Thursday, September 29, 2011

Hey, Hey Mickey: get out of my house!

Returning to my house after the summer away had turned into being a bit more interesting this year than it normally is. Typically I come back to Ellensburg, unload all my stuff, get together my room, grocery shop and I'm ready to go. 

Rewind 2 weeks before: My one roommate calls and says she spotted a mouse in the house in the laundry room (which happens to be just adjacent to my living quarters) and she closed the door to trap it in. The other roommate claims theres not mouse droppings or any traces of a mouse so maybe there isn't one?

Back to the present:  We find mouse droppings behind the mini fridge. NO! Then next we start to hear faint scratching only to realize that our worst fears are confirmed: we have mice visitors. 

So we begin operation get rid of the mice in the house that is not occupied by 4 girls and a dog. 

Our first step get mouse trap things: First of all I know nothing about trapping a mouse or what you even do you even do when you think you have mice!? So one of my roommates and I go to the cat litter/rodent trapping section/ant bait section (who thought to put those together??) in Fred Meyer and ponder the possible options. So we first out ruled the Dcon poison because of Henna (the pup) so now were down to snap traps which aren't as appealing because 1) there's a possibility they could snap them and spray blood 2) we feel kind of bad because it snaps their neck and 3) we would have to dispose of the trap/mouse body upon catching it. AH. So we choose 2 packs of the Dcon fake cheese pre baited snap traps for 1.99 each.


Day 1 of Operation Catch Mickey (possibly Mickies): We set up an put out the traps, FYI DO NOT TOUCH THE FAKE CHEESE, it smells disgusting and in turn makes anything you touch the cheese with smell like unmentionable things. We also put a bit of peanut butter on the fake cheese as an extra lure because one of the roommates said mice like peanut butter, so we thought it would be a good idea. We place the traps in various places and let the magic happen. 

Day 2: We still hear rustling, and the smart little creatures have managed to figure out how to lick all the peanut butter off the fake baited wedge of cheese and NOT activate the snapper. Could they really be outsmarting us? 

Day 3: STILL NO DEAD MICE...

Fast Forward 2 days (Days 4,5): Roommate comes from home with Victor brand mouse traps which look a bit different so we thought we'd give them a try, what the heck we've got nothing to lose besides yucky mice intruders. 


Day 6: Roommates come wake me up bright and early to say good morning, then proceed to check the traps SUCESSSSSSSSSSS. What we have learned so far Vector Brand Mouse traps are Superior to Dcon We proudly now have caught our very own what we think is a deer mouse it was about the size of a small dinner roll and its neatly stuck in the trap. First thought: YES! we caught one Second thought: YUCK we have a dead mouse and now we have to dispose of it. So we use a broom to scoop the dead mouse & Trap into the little picker upper and send him to a watery grave in the Ganges irrigational river behind the house. Tip number two: It's SO much easier, more sanitary and better for your mental health to just buy new traps and throw the mouse with trap in tow into the proper receptacles. another FYI a mouse in a trap does not float. 

Day 7: Nothing today, it was quite disappointing after the excitement yesterday yet there is still mouse racket throughout the day. They're taunting us.

Day 8: ANOTHER MOUSE, this ones a baby, like as small as a roma tomato baby. My first reaction was "aw sad a little baby" then it turned into "SUCKER!" yes another one! But that means theres probably more--unfortunately. Another catch means that theres more where that came from does it ever end? I am then informed that mice can reproduce at a god awful rate of about every 2 weeks

Wikipedia says: Female house mice have an estrous cycle that is 4–6 days long, with estrus itself lasting less than a day. If several females are held together under crowded conditions, they will often not have an estrus at all. If they are then exposed. to male urine, they will become estrous after 72 hours.

AWESOME.NOT. This is an uphill battle and we are not winning. 

Day 9: Dispose of the baby dead mouse again in a watery grave. I hope that no one finds these and they sink before making it to any visible public place and I hope that I'm not breaking the law in anyway. Side note: Look this up. 

Night of Day 9: Laying in my bed trying to sleep I realize a racket in the wall of my bedroom that adjoins the laundry room. The racket gets continuously louder racket-ie-r and ferocious, what could they be doing in there!? ( I say they but I hope its only one) I'm thinking that these mice are declaring war because we murdered their youngest child....needless to say I was up all night afraid I was going to get dive bombed by some mice. Henna isn't the least bit interested in the mice she hasn't smelled around or been disturbed by them, this is when I wished she had more cat like tendencies.

So no we're on day 11 and still have not caught any more mice. We vetoed the Dcon pre-baited snap traps (They GUARANTEE catching a mouse, they have failed and I'm requesting a refund) and replaced them with a different Dcon trap that is a little circle you place the bait into luring the mouse in and snaps it shut in the little container and it indicates on the top that you have a mouse. They've been out for a night now and nothing and we have had ferocious scratching around so we know there are still more out there. Orkin man is coming tomorrow to "inspect the situation" for the money you have to pay one of these exterminators they better bring you flowers and wine as well as more mouse traps. Always call around to different exterminators and take the time to explain your situation. Don't be afraid to ask what exactly the price covers because they could be ripping you off. I called all 5 in the Ellensburg area and decided on Orkin, although they are still awfully expensive.



So now I'm here sitting, just heard the mouse rattling, writing this, hoping I do not get attacked every time I have to walk through the laundry room into my bedroom. I'm constantly on edge and I just want to get these mice taken care of! It's definitely my first encounter with this type of thing. Usually I would just get my man to do it, but since there is no man, I have to fend for myself. This may be a learning experience so I thought I would share with you my trials and tribulations. 

The battle is not over yet, we will not stand down, we will not give up, we will keep fighting. 
Even though this an uphill battle. The fact I have to say that about Mice makes me so MAD and slightly, no very annoyed! But I suppose when I'm a mother, there will be worse things I will have to deal with.

Until next time...hopefully I've caught another one.

Cam 
Superwoman-In-Training :)