It was while I watching Marketplace the other night, the consumers affairs type show with the episode on the dirty insides of hotels. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw something blurry, but being comfortably ensconced on the chesterfield, I wasn't about to bother investigating. Anyway, it didn't matter, because a couple minutes later the blur returned. Then I saw it run out from under the computer desk with an errant piece of popcorn and return to the kitchen. It seems I have a mouse.
I was surprisingly very calm about this discovery, then again I am not prone to being afraid of mice. Not like I am with something of the insect or arachnid species. That would make me involuntarily squeal. Seriously, I would squeal. It is slightly embarrassing. I say slightly, because I am usually too paralytic with frozen fear to care.
But a mouse, while not exactly welcome, and quite annoying, does not instil fear in me. I immediately got up and placed some more popcorn by the balcony door which, because it was a warm-ish night, was open. But the wee mousie never reappeared. And the popcorn was still there in the morning when I got up. Maybe he decided he didn't like Smartfood® after all. He probably wouldn't have gone outside, either. Perhaps he would guess that I would slam the door shut behind him.
Today, I spent 2 hours clearing out the entire cupboard space under the counter. I didn't see much evidence of him, but where else would he hide if not under the sink? Isn't that the usual place of entry? I have lived with such creatures before and ever since I've continued with the habit of putting everything from cereal and crackers to pastas and spices in glass jars. But in the 15 years I've lived in this apartment, this is the first mouse to venture into my living space and steal my Smartfood®.
A mouse trap is the only solution. It worked just fine for me a few weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteand since my last cat was a useless mouser, you may be right.
DeleteYep mouse traps. Way more reliable than a cat, and much less expensive.
ReplyDeleteand a quicker death , too, for the poor creature
DeleteIt depends on what kind of a mouse it is. Is it a field mouse? You may not want to kill it and get a humane trap. I hope you do. xox
ReplyDeleteI don't know what kind he is, but is a big 'un
DeleteI've never owned a cat myself, but everyone I know who has says that their cat was useless when it came to catching mice. So yes, maybe a mousetrap is a better idea than a cat. Unless you want a cat for other reasons than catching mice, I mean. In that case, getting a new cat is a great idea, and it just might be one of those apparently rare cats who actually does catch mice - bonus!
ReplyDeleteI think it needs to be an outdoor cat for it to be a good mouser. and perhaps a hungry cat.
DeleteYou can get live traps for mice. We had one in the kitchen about 7 years ago. It got into my tea towel drawer and pulled all the stuffing out of my oven mitts for a nest.
ReplyDeleteoh dear, I hadn't checked the drawers...
Deleteactually I haven't seen it for two days now. not sure what that means. I hope it isn't nesting somewhere.
If it is a lone mouse (and you can tell by the amount of droppings around), it may be a field mouse - which simply may have been carried in, inadvertently.
ReplyDeleteIf there is more than one, which happens wehn they travel from a house which abuts on to your one (said our mouse-man), it will breed, so, yes, it needs to be caught.
We found that a poisoned soap was the only thing to do it, though we've since found something which repels mice using ultra-sonic sound waves. Not sure how good that is.
I quite liked our mouse. He (I think it was he) used to come watch me workign on the computer, and would be almost contemptuous of my attempts to scurry him away. But my partner was horrified - and when the mouse-man said what he said, that was his (the mouse's not the mouse-man's) fate sealed.