Three times now, the mouse-rat has managed to snag cheese without setting off our three traps.
Then, having feasted on various bits of cheese, he heads up to the attic, pops open a bottle wine and flips through an old copy of Vanity Fair.
Not only is he a pest, he is an increasingly well-fed and clearly arrogant pest.
Furry little bastard.
Last night, Hubs bounded into the kitchen, opened the cabinet under the sink ... and sighed.
I peered over his shoulder. The trap, a huge, industrial-grade contraption that looks like something capable of catching a small raccoon, had been flipped over. The marbled cheddar was gone. (Hubs thought cheddar might be more enticing than plain old processed American. Apparently, it was.)
Foiled again.
Meanwhile, I continue to cringe. It's not just the image of a rodent romping through my house that skeeves me -- it's the increasingly distinct possibility that this thing is not only large, but street-smart.
And -- eek -- what if he has a family? What if there's a wifey-mouse-rat who's knocked up?
(OK, well, there's my disease-phobia. Yes, people, I have managed to keep from Googliong hanta virus. So far.)
Tonight's dinner menu for our mouse-rat: More cheddar. Because he likes it. And hell, maybe we'll even throw in a nice glass of Merlot, so that he'll be able to toast his success in eluding us once again.
16 comments:
Oh, Cathy. I am sorry. I was hoping the mouse-rat would be HISTORY this weekend. Apparently not. How about gluing that cheese to the trap?
I feel for ya. I do. I've been there, and I didn't enjoy it.
- Heidi
A street-smart rodent? Oh NO! Maybe, if you put something on the cheese, such as peanut butter or something, it would be harder for him to grab it and run - he might stand there for a while nibbling and get caught in the process. I don't know if it will work, but I'm just throwing out ideas for ya!
My boss uses small box traps to catch squirrels, so that might be an idea too.
Excellent post!!! Very funny - sorry about the mouse-rat though! Loved the post. See ya.
I have constant mouse problems and have tried all number of things. Once I got a bucket, half filled it with water, made steps up to the bucket with magazines, at the top of the steps balanced a wine bottle that had been greased with oil, which had a chunk of cheese stuffed in the top, poking out. The theory was the mouse would run up the steps, run out over the bottle to get the cheese, slip on the oil and fall into the water. Yeah, it sounds silly, and it didn't work either. Also took up lots of floor room in the middle of my kitchen. Have you tried pumpkin seeds instead of cheese? They stick to the trap better and mice apparently love em. Can't say I've had much luck though with any method but my cats. Good luck!
'Tis the season...for rodent invasion.
Now's when I tend to call the professionals to seal all holes and Do Their Thang.
GL!
Julie
Using My Words
Damn. Send him my way. They spontaneously die at my place.
At least the pet ones do...
I feel your pain. Just when I thought we were rid of our little bastards (we caught 2 in 2 days!), there is clearly one (oh, please let it only be one!)more living in the kitchen. And this one has set off traps but has escaped several times. I too hope that it isn't pregnant. Gah!
Hantavirus is more common in very dry areas of the SW aka Arizona. Chill my friend. Your rat likes good cheese and wine, he won't bite you. You might have to (gasp) call an exterminator. Take deep breaths and try not to be too anxious. You actually buy Vanity Fair?
Had one in CA that eluded us for weeks.
Finally - I concocted h'dourves for him.
Cheese balls hand rolled with peanut butter and dcon in the attic left on a nice flat serving tray - a STICKY tray, surrounded by a dozen other sticky trays.
Ugh, if there's one thing that's worse than a mouse-rat, it's a smart mouse-rat, and if there's one thing that's worse than a smart mouse-rat, it's a smart expectant-father mouse-rat.
Maybe if you give him enough Merlot he'll grow drunk and careless.
Wait! Takes your cheese without getting caught? Steals away to drink wine and read Vanity Fair?
You mean to tell me, I've been hanging out at YOUR house all this time?
Sorry, man. I had no idea I'd been causing so much trouble...
Signed,
Your friend, the pest
;-)
Ah, so your strategy is to get him drunk. That should make it harder for him to elude the trap. Slow response times and all that. ;)
Part of me is rooting for the mouse, though, you know. I must have had too many hamsters for pets as a kid.
Rat-ta-touille?
No likee the rodentia.
Two words: Peanut butter.
I rented a house while in college which had mice. I used a product called Havoc, which comes in a little paper bag. You buy it at a Co-op or feed and seed place.
Just throw the little bag (like a bag of M&Ms) where ever the mouse likes to hang out, he'll eat it and go away to spend his final days.
I never saw a mouse again after that.
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