The "Animal"

Wednesday morning Mr. Fob got up, went in our dining room, turned on the light, and watched a mouse scurry into the kitchen and hide under the refrigerator. Not only was this particularly gross, but Wednesday afternoon Mr. Fob's sister was coming in to visit us for a few day. She is deathly afraid of mice. I was at the gym when the mouse incident occurred, so when I got home Mr. Fob informed me in code that an "animal" had been seen in our kitchen. We were trying to avoid having the kids talk about it all weekend while our guests were here, but they figured it out anyway. As soon as Auntie M showed up, S-Boogie announced "I have a secret! There's an animal in our house under our fridge. I think it's a mouse!" Sigh.

The managers gave us some glue traps and we set them up in a few places. We decided to put some animal crackers and peanut butter in them in hopes of luring the creature out. After a few days nothing happened and I assumed the mouse had gone on his merry way. Then Saturday morning we were woken up by a commotion in the dining room. Apparently Little Dude noticed a mouse stuck in the trap and pulled it out of its hiding place. I'm glad he didn't get bitten. Unfortunately we weren't sure what to do with it after that. I felt terrible because the mouse was obviously terrified and trying to free himself from the trap, but we really couldn't have him in our house. I finally decided to just throw it in the dumpster, and I said a prayer that he would die a quick death. I still feel bad for the poor little mouse, but we really can't have animals in our home. I hope we never have to do that again.

Comments

FoxyJ said…
So looking up "glue trap" on Google brought up links to a lot of sites that denounce them as inhumane and point out that they are illegal in the UK. So now I really feel bad for the mouse. If anyone has a good way to humanely get mice out that will be safe for my kids, please let me know.
10/19/2008 4:19 PM
B.G. Christensen said…
The best part was Little Dude squealing with delight while the mouse squealed with terror, cousin m asking "Is it real or just pretend?" and S-Boogie running around yelling "There's an aminal in the house!"
10/19/2008 5:13 PM
skyeJ said…
I seem to recall something about a shoe dropping on a lever that rolled a ball into a basket that tipped something else over that moved another piece and then hit a big cage that wiggled down a pole and VOILA! Mouse was trapped. Maybe you could look into that? It might only work with the small plastic kind of mice, tho.
10/19/2008 7:04 PM
Earth Sign Mama said…
I really learned to love our domesticated rodent friends, but I do have a strong aversion to the wild type. Glue traps are really cruel, so I vote for the quick, deadly, snapping type. Bait it with mousey delights, put it where little fingers cannot get it, and be done with it. Unless you can get that shoe-dropping-on-the-lever thingy...
10/19/2008 7:25 PM
Mindy said…
Snap traps are the way to go- just be so careful that your kids don't snap their fingers in them! Also, there is rarely only 1 mouse. We once caught 11 in a row. My condolences but it could be worse. I have rats in my yard.
10/19/2008 11:33 PM
Kailey said…
I think glue traps are the lesser of most evils. We had to use them at Laurel. We talked to my Grandad about it (who is an animal lover) and he said the MOST humane thing to do with the mouse after it is caught is to put it in a ziplock bag (glue trap and all) and stick it in the freezer. He SAID this way, the mice just go to sleep, and it happens A LOT faster than throwing them in the dumpster (which is what we were told to do with the sticky traps). Sorry you have to go through this. It's NOT fun. I always had to have Josh deal with it. (P.S. I think snap traps are too risky with small kids).
10/20/2008 12:57 AM
Tina said…
Ahh, childhood memories. I remember Svoid feeling sorry for a mouse stuck in a trap, trying to free it, and getting bit in the process!

Good choice just to say a quick prayer for it.
10/20/2008 2:04 AM
Anonymous said…
We use glue traps because the metal ones are just too scary. What if it snapped on a child's finger? Anyway, once you have caught the mouse on the glue trap I think the most humane way to dispose of it is to put it in a bucket of water and drown the mouse. I've never heard of putting it to sleep in the freezer so maybe that works as well.
10/20/2008 5:40 PM
cool_guy said…
Drowning is not humane - it is slow and very painful. Breath some water into your lungs through your nose and see if you still think it is humane. Simulated drowning (waterboarding) is considered a method of torture in most of the world..

You can put baited snap traps into boxes secured with strapping tape so kids can't get at them if you are really concerned about it... Just leave a couple of mouse sized holes in the box.

The humane way - if you are not willing to risk the snap traps - is to quickly crush the mouse head with your heel. If you can't dispatch the animal as quickly and painlessly as possible then you shouldn't be catching them..
10/20/2008 9:29 PM
Kristi said…
There was once a mouse in my office that my coworker caught with a trash can and a piece of paper. After scaring the lady next door, my boss decided to release the mouse the humane way. He's also used this on stray cats that show up at his house, or other wild animals: he takes them into the woods or up in the mountains somewhere, turns the animal around 3 times, and sets it loose. He says the animals never appear again in his house. :)
10/20/2008 10:06 PM
Braden said…
I'd bet most cats don't do well far from humans, either.
10/21/2008 10:35 AM
Anonymous said…
Sorry Cool_guy, wasn't trying to make a political statement. Just trying to think of a way that facilitated a faster death for the mouse than leaving it to starve to death in the dumpster alive but stuck to the trap.
10/22/2008 11:57 AM
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