Ouch! It's been a learning day, that's for sure. The mouse trap taught me where to put my thumb when I release the trap part. (NOT where I had put it, for sure.)
Charles, the guy who takes care of the lawn and the AC/plumbing/etc., recommends sticky traps. I don't like them because they don't kill the mouse outright. They just terrify it for however long it takes for you to discover you've caught it. And THEN you have to kill it yourself--with your bare hands. Drowning it in the toilet is horrible for all concerned. Charles says "Just toss it in the dumpster." That, at least would remove it from my sight while it dies. Ugh.
I hate this. I hate that I can't have a cat any more to deal with mice.
I'm learning, too, that unpleasant household tasks like this have to be done with forethought. You can't just march into the hardware store and buy supplies for ridding yourself of mice.
Outside of that, it was a very pleasant day...not too hot, not too rainy, not too fraught on the red line. I did exit the system, however, when I saw the wait time for the next train was increasing by two minutes every 5 minutes or so. Nuts to that.
Almost immediately, I was very lucky to catch a bus going toward the BIG SUNDAY FARMERS MARKET at Dupont. And I read another 10 or so pages in my new library book, then transferred to the yellow line and hoofed it from U St./Cardozo to the market.
Two guys were handing out free soy yogurt. It was no good, but the free coupon book they also provided had only one coupon devoted to soy yogurt, and the rest to the kind made from good old cow's milk.
Our cat used to catch mice, but now he's too lazy, so we have to trap them. Our big problem now, though, is termites!
ReplyDeleteHattie: They can be nightmarish. I painted the interior of a very nice house once, and when I was prepping the walls, I went to fill the nail holes with spackle. Alas, my spackle knife sank into the wall...the termites had eaten the paper covering of the wallboard behind the paint. never saw that before--or since!
ReplyDeleteWhat a mousy story! Oh, your poor finger -- that smarts! The whole idea of having to encounter still living creatures is so repellent to me, much less having to dispose of them. My dtr had that mouse problem in a brand new condo near Boulder, Colo. years ago. Think they had to get the owner to do some sort of extermination, finally.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago after moving into this house, we began hearing at night racetrack sounds in the attic space above our bedroom. Proved to be fruit rats -- we had a peach tree then. My poor husband set traps as you describe, though larger, and had the unwelcome task of retrieving, emptying, then resetting them until all the varmits/varmints were gone. Workers found where they had accessed the attic space and fixed the screen. I would be more than unhappy if they ever were able to return. Think I would have to hire someone to get rid of them.
Joared: our condo sent an exterminator around, but he just did the usual periodic bug spray. the mouse, however, has been GONE since. maybe he can't stand the smell, either.
ReplyDeletewe used to get those racetrack-in-the-attic sounds at the lake--but they were just adorable chipmunks. i caught all kinds of heck one time when I tried to trap one. hmm....maybe this is
beneath my angst over trapping the mice.
Your mouse situation is stressful -- you don't want them there, but how to get rid of them? Having a soft place in my heart for rodents (former rat owner!), I abhor the idea of those glue pads. Better a quick snap of the trap than a slow death for the little critters.
DeleteHope you had a restorative, relaxing trip to the farmers' market!
Linda: I never got to the farmers market, but I did have a happy trip to WF, where I cashed in the rest of my birthday gift card (almost 9 months old!!) and got baking potatoes and milk (which I rarely buy) for making bread!!
ReplyDeleteStill no further sign of the mouse, either. What I find stressful about the mouse is the UNCERTAINTY! Where is it now? What is it doing? Why me? Everyone else here seems shocked to hear there's a mouse in the house.
This has never been my way with these things. I've always felt they are fellow creatures. Clearly I have a lot to learn in my old age!!