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I read on the internet today that today is the anniversary of the publication of Of Mice and Men (6 February 1937).
By coincidence, when my daughter was getting ready for work this morning, I heard her scream "There's a mouse!", and run out the living room.
We live in an area by a stream with wood-like areas next to us, even though we live within a town, so mice getting into the eaves in winter when it is cold is not uncommon.
The answer is to ensure they can't get into the house itself by sealing up any possible entry points, and in recent years we haven't even heard the sort of scratching above the ceilings which indicates mice.
Nevertheless, we've had a couple of occasions in the last year when one got in (including today). One occurred in on a very warm night last summer with our windows open, when one got into the bedroom presumably from the flat roof next to it.
As there was no real evidence of mouse droppings, I imagine the one today got in when a an outside door was open.
The secret to getting rid of an odd mice is to close the doors to the room it is in, to prevent it escaping, who knows where. And also to put towels or something similar to prevent it escaping under the doors.
Having done that I managed to track down the mice, with it hiding behind a bit of towelling we had put down behind a sofa in case of leaks from a pipe leading to the radiator. I was then able to trap it with the use of an upside down bin, coupled with a hard piece of cardboard to close the opening.
I let it go outside about 50 yards from the house, and as it scurried away it looked to me more like a field mouse than a house mice.
And for those who don't know, "of mice and men" comes from the Burns' poem, To A Mouse.
But Mousie, thou art no thy lane, In proving foresight may be vain: The best laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft agley, An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy!
But Mouse, you are not alone, In proving foresight may be vain: The best laid schemes of mice and men Go often askew, And leaves us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy!
Get a cat. Having said that my cat brings mice into the house!
Only to play with before killing and crunching its way through it. Anyhow the little guys can smell if a cat is about and tend to tootle off to find a less threatening home.
One of our cats brought in a mouse which escaped into the kitchen and disappeared. A short while later there was a small family of mice so the original was probably pregnant.tbe cats were useless. I bought several humane traps and a jar of peanut butter. Catching the little cuties and releasing them was easy. However, the pesky critters seemed to find their way back in. I then released them about a Mile away from the house and the problem has disappeared along with the mice.
Thanks. I've had something like that near where our boiler is for many years, but your post prompte me to check it and I found out that it is not working, so I'll buy the product you suggest.
EDIT: looking at it, it looks the same as the one I've got but it seems a wise investment.
Certainly wont do no harm to have a couple of cats around to keep the mice at bay, no.
What I need to do is to get the cats, the family of foxes which frequents our garden, as well as the birds of prey which from time to time eat the pigeons, to act in concert.
Those of a certain age will know this song. Mainly instrumental but with the chanted lyrics "Hoots Mon There's A Moose Loose Aboot This Hoose."
[Post edited 6 Feb 17:29]
Got some rats in and underneath an outbuilding attached to my kitchen. Bit of a concern. Had to remove a wheelbarrow of earth they had excavated into the outbuilding. Little devils can chew through anything. Destroyed my rattan furniture cushions and a pond net as well !
Got some rats in and underneath an outbuilding attached to my kitchen. Bit of a concern. Had to remove a wheelbarrow of earth they had excavated into the outbuilding. Little devils can chew through anything. Destroyed my rattan furniture cushions and a pond net as well !
Don't mind mice but absolutely hate rats. Had a serious infestation in a outbuilding a few years back. Was all out war, had traps everywhere. Rat poison is the way forward. Just put into proper bait boxes so other animals can't get into um
One of our cats brought in a mouse which escaped into the kitchen and disappeared. A short while later there was a small family of mice so the original was probably pregnant.tbe cats were useless. I bought several humane traps and a jar of peanut butter. Catching the little cuties and releasing them was easy. However, the pesky critters seemed to find their way back in. I then released them about a Mile away from the house and the problem has disappeared along with the mice.
You don't live about a mile away from DJR, do you?
Got some rats in and underneath an outbuilding attached to my kitchen. Bit of a concern. Had to remove a wheelbarrow of earth they had excavated into the outbuilding. Little devils can chew through anything. Destroyed my rattan furniture cushions and a pond net as well !
I sympathise.
Fortunately we've never had an issue with rats in the house, even though we live by a stream and on occasions come across the odd dead one in our garden. Indeed, two managed to drown themselves in a water butt and expanded to the size of a small cat.
There was also an occasion when I was crawling beneath the floorboards (which are nearly three feet above the foundations), and thought I had come across a dead rat. It turned out to be a dead mouse, which with the shadow cast by the torch looked much bigger that it actually was.
As an aside, the first Stranglers' album was called Rattus Norvegicus and contained the song Down in the Sewer which consisted of four parts.
a. "Falling" b. "Down in the Sewer" c. "Trying to Get Out Again" d. "Rats Rally
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