I have a house guest

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Mad Cook

Master Chef
Joined
Jun 9, 2013
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North West England
Went out in the garden yesterday to sort out the bird feeders and left the back door open. Came in, made some scones and left them to cool while I went to put Horse to bed. Came home, went to make a cup of tea and fill my hot water bottle. As I turned to the kettle I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye but decided it was the reflection of the light on my spectacles. Looked again and there was a mouse disappearing down the side of the C/H boiler. She was waddling not running, as they usually do and was a curious, lumpy oblong shape so I assume she was female and pregnant. Yuck!

Fortunately, I'd bought some rat and mouse killer to take to the stables for the feed room so I put some down near the boiler. Judging by the minor spillage she'd eaten some of it but the instructions say it takes a week to act so given her apparent "interesting condition" I decided more drastic steps were necessary. I went out and bought a mouse trap and dug in the back of my store cupboard for a jar of peanut butter - apparently it's a mouse's favourite food. I've decided to put some PB on the trap tonight but not set it, to get her used to the idea and tomorrow night I'll set it.

We will see what we will see.

Have been scrubbing all surfaces in the kitchen where she might have been although I haven't seen any tell-tale signs of her progress round the kitchen and I threw the scones out for the birds. I think I need to borrow a cat!
 
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Oh dear, hope you get her before she delivers! You know, borrowing a cat might not be a bad idea, you'd have to put the poison away though. Living in the country, with a steady supply of critters, we've had good success with dCon Mouse Bait. Don't know if it's available in the UK.
 
A cat is what you need.

But why borrow when you can get one all your own? :D

They make great friends and will take care of your "guest" problem for years to come.

Just be sure to let them know they have a job and if you see a "guest" while they're around it's out the door for them.;)

Good luck with your "issue". I really hate the little buggers. They are just plain nasty. Mickey/Minnie they are not. :(
 
I had a job where the supply closet was in my office. The door to it was also where the water pipes ran. So at the bottom of the door was a vent so that the heat of the office could get inside to keep the pipes warm. I opened the door one day, and there right at the door edge were three tiniest baby hairless blind mice you could imagine. Not even as big as my baby finger. The mother had put them there to keep them warm. I went and got a sticky mouse trap, put it right over them and proceeded to toss them into the dumpster outside where it was freezing. They were field mice that had come inside for the warmth. :angel:
 
I have always wondered how poison works inside the house.
What if the mouse dies inside?

I have a cat, so I never see any mice unless they are dead. I had a cat once that jumped in my lap while holding a quite large rat once. Made me jump up and SCREAM, like a girl.
 
Such is country living MC. It has to be done although do I detect a note of regret/sadness at the little mouse just living her life? Anyone who has lived in the country has had to deal with it. I came face to face with a rat once,( hate rats..I thought) I was as scared as she was as she turned and ran to hide but not before making eye contact with me first. I felt a real 'heel' when I put the poison down but put it down I did although I found no pleasure in it.
 
I have always wondered how poison works inside the house.
What if the mouse dies inside?

I have a cat, so I never see any mice unless they are dead. I had a cat once that jumped in my lap while holding a quite large rat once. Made me jump up and SCREAM, like a girl.

They smell for months if they happen to be inside the wall when they die. Trust me, you don't want to know. Fortunately, it was in an addition to the house that was at the back, still had the original outside wall except for the door into/out of the addition and had lots of jalousie windows that could be kept open since it was cooled with a window shaker and wasn't part of the house's ventilation. It was a house we rented while we were waiting for ours to be built and I guess the landlords or the previous tenant had used poison.

When I was about 10, we had an inside/outside cat that loved to bring us "presents" and leave them at the back door. They weren't always dead either. One night, she was making all kinds of noise and I decided to go out and get her to bring her in. Well, she'd brought a present and was playing with it on the carport. She brought it over and dropped it at my feet. It wasn't dead and got up to run away when I started screeching. Unfortunately, it apparently was confused, scared, injured whatever because when it got up to run, the cat started to chase it and it chose to run around me in big circles. I'm jumping up and down, screeching at the top of my lungs because I'm scared to death the mouse is going to try to climb me to get away from the cat. My mother comes to the door, sees what's happening and ends up taking the broom to the cat and mouse, who both decided retreat was their best action when being confronted with the broom.
 
Medtran49, Thank you for that visual image. I now have a smile on my face. ;)

You do know that wonderful cat brought it to your feet because it wanted to contribute to the household? :rolleyes:

Pets???? Ain't they wonderful. :D
 
I had a tomcat who was afraid of mice... lazy as he was, he became a good runner when a mouse appeared... he was away for the next hour, hidden somwhere and probably trembling... :D
 
You guys haven't had your heart jump started until you've had a mouse mama scurry across your foot with all her babies holding onto her bum. It's like some kind of alien spider, as all the pink tails look like legs and the bodies all appear as one at first. Yowza. Since then I've started tying drier sheets under the hood of my tractor and haven't had a nest since.
 
You guys haven't had your heart jump started until you've had a mouse mama scurry across your foot with all her babies holding onto her bum. It's like some kind of alien spider, as all the pink tails look like legs and the bodies all appear as one at first. Yowza. Since then I've started tying drier sheets under the hood of my tractor and haven't had a nest since.
:LOL::ROFLMAO:
Nope, never had that happen.
 
Please explain the dryer sheets?????

Lucy & Ethel have kept the vermin away and before them Molly (The best mouser in the world) did. I'm interested in how dryer sheets work.
 
Please explain the dryer sheets?????

Lucy & Ethel have kept the vermin away and before them Molly (The best mouser in the world) did. I'm interested in how dryer sheets work.

We started putting dryer sheets in our boat a few years ago for winter storage, after a slip neighbor had his cockpit upholstery torn up by some kind of rodent. It was suggested that mice, squirrels and other small rodents can't stand the smell. I don't know if it's true but we have never had any during winter storage.
 
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MC, good luck in evicting your unwanted guest. Doesn't matter dead or alive, just so long as she's gone!

A cat is what you need.

But why borrow when you can get one all your own? :D....
We had evidence of a mouse in our first house. Actually, as our neighbor said when we told him, you never have one mouse. We set a trap or two and after the originals were gone we ended up being adopted by a stray kitty. Have had a cat since then, being on our second cat and third house since the Mouse Invasion...and have never seen evidence of a mouse again! Besides, it's a whole lot nicer to have that cat snuggle on your lap than one of pac's alien mice cuddling your ankle. ;)
 
Please explain the dryer sheets?????...

...It was suggested that mice, squirrels and other small rodents can't stand the smell. I don't know if it's true but we have never had any during winter storage.
We had a garage mouse build a nest in the heater fan in my van. Hundreds of $$$ and a new fan later, our mechanic said we should put moth balls under the cars since the mice didn't like the smell. Hmm, we weren't real thrilled with that smell either. Might try the dryer sheets, although haven't seen any mice presents since we've been using the moth balls.
 
I'm guessing it was referring to "Three Blind Mice".

Yep, I believe you are right. I couldn't for the life of me remember which nursery rhyme it was. I think Mary, Mary, quite contrary won that one if I remember correctly. Outstanding displays regardless of who won for the most part.
 

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