DogHouseMom

Can't help you but I have a funny (and long) story to share.

Home alone, late at night in February 2002. Earlier I had made a bowl of popcorn and deposited the empty (large stainless steel) on the counter next to the oven. I was on the phone with a night owl friend, and doing dishes, and in my jammies.

I had the phone on my shoulder and I was washing a glass and it broke and cut my hand - bad! Just as I was wrapping a towel around my hand I heard a noise that sounded like needles falling on steel. While talking on phone and wrapping my bleeding hand, I saw a mouse in the popcorn bowl. The sound was him trying to jump out but he couldn't get high enough so he kept sliding back down. The bowl was part of a set of stacking bowls, so I grabbed the bowl that was the next size down and popped it on top of the bowl with the mouse. Then I grabbed a garbage bag, picked up both bowls and popped them into the garbage bag. I took the bag and put my parka on over my jammies, and went out to the van depositing the mouse/bowls/bag in the back of the empty van. I drove to the other side of the interstate (about 1/4 mile), and down a dirt road. Suddenly a mouse ran across the center console, jumped to the floor, then UP my pajama leg.

Bear in mind ... I'm STILL on the phone (and my girlfriend hasn't stopped talking so she is clueless about ANY of this)!!

I jammed on the breaks, put the van in park, threw the door open, jumped out into a snow back (bedroom slippers - not shoes) and started doing the slap dance. Picture that - 40 something woman in jammies and a parka doing a slap dance in a snow bank on a dirt road at about 1:00 AM on a cold February night (morning).

Mouse came out and went merrily on his way to freedom. Yippee. I named him Colonel (get it ... kernal of corn?).

Back to the van, drove home, gathered bowls in bag sans mouse and went back into the house. At that point my friend finally stopped telling me her woes and asked "so ... what did you do tonight?"

uhhh ... where to start???

Oh, the hand healed fine eventually. Hurt like the dickens for a long time though.

Naturalmama

DogHouseMom - I loved your story! :thumbup: :lol:

As for mouse traps, I can only feel good about the havahart metal live traps. We've caught tons in them and they work great. And we get to let the poor things live.

Up North

I have electronic ones they were not that expensive and after about a month we have no mice here, Other than that we use the snap kill ones. I find if we let them go they bring their friends back for the free for all!

frugalfabrics

put peanut butter on a cotton ball for your bait...guaranteed to catch the little varmit!

My neighbor was a pest control guy...and that's what they used.

Charlee

I have the plug in things...."Rid-X"...evidently emit an ultrasonic sound that deters the critters...and they work! :)
Before I got those, I cleaned out the hall closet one day and found what should have been an empty box FULL of dog food...little critter was storing up for winter, I guess!

Japonica

Dog House Mom...hysterical story.

I have used the old fashioned traps and the glue ones. Caught two on a glue pad just last month. They were still alive though (hated that). The two of them were moving in all dirwections to try and get their little feet of the darn glue. Sad, yet funny somehow.

patty48

Dog House Mom....I'm still laughing

As for traps, we use the good old fashion ones. Soooo cheap I just throw trap and mouse out....(with my eyes closed)

ptquilts

the glue ones are NOT humane!! Imagine having your feet glued down and slowly dying from whatever - ugghhh!

I had a problem with mice a few years ago - you HAVE to keep them out of the house - when the snow is gone, if you have snow, go around the whole outside of the house probing for any tiny holes a mouse could get into, and seal them up with expanding foam, steel wool, or whatever. Other wise you will be trapping them forever. There is a world of mice outside and they want to come in!!


Let me just say, I HATE MICE!!! If I could have a cat I would but it is not an option.

ginnie6

ok I got a story too! I lived with my Grannie growing up and she kept a passel of cats outside so never really had mice problems. Dh and I got married and lived in this dinky OLD little trailer. One day I was sitting in the kitchen and I kept hearing this squeak. I thought the dog had gotten another rooster from a neighbors who raised cocks. I went to move the curtain back to look out and there on the top of the chair...the one I was JUST sitting in! was a mouse! Now dh had just gotten one of those co2 bb guns and had left it on the counter......Imagine his surprise when he hears me screaming bloody murder, runs in the trailer, and there I am ON the kitchen table (cause the mouse couldn't run up my leg as easily there ya know) SHOOTING the bb gun at the long gone mouse! The first thing I did when I got off that table was head to my Grannie's and "borrow" a cat!

suezquilts

The funny mouse story, not funny!
Our home is 1848 here in the valley we were the first home, it was a cabin. Since then additions 1912, 1920, 2007. Lots of cracks around the outside of the home. My hubby loves that foam you use to fill cracks. He has totally fixed the mouse problem.
Since we tore off the 1920 addition we have had no mice. Not upstairs at all. Our main basement is in the 1800's but is in good shape, DH has used foam down there too.