap. I swore this year I'd seal the foundation, and I got as far as buying sealant...

I'm told house mice don't survive well in non-house conditions, but this hasn't stopped me from using live traps and turning the critters loose in a park. Maybe they won't survive, but hopefully they'll provide a meal for a fox or other resident, which they wouldn't do here. (Well, unless we gave them to the dachshund, who's been doing his best as a mouser already. We suspect at least one success, when he came out from behind a cabinet licking his chops...)

December 19, 2007 at 2:52 PM 
Yuck. Many years ago I lived with mice in my Boston apartment. It really grossed me out. I do think they are cute, but when they are skittering across my kitchen counter... UGH!
Hopefully you can take care of them with your traps!

December 19, 2007 at 4:48 PM 
make sure to check the traps often, or else it may not be a live trap...

December 19, 2007 at 8:11 PM Skymosher said...

Ah, adventures in house dwelling. I haven't found any mice yet but then I do have 3 cats. :)

Good luck with the traps and please post a review of them!

December 22, 2007 at 8:36 PM 
Most effective way I found to bait the traps is to wedge half a peanut under the bait part. Unlike peanut butter which can be licked and sometimes allows the mouse to get away, the peanut requires more force, tripping the trap.

January 3, 2008 at 8:29 PM Ranty said...

Oh, the sound of chewing vermin in the middle of the night... I know it well! In my case it's squirrels though. :-(

Good luck with your traps!

January 11, 2008 at 12:33 AM