Heartland

Hahaha! Yes, I suppose that could be a bit of a jolt, first thing in the morning! I remember years ago when my dad accidentally sucked up a tiny fieldmouse in the garage with the central vac (he'd removed the brush end for some reason, so the open nozzle was big enough to grab the poor mouse). Horrified, he brought the canister outdoors, and opened it gently on the picnic table. The mouse was still alive - and well, apparently, except for being covered in a thick layer of dust. It actually sneezed, rubbed the dust off its face, and scampered off!

Also, the sight of a wee dead mouse in my dad's house (the rodent was about the size of the end of my thumb, with tiny, perfectly-round ears) nearly made me cry! What a wuss.

SINsister wrote

It actually sneezed, rubbed the dust off its face, and scampered off!

They are pretty hardy really I'm alwqys amazed at what small gaps they can squeeze through. Before I moved it wasnearly always field mice I was getting,I couldn't get over how light and delicate they felt when you went to let them go, you can feel every boneas well , well perhaps you can't , but that's what it feels like.

I always got the feeling they were saying 'see you again sucker... at tea time'

Mainly beacuse they kept coming back

I used to end up walking half a mile to get rid in the Park, I allways had another visitor within the week

Anyway I'm sure you don't need to know the 1994 Mouse journal!

SINsister wrote:@EB: did you get that baby kitty pic here, by any chance?

Guilty as charged, ma'am.

The best option is a cat (although I have heard that cat hair is enough too, if you really want to leave fur balls around you pad). When the cat solves the mouse probelm, get a dog to take care of the cat.

If you go with traps, try chocolate (as noted) like chocolate chips as bait. Even better is peanut butter. Over time, mice may note former mice scents on the traps, so they may not be as effective over time.

It may not matter anyway if you can not find the hole where they are getting in. Finding their entrance may be tough, though.

Cat.

We had mice in the flat where I grew up. The landlord used poison. I've once seen a mouse die of it and believe me it's not a nice view. As soon as we had the cat the mice disappeared, she only had the chance to catch one once, and that I took away from her within minutes. So no blood stains and no agonies in our flat.

Just be aware of the fact that cats live for about 20 years. Are you prepared to take the responsability for such a long time?

Our dogs (<----) chase mice around the garden and quite occasionally even catch them... but then they are malamutes and I wouldn't really recommend letting them run around your house trying to catch a wee mousey.
You'd have no house left...

Oh and yes to the peanut butter in those safe plastic traps - works a treat.

Eva wrote:Just be aware of the fact that cats live for about 20 years. Are you prepared to take the responsability for such a long time?

Every time again, yes. They are the loveliest pets one can have (sorry Uncle J!), waaaay smarter than dogs, cuddlier than birds, more hygienic than all the rest (they cr@p in the neighbours' gairden, how clean can it be! ).

And the purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr .... oh...


IZ (<--- cat lover, apparently).

amatures

Make a sport of your mice!
First you need to get the right mood for it.

And then exercise your swiftness and precision of reaction.
But actually I do like these little bastards. Even though they ruined my furniture that was stowed in a garage when I had no flat for three months.

There was a whole mice village in my couch, books and sheets halfway eaten.. When I got into my current flat all that was left was the frame of my bed and a deskchair. The stench of the mice still stuck in the cardboard boxes with surviving things for a while, and when emptying one I had considerred clean, I found a mouse mother with two babys trying to suck milk from their dead mom, all three mummyfied. A sad sight, even after what they did to my belongings.

eotunun wrote:Make a sport of your mice!
First you need to get the right mood for it.

And then exercise your swiftness and precision of reaction.
But actually I do like these little bastards. Even though they ruined my furniture that was stowed in a garage when I had no flat for three months.

There was a whole mice village in my couch, books and sheets halfway eaten.. When I got into my current flat all that was left was the frame of my bed and a deskchair. The stench of the mice still stuck in the cardboard boxes with surviving things for a while, and when emptying one I had considerred clean, I found a mouse mother with two babys trying to suck milk from their dead mom, all three mummyfied. A sad sight, even after what they did to my belongings.

I'm now horrendously depressed ater reading that.

My garage mouse (well, you know, not 'mine' technically) has done one, and I miss him, even if he did rip the lining of one of my Docs to smithereens and make a nice little nest with it in the toe.

Jess - that is a very very cool looking cat, there's some serious attitude emanating from that expression. (what was that about pets reflecting their owners personalities? )

This is all I have to do with mice

MOUSES

I used to have an hamster, any good?

<---expects flood of Richard Gere and Pet Shop Boys innuendo

Planet Dave wrote: Jess - that is a very very cool looking cat, there's some serious attitude emanating from that expression. (what was that about pets reflecting their owners personalities? )

You might be onto something... After 16 years of domestic quarrel over dominance of this household we approximated.


Blast, Hamsters are really boring. They come right after the guinea-pig - the pinnacle of uselessness within the animal kingdom.

Talking about cats, a homepage can be made on any subject I guess.


http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/c ... igmiaow.pl

Grison wrote:Talking about cats, a homepage can be made on any subject I guess.


http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/c ... igmiaow.pl

Completely on-topic then!



IZ.

All of this talk of furry felines has made me jealous! I'd luuuuuuurve a kitteh, but I'm deathly allergic! So unfair.

SINsister wrote:I'd luuuuuuurve a kitteh, but I'm deathly allergic! So unfair.

See, all Cats Are Bastards!

Izzy HaveMercy wrote:

Eva wrote:Just be aware of the fact that cats live for about 20 years. Are you prepared to take the responsability for such a long time?

Every time again, yes. They are the loveliest pets one can have (sorry Uncle J!), waaaay smarter than dogs, cuddlier than birds, more hygienic than all the rest (they cr@p in the neighbours' gairden, how clean can it be! ).

And the purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr .... oh...


IZ (<--- cat lover, apparently).

Of course I toally agree....

Grison wrote: http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/c ... igmiaow.pl

Some of them look more like Charlie Chaplin than Hitler.



This little dude doesn't look like the Führer, but he's quite scary nonetheless, isn't he ?

It's a feckin' cat of course it's scary, wee bastard! pffff.....

Badlander wrote:

Grison wrote: http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/c ... igmiaow.pl

Some of them look more like Charlie Chaplin than Hitler.



This little dude doesn't look like the Führer, but he's quite scary nonetheless, isn't he ?

Yikes! You don't wanna be putting water on him, or feeding him after midnight.

Although on the positive side, there's a good chance you may be able to pick up Sky Sports (or the background microwave radiation from the big bang) on those ears...

ROFL!!! He looks like that other actor, too... What the heck's his name?

canon docre wrote:

James Blast wrote:I've said it before, looks like I'll have to say it again - Cats are Bastards!

thank you

why thank you, cat-fodder.

Pluton has a worthy companion when it comes to cat coolness...
(Now if someone could make Jess an avatar with the German version of "All your base are belong to us", we might just witness a complete cat takeover of this here forum )

I'll be back, against my better judgement...