And so the mice invasion began. (Read last week's blog for the prequel.) You
know, on the day we would later be celebrating the life of our BJ. I realize I
needed a distraction, but I can think of many other distractions that would
have been welcomed at that point; a massage, a day at the beach…anything other
than mice thinking they can move into my home! After I cleaned up under the
sink I really did put the thought out of my head. I was just beginning my grief
journey after all.
The weekend before Thanksgiving and two weeks after BJ’s
Celebration of Life, I retreated north of Seattle to spend the weekend with
family. Let’s face it, life as I knew it was over, I lost a child, I was a
mess, and when I wasn’t crying I was numb. I needed a break, I needed a change
of scenery, and I needed to be able to grieve. The drive was good, the holiday
lights along the way were lovely, and it was just plain nice to leave home for
a short time. Jenny and I played many rounds of Bananagrams while the kids kept
us well entertained. It was the distraction that was needed until we had to go
back home on Sunday.
I was getting settled into bed. Dillon was working on one of
his many projects in his room. It was nice just to be in jammies in the comfort
of my bed; until I heard Dillon holler for me. I went to him and he proceeded
to tell me that he thought he saw a mouse in his room and he was pretty sure it
was hiding out under his dresser. “How do you know,” I asked. “Because I used
my flashlight to look under there. It is in the far corner and I can see its
beady little eyes!” he responded. I let out a heavy sigh, grabbed my own
flashlight, knelt down to take a look for myself; all the while thinking Lord,
I really don’t need this right now…I really don’t want to deal with this
tonight! Sure enough, those beady little eyes were staring back at me! I
immediately went downstairs to grab a “snap trap” from the garage; until now,
the only other place we had seen a mouse since moving in the prior year. At
that time we killed three before insisting the landlord follow up with pest
control. All I could think is…THEY’RE BAAAACK!
I loaded up the trap with some peanut butter and set it up
right next to the dresser. “Loaded up” is an exaggeration; I barely put any
inside the loop where they have to work for it. I set it up and went off to do
something else. Dillon called for me again. Again I went to his room. “Mom, I
just watched the mouse come out, eat the peanut butter, and run back under the
dresser! Shouldn’t it have trapped him, mom?”
“Um, yes” I responded in my irritated voice. By this time it was 9:00
and the last thing I wanted to be doing this Sunday night was chase a stinking
mouse around the house, but hey a girl has to do what a girl has to do! We sat
on the edge of Dillon’s bed for a bit; hammer in his hand. He was certain he
could trip the trap and catch the mouse if it came out again; well it didn’t. I
threw on my slippers and coat; I was off to Walgreen’s, the closest store that
I imagined had any mouse paraphernalia. I bought several snap traps, electronic
repellents, and the condominium traps that I still feel are useless. As I was
loading the snaps with peanut butter I heard some rustling in the reusable grocery
bag that I earlier emptied from our trip. I was puzzled; it was on top of a box
that was on top of something else…surely a mouse couldn’t be in there. Oh boy
was I wrong. I mouse there was! NOOOOOOOOOOO!
I gasped, grabbed the bag, ran out to the front street and shook the
mouse out of the bag. Probably the most
humane treatment I have given one of those uninvited houseguests and he
probably ran back in the house before I did! Just sayin’! Oh, now my blood was
boiling, it’s 10:30 pm, and all I want to do is get some sleep. I strategically
placed the three electronic repellents where they could work the majority of
the open space, I set some snap traps in areas where we spotted the rodents,
and I was going to bed. Clearly Dillon had no interest in crawling into his bed
that night and besides my bed sits about 2 ½ feet off the ground. Finally, my
bed….ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
We were nestled, relaxing to TV while trying to relax enough
to sleep…..S-NAP! We both looked at each other and he asked, “My room?” I
responded, “I have no idea. You stay here, I will go check.” I just wanted him to get some sleep; after
all he had school the following day. I first checked his room; nope, everything
was untouched. I went downstairs to check the kitchen and there it was…a mousey
trapped by its foot. Oh my gosh; are you kidding me? He’s trapped, he’s
squirming, and I’m freaking out! I can pick up the trap with the deceased
rodent and put the entire thing in a bag and give it a proper burial in the
garbage can, but I can’t deal with one that is squirming and I shouldn’t have
to. FYI: snap traps are a dollar store
cheapo and I would much rather toss the entire thing than to remove…well you
get the picture! Dillon came to my rescue and well, I disposed of it. I
grabbed the disinfectant wipes cleaned up the hammer and the ground around
where the trap had sat.
Take two: We were nestled in bed, trying to relax to TV after
taking care of mouse business…..S-NAP! Seriously, again!? Again, I told Dillon
to stay in bed and I was off to find the filled trap. We got the little hummer
that was hanging out under the dresser; I removed the remains, cleaned up, and
went back to bed; now wondering if I will ever get any sleep this night. Dillon
sat up and said he was going to take a shower so maybe he could sleep. The shower
has been Dillon’s “place” since he lost his daddy over three years ago. He has
taken up to five showers in one day. He finds comfort, he prays, he cries, and
now as he is getting older, listens to a lot of music.
We caught three, things were quieting down, and now maybe,
just maybe I can get some sleep…S-NAP!
NOOOOO! YESSSSSS! No, I just want
to sleep! Yes, we killed another little sucker! By this time, Dillon was a
sleep. It was another in his room. I set more traps, cleaned things up, and then
went back to bed. Finally, I was asleep too. I checked things the next morning;
the traps were empty and we went about our day. I contacted the landlord to let
them know the mice had crossed the barrier into the house and we needed to
address this situation immediately; pest control was scheduled for the
following day. The day was quiet. I was chatting on the phone with a friend,
telling her my mice story and she asked if I had caught more this day. I said, “Nope,
they must be hiding out!” S-NAP! No kidding; while I was talking with her on
the phone I caught another.
Pest Control confirmed that the bait which was originally in
the traps the previous year, under the house, in the garage, and outdoors, was
gone. He reloaded all of them. He told me that he rarely goes into someone’s
home that has set the traps up exactly as they should be set; against the wall,
two or more 6-8” apart in a row, and very little peanut butter…just enough to
give them a scent. I almost felt he was congratulating me…um, ok?! But when he
told me that for every one we see there are 10-12 we don’t see! OMG…are you
kidding me!? I told him I had walked the parameter of every room and couldn’t
find any droppings and I know mice can poop…A LOT! He also checked and couldn’t
see any. So, “along the wall”? Yes, mouse traps need to be set up against a
wall with the trap coming down towards the wall. The reason is simple; mice are
blind, they run along the walls and boxes, etc. because their whiskers feel the
wall. So, three blind mice, three blind mice, see how they run, see how they
run…
So far, so good, praying the uninvited guests stay away this
winter. I hope this brought some laughter to your life today!
No comments:
Post a Comment