We have a fieldstone fireplace “under construction” for the last 20 years or so (the rocks placed in position, no cement); last year, troubled by the hordes of mice that were apparently using it as a hide-out, we disassembled those rocks - to find that the mice had created some sort of hidden city in there, with birthing nests, stores of seeds, and even an apparent royal tomb complete with a mummified “mouse Tut”.
Unfortunately the mice had not yet invented sewers …
Glue traps are barbaric. Take them up and complain to your landlord. they are horrible. You do not want to experience so much as a cockroach stuck to one of those things. A mouse, fuhgeddaboudit. Even you would be back here like “How am I going to save this poor little mousie?”
And I sincerely doubt little old guy is going to be on call to come collect the desperate little mouse at 3:30am when he gets stuck to the thing.
No, don’t let them stay in your place.
The traps you have are the best solution. The landlord needs to address the rest of the building as well though.
This won’t help you at all MOL, but at least it may provide some entertainment.
Many years ago, I was a young magazine editor at a magazine where the publisher had just stuck the magazine offices in a corner of a lightning-static discharger factory. We were back by the warehouse, which was chock full of old magazines and promotional materials and other cardboard boxes full of paper. Mice LOVE paper, apparently. So our office was infested. We’d be working along and, Oh look! Mice running through the office. Egad, right? So the boss instructs the maintenance guys to catch/kill said mice and those dudes show up with those goddamn glue traps. I went to lunch. A few weeks later, I’m working away, and I hear this awful, horrified squeaking. I look all around the office, but I can’t find the mouse that is probably stuck on a glue trap somewhere. Finally I found him. Under my desk. INCHES away from my feet, screaming and crying and begging for mercy and cheese. I call maintenance, “Oh it’ll stop squeaking…” Um no. Get your lazy maintenance asses down here right this goddamn minute and kill this poor mouse. I am not going to sit here and try to work while listening to the death cries of a trapped mouse. It harshes my buzz.
So yeah, they just scooped up the glue trap, tossed it in a plastic bag, knotted the bag closed, and tossed the bag in the dumpster out back. The mouse was still alive, squeaking and struggling the whole time.
:: shudder ::
My 15-year-old Boston terrier caught a mouse in the backyard once, just a few months before she was put down. I was astounded, after I wrestled said critter out of her mouf. I asked her, “How the hell did a mostly deaf, mostly blind, 15-year-old decrepit ass dog manage to catch a mouse? What, did it jump up in your mouth while it was open or something?”
I was at work laughing my ass off over this thread when a movement outside the window caught my eye. I went over and looked, and lo and behold, there were five big-ass vultures/buzzards/big ugly bird-like objects eating something in the field. The kind of bird that looks like they have intestines or something wrapped around their heads.
You need a couple of those units for your mousie problem. THAT’S the kind of Mouse Eradication System that’s fit for a Mean Old Lady.
Yes, glue traps are barbaric and disposing of the trapee will not be fun.
On the other hand, the other traps haven’t worked so far. MOL has not slept for two days while unsanitary vermin are running around her apartment having a party.
The first time (and last, dammit!) I ever used a glue trap, I was horrified by the results. Similar to Dogzilla’s story.
I did try to rescue the mousie. Nope. Couldn’t be done. I rather broke the wee crittur in my foolish, well-intentioned blundering. Horrid. Ultimately, I crushed the whole mess with a brick, but it was a hideous experience.
Live traps. The Tin Cat. It actually works, and I can sentence the mouse to transportation. The nearby canyon serves as my local Botany Bay.
(Yeah, I know, I’m really just sentencing them to death by owl or rattlesnake. So it goes.)
Just to slam the point home, I had the lovely experience of noticing a cockroach squirming on one. His front was stuck to it, and a herd of other cockroaches were lunching on his behind.
Just saying that in my experience, Chicago mice are clever. I was living in Ukrainian Village a few years back and there was some kind of mouse epidemic; just before winter started they had knocked down a few nearby buildings and everyone I knew had mice in their apartments. It was a nightmare. I hate mice. They carry disease, they’re creepy; they’re like larger, smarter faster cockroaches. Hate them.
I had traps everywhere. Nothing. I once actually observed – from a distance – a mouse remove the bait from a baited glue trap. He put one paw in, snatched the bait, and then wriggled free.
So in the end I just poisoned them all. Got some D-Con, put it out in a few choice corners, and a couple of days later the mouse threat had ended. By that time of course I had absolutely no qualms about killing every last one of them as they had made my life a living hell for weeks. Some people had claimed that they would die inside the walls and smell up the place, but that didn’t happen. I mean, maybe they died in the walls – probably, even, as I never found any carcasses – but I never smelled anything.
So I recommend giving it a couple of days for the traps to work, but if that doesn’t work get some poison. Poison them all.
I’ve used glue traps, only in situations where I could be monitoring the traps (a mouse was never left on there more than 10 minutes). Mouse-on-trap went into a garbage bin, bin was taken next door to the huge field, a copious amount of vegetable oil was dumped onto the mouse… wait 2-3 minutes (sometimes less), tip garbage bin, out runs mouse. I never lost one- including the one I referred to in the story on page two, who was stuck between the glue trap and my dog’s paw.
If you’re squeamish, though, or if the trap will be left for long periods, I totally agree- don’t use glue.
Ha ha, there was no drunken hookup. There was drinking (hey, you all know who you’re dealing with here), but the minute I laid my head down, it was lights out. I heard “Do you want some extra pillows or anything?” then I said “No, I’m fine” and that was it. Apparently sometime between him asking about pillows by the closet and actually bringing them to me, I fell asleep.
Mickey still lives, unfortunately, as none of my jillion traps has a mouse in it. I’m crashing outside of my place again tonight because this is bullshit, then I have a friend coming in from out of town, which will make things all right. Don’t ask me the logic behind this, but I’m less afraid with my friend here.
I’m really screwing this up! I was supposed to return with my Tale of Triumph, but I got nothing!
