Mouse in the House

Pest control is not on my preferred research list

Thank you to everyone who participated in the June 8th Women’s Fiction Day book giveaway. I have picked winners and they’ve been notified. I’m a little slow on the newsletter as recent unplanned (and now resolved medical issues) turned into a sleepless obsession. Don’t you love being worried….not.

And today, it’s so hot outside the squirrels that visit my bird bath were splooting to cool off at 7:30 a.m.

This is not cute!

My research has turned dark these last few days, and not what I had planned for this issue. But I’m so conflicted, where better to confess my tortured heart?

Yesterday as I was happily drinking coffee, and working on my current novel draft, a flash, more like a shadow ran from behind a cabinet I have in the kitchen, diagonally across the floor and under the stove.

Mother Trucker!

I, or rather the house, had a mouse. And one bold enough to scoot for its existence in the morning. Not a good sign as later research showed. If they come out during the day, the nest is likely crowded and one of them is hungry.

Nest of Mice?

This isn’t my first mouse in the house rodeo. Or first post about mice.

You Can Buy Frozen Mice on Amazon!

My lovely home backs to woods. We see and enjoy lots of critters. But you see, dear sympathetic friend, I’ve been battling ants since May. This year is exceedingly awful. I’ve gone to war with the ants. And now I needed to turn my attention to this higher-level creature.

Pest control companies kinda suck. I had one for years. They spray pesticide, which I don’t want near me or other beneficial insects around the house and even inside if you let them. Literal poison.

We have cellar spiders and wolf spiders make more than the occasional scary appearance. After a full-on case of the willies, out comes a cup and a sheet of paper for a trap and release mission. Some spiders are good to leave, they’re working for you. But the wolf spiders - no sir - outside you go.

Recent Wolf Spider Capture and Release

We get crickets too in the fall and the chirping can make you lose your mind until you find them and attempt the catch and release. Which is challenging for a critter that jumps for a living.

If you want to easily identify animals, insects, and to a lesser extent plants, I recommend the iNaturalist free app. You just point your camera at the unknown “thing” and it identifies it for you. The Merlin bird app is amazing too.

But I digress. I WILL NOT TOLERATE MICE. Yes, we must live in nature and harmony. This is the ethos of my fiction writing. How do changes in the natural world change people? But no mice. This is no Stuart Little. Mickey, Minnie, or any Pixar-Disney creature.

They carry diseases, are terribly destructive, and now there is an additional bonus of ticks. The July 1st Fresh Air on NPR, discussed ticks and especially the expanding and dangerous Lone Star Tick. They’re spreading and no, you city dwellers are not safe.

This is a definite, I’m gonna spray some DEET and stay inside episode, but I encourage you to listen. An ounce of prevention as they say can save you from a life-altering red meat allergy - yes, you read that right. The Lone Star tick can cause Alpha-gal syndrome.

Here we are heading into a holiday weekend. If I do break down and call a pest control company, it’s a holiday weekend. But no way in hell am I just living with this.

I began pulling apart my cabinets and GAG! mouse droppings. They look like black sesame seeds if you’re not in the know.

Confession, I’m not the most consistent house keeper.

Out came the bleach and rolls of paper towels.

Research tip #1 don’t vacuum mouse droppings. It aerosolizes them and all the yuckiness they carry.

The way to eradicate the mice is to eliminate them then seal any openings to your home. This includes water and gas lines, cracks in the doors, etc.

Research tip #2 Mice can squeeze through openings the thickness of a pencil or a dime. I swear they have rubber bones. That little space under the pantry cabinet is a gaping yaw.

What the mice see in my house.

The next task to decide was a trapping method. Catch and release is not an option for mice. You want them out. Research tip #3 Mice live 12-18 months and up to 2 YEARS in your house and can have several litters a year. See NEST of MICE panic above.

The before mentioned pest company had given us both poison and glue traps in the past. The poison makes them potentially die in wall or wherever. And I’ve had an existential crisis from watching mice in glue traps.

That leaves the old-fashioned snap traps. They have a plastic yellow bait shelf that looks like a piece of cheese. Seriously? is that suppose to be cute? It’s not, but it’s fast and humane.

While I spent the day bleaching my kitchen, and doing some serious damage to my hands, my partner went off to the hardware store for traps, steel wool and foam to seal holes. We’d have to coax some higher mammals to come help us move our professional range from the wall and seal the gas line. This was done about 15 years ago. Guess the mice are persistent.

Evening fell and we avoided the task at hand, flipping instead mindlessly through videos. We watched several how-tos on the mouse trap. It’s not as easy as you think. I’m not big into peanut butter, but I do have organic almond butter so that was our bait. I know, how bougie?

We set the traps.

Research #4, mice run along the edges of walls for safety. Then we turned out the lights and reminded each other not to blindly stumble into the kitchen.

I told my partner that in the event we were “successful,” I was leaving it for him to deal with because dead mouse removal is a boy job. I handle all the spiders. “I got it,” he assured me. He had bought disposable gloves.

Last night I dreamt of mice. I woke up once and listened, hearing nothing but a car driving down the street. What was happening in the bleached kitchen?

I often wake up before my partner. But I wasn’t going down first or alone! I lay in bed. He was no where near moving. And I can tell when he’s faking, but he wasn’t. He was in full on REM sleep with his arm splayed over his head.

Downstairs I went. And yes, we were “successful.” And yes, I did leave it. But I also needed to get some nourishment for my morning workout but the “success” was on the floor. Above is where the now also bleached blender sits. No protein smoothie for me. I adapted.

And I feel really bad. Yesterday my regular hummingbird came to the window but the feeder was in the sink. It’s a blast furnace outside and I had no nectar. I am a horrible bird mommy. I rushed to finish cleaning it and made up fresh food. I hope my hummer returns.

Awesome photo of my hummer from last year

How can I love my birds but have such revile for mice? One I encourage, the other I war against?

This is where you can have two thoughts in your head at the same time. Compassion and hatred. Or fascination and fear of ticks and other nasty diseases.

The mouse trapping is far from over. Research tip #5 is to keep your traps for 5-7 days and see if you have any further “success.” If you do, you’re kinda screwed. If not, you may have caught a break.

What are your thoughts and experiences with these two sides of wildlife vs. pests? I’d love to hear. Am I alone in my revile and sadness at what I feel must be done?

Your Next Summer Read!

If you’re looking for the ultimate summer beach read about one of the most beautiful beaches in the country, check out The Pelican Tide where you can read about Gumbo the Brown Pelican and a family and community coming together after an oil spill. Check out the recipes at the back of the book or find them on my website.

Please Help Me Hit 1,000

I’m really, really hoping for 1,000 reviews by the end of the year. So, if you’ve read and enjoyed my book, thank you for reviewing. Pass it along to your friends. I’m still booking in-person and online book clubs, just send me a note.

Stay cool and safe everyone. Happy 4th of July however you’re celebrating.