How To Catch a Mouse in the House
Written on December 1, 2006 – 11:25 am | by gaulardcom |
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For the past few weeks, I have been engaged in a fierce battle with a mouse in our house. An evil vermin, if you will. Recently, our cats have been sitting quietly on the kitchen floor, staring at the lower cabinets. Laura claimed there was a mouse in there, but I hesitated to believe her.
I was wrong to hesitate and I can admit that. The reason I can admit that is because I really do have a wonderful personality. People tell me that all the time. Ok, really now…
Anyway, I decided to purchase those little gray humane mouse traps. I got the ones made by Victor. Well, the first night, there was evidence of a real mouse. He (or she) decided to enter the trap, eat the peanut butter and leave. Ok, fine. I reset the trap.
The second night, the mouse entered the trap, ate the peanut butter and the trap door shut behind him. Well, the mouse decided to kick the door off the hinge and escape.
I knew I was in over my head. This mouse, or whatever it was, was stronger than me. Stronger and smarter. I needed some heavier ammo. I went to the store and purchased the next trap up the chain of traps. I set that sucker and hoped for the best. Morning came and I checked the trap to see if my prize was there…ummm…all I found was a trap with no peanut butter and a bunch of chew marks on it. At this point, I concluded that this was no mouse at all. It was either a raccoon or a bear.
I repaired the trap by using a hose clamp to tighten down the lid. No luck. The mouse entered the trap the next night, laughed and proceeded to eat the peanut butter and leave. How he does this is a mystery to me. After his good meal, I think he may have climbed up to our sink for a quick back stroke and sponge bath.
I contemplated getting a bigger and better trap. The one I wanted costs about $18. But first, I wanted to try the last cheap method. I happened to be in Wal-Mart the other day and saw this very simple box with a hinge-door. It was so simple and cost only $1. I bought it to give it a try.
I set the trap and waited. Two nights ago, I heard some commotion in the kitchen and woke up to see what was going on. I saw the trap just sitting there in a new position. Nothing.
I set the trap again last night. Well, around 5:30 this morning, I heard a very distant scratching noise. My ears were very sensitive by this point. I went out to see if there was an empty trap and LOW AND BEHOLD, A MOUSE!!!!! I caught the beast. I cute little (but very strong and smart) field mouse. We stared in each other’s eyes for a good long time. I saw the defeat in him and he saw the pride in me. Nothing but respect. We both knew the game was over. Check mate.
I drove down the road and let him go in the woods. He quickly bounced away and stopped to give me one last glance. I swear I heard, “Good bye my worthy adversary.” Maybe it was the wind…
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7 Responses to “How To Catch a Mouse in the House”
By Paul on Dec 3, 2006 | Reply
Where are the pictures?
By Kat on Dec 19, 2006 | Reply
Aww that’s a cute story and one fit mouse.
It’s good you let him go. Even though now he’ll be able to build a whole family of really smart mice!
By Tra on Jan 1, 2007 | Reply
What was the name of the trap that you found at walmart? I came home to discover I have a field mouse in my house.
By gaulardcom on Jan 1, 2007 | Reply
I am not sure. It is shaped like a simple clear/blue rectangle box. It has one plastic flap as the door. If you take a look at what they have, you most likely won’t confuse it with something else.
By Jules on Mar 30, 2007 | Reply
I have been trying to catch a stack of crafty little critters in my house for the past few days!
They love peanut butter….and pumpkin seeds! And they always get the darn food without getting caught! (like 5 minutes after I set it out for them…little rascals!)
I will persevere though….your story has given me hope….lol
(I wonder if we have traps like the last one you mentioned down here in Australia….hmmm)
By nicki on Dec 5, 2007 | Reply
I can so relate to your story!! I have caught 5 crafty little creatures but this last one (hopefully the last one) has been eating the peanut butter and running away. I don’t just set 1 snap trap I set 2 or 3. So now I must call in the heavy artilery, snap traps, glue traps and the little house that catches them alive. I even ordered off the net some stuff you sprinkle around your house and can even put inside to keep them away. I am glad someone else has a smart mouse in the house, but I will PREVAIL!!!!!
By jaygaulardcom on Dec 5, 2007 | Reply
Just remember that the snap traps and glue traps kill the mouse. The mouse really didn’t do anything wrong, so it probably doesn’t deserve to be murdered. That’s why people are now using the animal friendly traps.