We don't have cats anymore to take care of the critters that get into the house. Here, Annie and Leo are tracking a mouse.
This afternoon, Ward and I were sitting in the family room, where he was showing me how a complicated puzzle box he was making worked. Then he said, "I just saw a floater or a mouse ran under that chair." I said I hoped it was a floater! He lifted the chair, and a little field mouse ran out and under the couch.
I hate to admit it, but I'm a stereotypical female who does not like mice running around her house. I didn't quite scream, "EEK!" but I did put my feet up in the chair when I saw the mouse scurry for cover. However, I got down to help Ward find where we had put the mouse traps. It took a bit, but we found the traps, and Ward baited one with sunflower seeds and peanut butter. I'm dreading hearing the trap snap, but even more, I'm dreading the thought of a mouse scurrying over me in bed tonight.
I wish we could just open the door and shoo it out, but it's much too scared for that to happen easily. Of course, outside, it could be victim to the many hawks we see riding air drafts, but that's more in line with the circle of life.
Anyway, there's a mouse in the house, and I feel silly worrying about it. But at least I'm not freaking out like the time we found a snake taped to our wall.
I am an accidental eeker. I do not intend to do it but a mouse causes it every time. We find a field mouse occasionally after the first cold snap in late fall.
ReplyDeleteIt is unusual to have a mouse in the house this time of year. We usually see them when the weather gets colder in the fall like you do. In our old house they would consistently get stuck in the walls, die, and then stink as they decayed. That was not fun.
DeleteMaybe it's time to think about getting another kitty to keep the mice away! Hopefully Ward will dispose of the traps for you, once the mouse is caught in it. That's the part I dislike the most, disposing the dead mice!
ReplyDeleteWe'd have a cat in an instant, but I'm allergic to them. Wish I wasn't, but it is what it is. Thankfully, if we catch this mouse, Ward will take care of it.
DeleteHopefully the little mouse has not invited friends in.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, all of his friends are still outside and he has joined them.
DeleteMy grand mother once told me the tale of having a mouse in her pantry, but when she went to kill it looked like it was having babies so she let it go|!
ReplyDeleteI understand your grandmother's feelings, and I hope she was at least able to get them outside before all of the babies arrived.
DeleteMaybe your dogs scare them off. Our cats never scared them off, but they did take care of them when the mice got in.
ReplyDeleteEek away, no judgment here! Our current cats have tracked a couple of mice but haven't yet killed any. My husband didn't want them to accidentally snap the trap, so he rigged up a trap on a beam in the basement which was attached to a string. It worked, caught the mouse, and apparently the cats were mesmerized by the situation. To them it was a fun new toy.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun cat "toy". When we had cats, we would put the mouse trap in a box with a hole big enough for the mouse to get in, but not the cats. That worked for us.
DeleteThat's probably a smarter idea than what we did!
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