Live Catch
Our neighbors are no doubt convinced we’re trafficking in illegal substances. They see us drive slowly to the neighboring park, get out with a bag, go into the woods, and then return several minutes later.But plain and simple we have mice once again. We have humanely trapped two so far in this little black trap, which lures them in with peanut butter.
Last night I drove the getaway car and my husband carried the bag. I wish I had taken a picture of the adorable mouse that got flung into the woods, but I was too busy holding the flashlight so he could see what he was doing.
My apologies to those who live near those woods, LR included. However, I can rather imagine the released mice forming small armies of little brown rodents and leading them back to our treasure trove of dirty drawers. Perhaps arriving even before we have parked the car.
We had talked about how to catch them this time. I have a real distaste for seeing their little necks and legs snapped in the Victor traps. My PT guy says he doesn’t even mind using glue traps, but hearing them scream in my attic doesn’t sound good either. So we settled on the live catch approach, which requires a trip to the woods every time we hit pay dirt.
Amazingly this morning the trap is still ready and waiting, so maybe it was just a pair this time. No doubt they will be back when they run out of dirty drawers in the other neighborhood houses.
posted by Barbara at 7:53 AM
14 Comments:
Good for you for offering a "relocation" program! Our neighbors have humane traps for groundhogs who still seem to find their way back to our gardens every summer. They're cute but they're greedy with the tomatoes.
LaCochran -- For now I feel good about being kind to the mice. If they just keep coming, I may resort to more extreme measures. I'm sure your groundhogs can do even greater damage!
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URRRRRGGGGG!!
basically - Steve of Bullet Hole fame - is in the hospital. Diagnosed with acute diabetes (apparently not noticed during the last 6 months or so).
If you get a chance, please stop by his blog and leave a well wish. And spread the word ....
thank you, Barbara!
xx
rdm
Bravo, Barbara!
When I was living in Sonoma County, I had a mouse who had a fondness for eating plastic. First he ate my tupperware pie crust rolling plastic. Then he started eating the plastic tube that connected the water to the dishwasher (which caused water to go all over the floor). After replace two of those tubes, I put down traps and managed to "catch" my toe... twice. Those traps are painful. They plumber that replaced the plastic tube told me that mice often come in from fields. He suggested that I go to all the "holes" in my house, where pipes come in from the outside and line those pipes with that pink fiberglass stuff... and stuff then so that there was no space that the mice could get in. I did that... and no more plastic-eating mice!
RDM -- Thanks for the heads-up on our buddy Bulletholes.
Merle -- That is high praise coming from a hardware guy. I added you as a link to my Blog. Should have done it a long time ago.
Kelly -- Good ideas on plugging up the holes. I'm almost sure our mice are coming in from the attic. It might be hard to find all the potential holes...
Paco and our cat were both good at catching the mice who lived in our horse stable - and this was probably necessary. But when i saw one running away,I must admit I always helped it. They have so cute faces!
Angela -- I have a hard time killing any living thing.
I don't know what I'd do with mice. Live in peaceful coexistence? Move? I'd probably move.
Between the 3 dogs and the 2 cats, we don't have any rodents *in* the house. However, we periodically get rats nesting *under* the house. I always know when they're there, because the dogs will always be sniffing and digging at the area of the floor the rats are under. It's an older home with no insulation in the floorboards, so the dogs can actually smell and hear the evil things.
I bought glue traps once, thinking that I could just remove them from the glue and release them.
It doesn't work that way.
our mice are getting cheekier
we'll be getting a cat after christmas!
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