“You dirty rat…”
The weather hasn’t changed. It is a grey, dark unseasonably warm day. The paper says a high of 48˚. I guess this is the January thaw except nothing needed thawing except the tiniest blots of ice still left on corners from the plows during that ersatz snow storm.
The mouse count is higher: 6 have been relocated. The latest one got caught last night, but I left him in the trap all night. That’s the last time I’ll do that. It was a small one which was shaking when I let him go. He was so unsteady on his feet he had to stay a while in one spot. I watched until he finally moved across the street with a bit more confidence. I don’t want mice in my house, but I also do not want to be responsible for their demise. If the cats get them, that’s fine with me, but I won’t use a deadly trap.
While I was waiting for my coffee to finish brewing, I went to the window to watch the birds. What did I see? A spawn of Satan was dangling on my new suet feeder gnawing on the wooden top trying to get at the suet. I ran outside to scare the beast and was amazed at how wood he’d already eaten away. I got my cayenne pepper and smeared it all over the gnawed sides and the top. The big birds love that feeder because it has a long bottom which allows them to rest their tails on it while they eat. A flicker was there just now when I got another cup of coffee. The rain hasn’t washed away the pepper-I can still see it. I hope that keeps the spawns away.
The rodents have a vendetta against me. Somewhere, in rodent headquarters, my picture or a reasonable facsimile, is on the wall. The beasts meet periodically to figure ways to drive me crazy. The huge, fat spawn which can barely jump from limb to limb is probably the leader. He riles the troops. The mice find the smallest holes and get inside. The spawns mock me by eating not only the seeds but also the feeders.
I’m beginning to think I’m losing it here. It is Gaslight reinvented. The mice and spawns are out to drive me crazy. I’m just so glad the 6 ft fence keeps out the raccoons and the skunks. That would be too great a coalition even for me.
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January 14, 2013 at 2:09 pm
Just wait, they are most likely working on a plan to get the skunks and raccoons in the war too 🙂
I remember old Erna once caught a mouse when I opened the compost. She caught it and shook it a lot. I told her to let it go and she did, for five sekiónds. Then she did the same thing again and spat it out when I told her so.
The poor mouse looked a bit disturbed the first time, the sceond time I could see it didn’t know where it was and the third time I think it wished it was dead 🙂 But it wobbeled away and hid in a bush. I think it survived because I couldn’t find it the day after but Erna always went to that bush just in case the poor one had returned 🙂 🙂
Cold here and now it’s snowing. They say we’ll get lots of this white garbage during the night, oh lucky me.
Have a great day!
Christer.
January 14, 2013 at 2:23 pm
Christer,
Your first lines weren’t at all encouraging! I do have Gracie on my side so maybe there is hope!!
Gracie chases them but doesn’t seem ever to catch them. She had one cornered on Christmas Eve, but it got away. She probably would play with it as she tried to play with her first skunk.
I’m so sorry for your snow. I have exactly the same attitude about it!
January 14, 2013 at 3:04 pm
It’s been cold on the left coast also–someone mentioned it was going down to the 40’s. Do you think there is a rat who subscribes to KTCC? A group of rat music lovers? Wonder what songs they prefer? JMC used to be good at chasing mice– they were her favorite toy but we don’t have any here for her to play with– thank goodness. Have a ratty, i mean, good day.
Waving,
Lori
January 14, 2013 at 3:32 pm
Lori,
I saw the temps reported in the paper. We were warmer here than there.
I think the rats stay underground, hidden in walls or the cellar. They are a sneaky bunch who every well may be spying on us here.
No new ones today as yet!
January 14, 2013 at 3:05 pm
Hi Kat,
It was murky and damp until about 11AM and then the sun came out. It’s lovely out there now. The front door is open so the warmth and light from the sunny porch can come in the house.
I’m stuck here until the mail comes because I have to sign for a piece of mail that they tried to deliver last week. I asked for redelivery today but so far no mail person has showed up. The day is getting old. I have a feeling that the new schedule means the mail shows up around 4PM. Arrgh! And it’s not even a piece of mail I’m looking forward to receiving.
The spawns have been quiet in my yard this winter. There’s lots of black walnuts back there so they have been busy finding them and reburying them and digging up each others’ caches. Only a couple bother with my feeders and they don’t hang around too long. I don’t know why. There are hawks patrolling the skies overhead but not all that frequently.
Good luck with the mice. Six is a lot.
January 14, 2013 at 3:36 pm
Hi Caryn,
No sun at all here but the day did get a bit brighter. I envy you that porch!
My mailman comes anywhere between noon and three thirty. It is a rural route so he drives a truck, and my box is across the street.
The spawns had been quiet until last week. I noticed their absence on the deck and at the feeders. They must have been elsewhere driving someone besides me crazy. Two days ago was the first I’d noticed their return.
Years ago I got 17 out of my eaves. 6 is nothing! None have been caught today, but I think they’re quiet in the daylight. The traps are set and ready.
January 14, 2013 at 3:42 pm
I think you are now obsessed with these critters. Next it wil be “The Birds”. Where does it all end? Maybe you should get therapy…
Warm here too today. I walked to town and back, and was overdressed. I like to take advantage of any walkable winter’s day. Already we are halfway thru January, but here in NH we have a lot of winter left. Most of our snow is gone, but there will be more. Remember last March when we had a week of 80 degree weather?
Maybe we’ll have a repeat.
January 14, 2013 at 4:21 pm
Bill,
I love the birds and keep their feeders filled and now, with the deck, I get to watch them from the window over the sink when I’m working in the kitchen.
The spawns ruin the feeders and one chewed off all the paint from a very expensive deck set. They carry more diseases than even rats.
Mice are cute, I give them that, but who wants mouse poop all over the house?
We had that one small storm of about 2 inches of snow which then switched back and forth from rain. Ice was left, and those are the blotches on the corners where the plows dumped them.
This has been a warm winter so far. My sister, though, has been freezing in Colorado. It was 2˚ for the game they lost on Saturday and -2 with the windchill. She has had more than a few weeks of weather like that.
January 14, 2013 at 9:10 pm
I used to own a Pest Control company and mice are very hard to discourage….Sometimes this works…..
Place “Bounce Outdoor Fresh Scent” Dryer sheets in the areas the mice frequent. They have a very sensitive sense of smell. The sheets may discourage you too.
These habits are a must.
Keep all pet food in a galvanized trash can with a tight fitting lid.
Clean up all pet food after feeding. Even if that means a change in feeding habits for the pets. Keep all perishable food in the fridge or a locker. That includes vegetables and flour etc.
Put your hand soap away at night. They will eat it for the glycerin content and survive well.
Good Luck
January 14, 2013 at 9:26 pm
Beto,
Now that’s discouraging!
I will definitely use the dryer sheets (which I didn’t know about), and I bought a mouse-away mint product which a friend said kept her mice from coming back.
The cat food dishes are not accessible since I moved them from where the dishes have always been, and I’ll start using a tupperware container for the cats’ dry food.
I’m so glad to read your suggestions as I’ve started doing some of that already. I did get rid of them once and hope to do so again.
Thanks for all your help!