Rat Patrol...
Nov. 11th, 2004 01:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jayOr mice, as it happens. Our house is a half-block away from a large elementary school, with both dumpsters and outdoor picnic tables near classrooms for lunchtime use. Large numbers of rodents live in the adjacent park and brush-covered areas and feed on the kids' dropped crumbs and school refuse. Occasionally, one of these field mice wanders away and into my garage, and thence into the rest of the house. Not having a house cat (or dog) undoubtedly makes our home a more rodent-friendly environment, too. So, I have to get rid of them by trapping. Live box traps don't work... my theory is that the school uses these and that most of the mice have learned to avoid them. Poisoned grain just causes them to crawl away and die in some inaccessible area, reeking for weeks. And my kids keep setting off snap traps. So, I use glue traps, with peanut butter as bait. They're highly effective when placed along known rodent trails.
I don't like the mice to suffer, though. Today, I caught two mice: a small 1" one that had gotten rolled around in the glue, and a large 3" one (maybe a juvenile rat?) that was free except for three of its feet.
In the former case, I did my usual quick execution (put the whole trap in a gallon-sized Ziplock bag, then crushed its head with a hammer blow). But the latter seemed releasable, with a little work.
So I placed the trap down on the stainless kitchen counter, and applied a bit of the citrus oil that we use to get gum out of our kids' hair. Our kids were excited and bouncing... and naturally wanted to keep it as a pet.patgreene washed out a glass jar with a lid, to capture the freed mouse.
I freed one leg easily. Using a dull plastic knife, I gently pried at a deeply stuck hind leg, bringing it up and nearly clear. The mouse pulled its tail free. Pat came over with the jar. The kids started to press closer. I picked up the trap and leaned the trap over above the jar she held, so the mouse would fall into it once I freed the last leg. The mouse chomped down on the plastic knife... then chaos. It suddenly pulled itself free, fell halfway into the jar, pivoted, and jumped a foot into the air, landing on the counter. The kids yelled. The mouse froze momentarily. Pat swiped at it with the jar, scooped it from behind, and it tried to bite her hand before she slapped the steel lid down on the jar.
David, Kevin and I all took it over to the far side of the park and released it near some trash cans and underbrush.
I don't like the mice to suffer, though. Today, I caught two mice: a small 1" one that had gotten rolled around in the glue, and a large 3" one (maybe a juvenile rat?) that was free except for three of its feet.
In the former case, I did my usual quick execution (put the whole trap in a gallon-sized Ziplock bag, then crushed its head with a hammer blow). But the latter seemed releasable, with a little work.
So I placed the trap down on the stainless kitchen counter, and applied a bit of the citrus oil that we use to get gum out of our kids' hair. Our kids were excited and bouncing... and naturally wanted to keep it as a pet.
patgreene washed out a glass jar with a lid, to capture the freed mouse. I freed one leg easily. Using a dull plastic knife, I gently pried at a deeply stuck hind leg, bringing it up and nearly clear. The mouse pulled its tail free. Pat came over with the jar. The kids started to press closer. I picked up the trap and leaned the trap over above the jar she held, so the mouse would fall into it once I freed the last leg. The mouse chomped down on the plastic knife... then chaos. It suddenly pulled itself free, fell halfway into the jar, pivoted, and jumped a foot into the air, landing on the counter. The kids yelled. The mouse froze momentarily. Pat swiped at it with the jar, scooped it from behind, and it tried to bite her hand before she slapped the steel lid down on the jar.
David, Kevin and I all took it over to the far side of the park and released it near some trash cans and underbrush.
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no subject
Date: 2004-11-11 09:50 pm (UTC)*queasy* I could've done without the description.
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Date: 2004-11-11 10:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-11 11:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-12 04:27 am (UTC)Eww. Sorry you had to off the mousie. :p Gross as it sounds, it's better than letting it die slowly. Very cool that you & Pat let the other one go... and impressive that you both kept your cool.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-14 02:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-12 07:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-14 02:17 am (UTC)