My roommates have just discovered that there is a mouse somewhere in this apartment. It has been spotted twice over the last couple days. Although it was funny to watch them open cabinets and doors while holding a broom and a flyswatter, I am guessing this is not the most effective way to get rid of this varmint.
But my girlfriend wants to be a vet, and it goes without saying that she has a certain affinity for animals. She says that if I kill the mouse she will be very very very angry.
So I need a humane way to dispose of this creature. I watched Tom and Jerry as a kid, but I'm not real sure a box held up by a stick with a string and some cheese is the way to go either.
Does anyone have any other ideas for a way to humanely capture and rid myself of this varmint?
--ApostleRadio
Posted by TheHumanTarget (Member # 7129) on :
You can buy humane traps at a hardware store. What are you going to do with it once you catch it?
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Chase the mouse that's in your house with a fox into a box!
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
You could get yourself a cat. That would make that mouse go scat!
Posted by TheHumanTarget (Member # 7129) on :
As my daughter would say:
Shame. Shame. Shame on you For what you do!
Everything revolves around "A Fly Went By" right now. Dr. Seuss has been replaced.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Be very careful if you decide to capture it live. House mice carry all sorts of diseases, including Hanta virus.
It would really be better to use a standard mouse trap - they kill the mouse almost instantaneously by breaking its neck.
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
Use a standard trap, dispose of the body before your girlfriend finds out and coordinate the stories with your roomies.
If she asks, lie. Lie a lot.
-Trevor
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Actually Annie, they don't always. If the bar hits them too far down their back it'll just break their spine and paralyze them without killing them.
I've typically resorted to sticky traps, myself. They're terrifying for the mice, unfortunately, but as long as you find them and free them quickly enough they aren't fatal. To free a mouse from a sticky trap, all you need is a bottle of vegetable oil--pour it over the trap and the glue looses its stickiness. It works its way under the mouse fairly quickly, and he's free before you know it.
Of course, the mouse is likely to be exhausted, and in a state of shock both from having been caught and having been menaced by a giant, so chances are good that what you're actually doing is providing an owl or a snake with an easy meal, but what can you do? At least that way another creature is profiting from the mouse's death.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
If the standard trap hits perfectly it kills the mouse instantly by breaking it's neck. If it doesn't, they thrash and squeal piteously for quite some time. If you're me, the mice decide to come out and get trapped about ten minutes after you decide to go to bed, so you're treated to the loud snap and squealing right as you were drifting off to sleep.
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
*grumble*
Or you can buy a "live capture" trap that drops steel bars on either side of the entrance, but a normal mouse is so light, those are pretty iffy.
A mouse can sneak in, steal the bait and run off without ever engaging the trigger.
-Trevor
Edit: For typo. Normal as in "not a rat".
[ March 15, 2005, 05:08 PM: Message edited by: TMedina ]
Posted by RackhamsRazor (Member # 5254) on :
Im telling you, get a trash can and provide a sturdy ramp propped up on the side of it. Then place food up the ramp and inside the trash can. The mouse is likely to jump in if you do it right and not be able to jump out because of the slick sides (though you need to make sure the trashcan is tall enough). Then all you have to do is get up the next morning and find a full but stuck mouse to take outside.
I know this can work because this is how we used to catch our hamsters when they got out.
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
RR: I told you before, I do not have a ramp. We have a bucket, but no way for the mouse to get inside. I suppose we could break the ping pong table and use it, but that seems like wonton and pointless destruction in the name of a varmint. Personally, I like the suggestions where I kill it and lie to you.
Everyone else, thanks for the (sometimes) helpful suggestions. And thanks for the ones that made me laugh as well. I will keep you updated.
Thus far, I have not seen the mouse...
--ApostleRadio
Posted by Tstorm (Member # 1871) on :
I use regular, disposable, crush-em style traps. No tears from me over a dead rodent, and my family kept a microtus pennsylvanicus (meadow vole) as a pet for little over a year. Given the large populations of these rodents, crushing a few in my dwelling won't dent their numbers. I might feel differently if I was contributing to the destruction of their habitat. There WAS a mouse somewhere in my apartment, I know because I saw the "evidence," but he disappeared before I found out. Hmm...you guys are giving me another argument for acquiring a pet cat, aren't you? *suspicious look*
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Buy a $3 humane trap -- usually a clear plastic tube/ramp thingy -- and put some peanut butter on a cracker. Unless you have a roommate who likes peanut butter beyond all comprehension, this works just fine.
And it's considerably better than killing harmless mice.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
It works fine if the mice fall for it Tom. In my expereince, though, they either figure out that the trap is just that, a trap, and avoid it, or are able to raid the trap without getting caught. Maybe I just attract unusually wiley mice.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
"My roommates have just discovered that there is a mouse somewhere in this apartment."
A mouse? Hee hee. They tend to hang out in groups of about a thousand, I'm afraid.
Posted by Myr (Member # 5956) on :
Oooo, did you name it?
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Off topic moment:
(Myr, the 70's floor tile is being covered by a lovely stick-on tile today-do you want me to save you a patch as a memory? hee he)
end off topic moment
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
"It works fine if the mice fall for it Tom. In my expereince, though, they either figure out that the trap is just that, a trap, and avoid it, or are able to raid the trap without getting caught."
Hm. In the event that you are infested by Super-Mice, yes, your typical transparent tube trap won't help you. You'll need Lex Luthor.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
I'd take the rats of NIMH over Lex any day.
Posted by Myr (Member # 5956) on :
Oh no!!! I'll miss the 70s floor !
I wish I could save the whole thing and pave my dorm room in it
RIP cool 70s floor.
[/offtopic]
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
But what if you mess up and get a *red* kryptonite cat by mistake? Then you'd be in all sorts of trouble.
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
For some reason, I thought the title said Moose... I guess you could just lay a glue trap and when it gets caught, then you could just get rid of the glue and leave the mouse 5o miles away from your home. Or you could also toss it in your ex's backyard.
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
That's why all of our super mouse traps haven't worked...nobody's been in a black trench coat, fedora and taunting the mouse with a bad Russian accent.
-Trevor
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
We were cleaning my grandma's house after she had been gone for over a year -- there was mouse sign all over her bathroom.
But that's not the worst of it. There were two long-dead mice in the bowl of the toilet.
It was the nastiest experience I've ever encountered in my life, cleaning up the poo and nibbled soap and mouse carcasses.
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
x.X
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
UPDATE:
I just saw the mouse. It bounded out from behind my tv and under the door to the living room. So we know for certain now that it is real, and it is here. I will immediately set forth to set up some kind of trap involving all of the suggestions here. It will most likely kill me in the middle of the night when i fall for my own trap.
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
That is the major drawback to lethal traps - do NOT leave them where you might accidentally step on one.
If you have any pets or if kids are present at any point, don't use them at all.
Other than that - happy hunting.
-Trevor
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
Posted: Mouse hunting season is on!
EDIT: I suggest grabbing a shotgun and shooting at it like when Ash tries to "kill" his own hand in Evil Dead 2....
[ March 16, 2005, 05:25 PM: Message edited by: Altáriël of Dorthonion ]
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
As much as I laughed at my roommates yesterday, I am just as big a fool. Upon sighting the mouse, I grabbed a broom and proceeded to poke everything in the house to see if it came out. Apparently I was going to sweep it away? Yes.
Phase 2: I wonder if my parents still have the old game mousetrap at home...Maybe they could send it to me and that will work.
--ApostleRadio
Posted by Swampjedi (Member # 7374) on :
Better mice than rats!
<remembers killing rats the size of housecats that were into the dog food>
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
The first mouse I saw in my house my parents were over, and Dad grabbed my corn broom and very efficiently killed the mouse. I didn't want to do that, but the next one I saw, I happened to have the broom and have the mouse cornered. I stood there, trying to make myself kill the stupid thing, until it ran past me and under the stove.
These were not the chocolate thievin' mice from this year, this was about 6 years ago when I first moved in. I seem to have gotten mice every third year in the house, now that I think about it. Hmmmm.
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
Oh my god, that's funny.
That mouse wasn't being hungry, he was getting personal.
-Trevor
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
Ok, I went to walmart to buy traps for this mouse. They didn't even HAVE lethal traps! What is this? The Wal-mart I know and love is all about stomping out and killing the little guys, whether it be mom and pop stores or mice in my apartment. I'm not sure if I like this new touchy feely wal-mart.
So my girlfriend gets her wish. We now have non-lethal traps set around the apartment. These traps include the Mice Cube (I'm sure the bad rhyme is intended, though it makes me shudder at the marketing geniuses who thought it up) and some sticky traps. These are all baited with snickers bars, because once my sister had a mouse in her apartment, and she finally caught it using snickers bars.
As a semi-amusing sidenote: I felt really bad about buying candy for a mouse and nothing for myself. So I bought myself a Caramello bar because they are better than Snickers and I am at the top of the food chain, dangit!
To be continued...
--ApostleRadio
Posted by RackhamsRazor (Member # 5254) on :
I win! yay! I love winning Posted by Jenny Gardener (Member # 903) on :
A good mouser is the best way to dispose of mice. All the evidence is eaten.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
The combination of a good mouser and a wiley mouse is a good way to get cat pee sprayed down your stove's burners.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
"All the evidence is eaten."
Not all, Jenny.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Noemon, that happened to us! It was probably the most disgusting household moment in our history!
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
*grins* I have to admit, watching a mouse try to scamper by an old mouser sitting on a ledge napping in the sun was an educational experience.
Without so much as batting an ear or opening an eye, this wiley old cat rolled off the carport wall and landed squarely on the scurrying little rodent.
The improvised lesson in rodent physiology was fascinating.
-Trevor
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
That mouse getting to the Quaker bars was so funny and cute!!!!! adam613
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
We had a mouse jump into our washing machine for a while. I went in to get the clothes, and there was movement. If there had been a chair, I would have jumped up on it, just like in the movies. We captured him, put him outside, and "he" returned. Turned out we wer majorly infested. Our cat had gotten old at that point. Now, we have the Death Squad, a mother-daughter team. I haven't seen a mouse, or a mouse turd, in a couple of years. (and the cat pee in stove incident was a couple of years ago, perhaps in the first stage of mouse annihilation.)
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
quote:The combination of a good mouser and a wiley mouse is a good way to get cat pee sprayed down your stove's burners.
Ah, the classic Spite Piss.
quote:Without so much as batting an ear or opening an eye, this wiley old cat rolled off the carport wall and landed squarely on the scurrying little rodent.
Nice to see a real professional at work, eh?
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
CT, has the stove pee happened to you, too?
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
No, butIreadaboutitonHatrack. Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Well, the time it happened I was absolutely horrified. I told someone, and they said it had happened to them! But I never knew why.
The things you find out. When we were playing a game in science class, we learned that squirrels eat baby birds. i was horrified, thinking they were gentle herbivores. Upon further research, we found out that squirrels get addicted to nicotine from eating ciagarette butts. One of my students said, "Oh my! One day we were sitting on the porch, and my aunt was smoking a cigarette. This squirrel kept jumping at her. Now I know why!"
And we all thought smooking was dangerous simply due to cancer?
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:And we all thought smooking was dangerous simply due to cancer?
Smooking is one of the most dangerous pastimes in human history. Much more dangerous than smoking.
Edit--you wouldn't think so, with a name like that, would you? It's the innocent sounding name that drawns them in, lulls them into a false sense of security, and then VHWOOM! there goes their future.
[ March 17, 2005, 04:26 PM: Message edited by: Noemon ]
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
I used to smook, back in my wild and carefree days. Now I just have flashbacks.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Smooking is kissing a smoker, right?
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
You *wish* it were as innocent as care free as kissing a smoker.
Posted by RackhamsRazor (Member # 5254) on :
we once had a family of mice living in our grill. My dad went out to cook burgers, lifted the grill lid and there was a momma mouse and all her babies sitting right in the middle of the grill. We cooked the burgers in the house on the stove that day. Posted by maui babe (Member # 1894) on :
Shortly after we moved to Maui, I kept getting mad at my daughter for putting the dog's food in the gas grill on our lanai. I made her clean it out, but the next time I'd go to use the grill, there was dog food in there again. I couldn't figure out why she kept putting dog food in the grill....
It was several years later I realized it was rats doing it. DOH!
I've since apologized to my daughter, but we laugh about it now. Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
ANNNND UPDATE:
The morning after setting the traps, only one had been tampered with. The snickers was eaten, the mouse had gotten away. It was the trap between the washer and dryer, and the glue part was covered with lint, apparently carried there by our rodent friend. He is either very wiley or very lucky to have had lint on his feet.
Another day and a night later, and no other traps have been touched. Also, there have been no more mouse sightings. This leaves us three options.
1. The mouse has gone away, scared by the fact that we are trying to capture it.
2. The mouse is asleep. It was a large piece of snickers he ate, and perhaps it is hibernating now.
3. The mouse does not like snickers, and my roommates and I are just too unobservant to have noticed the mouse on its quest for other food in the apartment.
I prefer option number one. But I suppose it is just too early to tell.
The Waiting Continues...
--ApostleRadio
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I've never had a mouse just go away.
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
I know, Noemon, but a boy can dream!
Posted by Myr (Member # 5956) on :
::pat pat::
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
OK, I am giving you option 4.
The mouse is not a mouse, but a shrew. Shrews communicate by sonar. The shrews found out you are trying to destroy them, and moved on. Cats will usually not kill shrews, as they are nasty, hateful, highly aggressive creatures. They tend to stick to the floor level, so you would not see droppings in higher cabinets.
Edit to add this quote from The Withches:
"The child is no longer a child. The child is a mouse.
(shudder)
That would be option 5.
[ March 18, 2005, 12:08 PM: Message edited by: Elizabeth ]
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
I get the feeling, Liz, that you are not fond of the shrew eh?
As a side note, my favorite local bluegrass band, which was supposed to disband, got back together and played a show last night. I missed it, but I hope it means they are planning on stickin' with it.
Sorry for the non-mouse related semi-news that nobody, including Liz probably, really cares about.
--ApostleRadio
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Well, how can I care if I do not know their name? Also, Del McCoury will be at Shakori Hills, dear. GO!!!
PS We had a Shrew Incident one winter, and it was scary. They have no fear! And it was one of those things where we caught and transported the nasty guy down to Amherst(they need some action), and when we got home, there was another one. Turns out, there were tons. My husband went from gently catchng and transporting them to whacking them repeatedly with a broom.
[ March 18, 2005, 12:16 PM: Message edited by: Elizabeth ]
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
Their name is Salt Creek. You have not heard of them. But if you have, that would be cool. They would think it was weird to have a fan way up in the north.
Also, I would go to the Festival, as you have suggested, except I have nobody to go with. Unfortunately my friends do not understand how I can listen to bluegrass without scraping my own eyes out with a spoon in pain. Perhaps if you were going, but you are skipping out on me.
--ApostleRadio
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Well, Shakori Hills is more about old time and Donna the Buffalo than bluegrass. Anyone else you could entice them with? How far away are you from Silk Hope? Honest, if it is not far, you would have fun all by yourself.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
My friends like Metal and Hip-Hop, so I think that saying they like music would be a stretch.
Never been a fan of Nickel Creek. And the drive is a little over 4 hours for me. If it were a little closer, then yeah, I'd probably go by myself. But I don't think I'll make it up there this time. Maybe another time. I'll just stick with the Festivals here in South Carolina for now.
We now return you to your usual mouse hunting thread...
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