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| Author |
Message |
fes
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Attack of the killer mice
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Feb 26 03:31 UTC 1992 |
We have just passed through another mouse surge. These things start out by my
finding droppings on top of the refrigerator (the little buggers climb up the
mouse ladder/cooling fins on the back). I use a live trap and deport them to
the vecinity of the back woodpile. I catch about one mouse per day (sometimes
none, other days 2 if I remember to reset the trap) for about 7 or 8 days and
then nothing. No mice. No mouse shit. The cats stop sitting in front of the
refrigerator. And I usually forget about it until I find droppings again,
usually weeks or months later. What all of this is leading up to is that I
suspect that a pregnant mouse gets into the house or two mice get in and make
more mice. What I'm curious about is how to determine how old a mouse is. Do
any of you nature lovers know how to tell (without cutting it in half and
counting the rings)? Popcorn (with her vast mouse breeding experience) may be
my best bet. Anyone else?
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| 34 responses total. |
danr
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response 1 of 34:
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Feb 29 01:07 UTC 1992 |
Try sno@ais.org. He's a licensed exterminator. He could probably give
you a couple of hints on how they're getting in, too.
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md
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response 2 of 34:
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Mar 2 14:22 UTC 1992 |
What color are the mice you catch? The solid gray ones are the
House Mouse. They're European immigrants (south Asian, originally)
and are fantastically prolific breeders. The young are ready to
breed after only a month or two. The can have up to eight litters
per year and up to twelve infants per litter. A House Mouse you
catch in a trap is likely to be of breeding age. The bicolored
mice, brownish above and white underneath, are the native Deer Mouse
or White-Footed Mouse (used to be classed together as the same species,
but different now, I think). These are outdoorsy types. If you find
one in your house, it's likely to be a lone explorer. The juveniles
are slate gray, but once again if you've caught one in a trap it's
probably an adult.
The instinct of cats to hunt and kill mice continally amazes me.
Our cat Dexter is now 18 years old. His previous owners had him
declawed in 1974. But he caught and killed a Deer Mouse in our basement
just three days ago. Cats' patience in waiting for a mouse to make
the one fatal mistake, as you've observed, is awesome. Nothing
distracts them.
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kentn
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response 3 of 34:
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Mar 3 02:09 UTC 1992 |
In reference to "how do they get in?" I used to live on an acreage in
Iowa. Every Fall the mice would start trying to get into the house.
Most of them did, and I spent a lot of time trapping them (no way would
I use D-Con in the house...). One day I was in the basement doing some
prints in my photo lab and I heard a scratching noise. I looked up and
just noticed a mouse running by one of the basement windows on its hind
legs, scratching along the perimeter of the house, apparently looking
for some crack or other opening into which to enter. The darn things
will find almost any possible crack, crevice, whatever in the outer
shell of your house (around ground level, unless they have some way to
climb higher). After spending some time investigating, I found that
most mice were entering through an attached garage (they had chewed
holes in base plates after worming their way between some aluminum
siding and some rigid insulation). From the garage, the mice were
making their way into the house via the kitchen, which shared a wall
with the garage. I tried a couple things. First, I stuffed all the
holes up with steel wool (but I figured the mice would eventually chew
new holes); second, I did put D-Con in the garage (it actually stopped
most mice in the garage, before they had a chance to find the path to
the kitchen); last, I trapped the hell out of the kitchen and the
basement. At one point I was getting over 60 mice per month, but after
setting up the buffer in the garage, it dropped back drastically. Live
trapping may be fine for the conscience, but the darn mice will just
turn around and come right back. There are zillions of mice outside
your house (especially if you live in the country). I don't feel like
I endangered the species one iota, but I certainly cut back the population
in the immediate vicinity of my house, and protected my investment in
food and other assorted belongings that mice love to nibble on.
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craig
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response 4 of 34:
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Mar 3 04:09 UTC 1992 |
I am confused as to your implied contention that you can "own" food.
Is not Mother Earth here with us in balanced nature?
Fence off your "property"... protect "your" food...
Hmmm....
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kentn
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response 5 of 34:
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Mar 3 04:42 UTC 1992 |
Obviously craig has never had his twinkies munched by mice...no
confusion, I own my food. Try stealing it sometime and see where
you end up. I *will* prosecute. And I *will defend my family.
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frf
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response 6 of 34:
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Mar 3 14:30 UTC 1992 |
Don't mind him...He had a pocket protector surgicaly implanted in
his chest. So he'd never be out of form.
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craig
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response 7 of 34:
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Mar 3 22:19 UTC 1992 |
RE #5
You will defend your family from what?
Mice are not eating your family, yet your family is responsible for
murdering mice. Seems hypocritical to me.
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bad
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response 8 of 34:
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Mar 3 22:37 UTC 1992 |
Got any small children?
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steve
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response 9 of 34:
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Mar 5 22:53 UTC 1992 |
A friend of mine had problem with mice, and was sold an untrasonic
device which repleded them all. It apparently drives dogs nuts too,
so it has some drawbacks. But it did do the job, and apparently kept
them away. It was placed under a front porch if I remember right.
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craig
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response 10 of 34:
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Mar 6 01:46 UTC 1992 |
That solution still assumes ownership of part of this Earth, however,
it is indeed a more humane way of resolving a fear of animals.
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danr
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response 11 of 34:
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Mar 6 02:25 UTC 1992 |
Don't think of it as ownership, think of it as staking out a territory.
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craig
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response 12 of 34:
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Mar 7 22:36 UTC 1992 |
In that case, the human in question should proceed to urinate in each
corner of the imaginary boundaries.
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danr
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response 13 of 34:
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Mar 8 03:55 UTC 1992 |
Not all animals do this.
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bad
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response 14 of 34:
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Mar 8 08:31 UTC 1992 |
Although it would probably be somewhat effective...
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steve
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response 15 of 34:
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Mar 8 16:42 UTC 1992 |
It would likely keep humans away...
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fes
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response 16 of 34:
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Mar 8 22:14 UTC 1992 |
re a bunch of previous responses - these are deer mice and they're back -
ownership or not, this is MY turf and I don't choose to share (I'm probably
a republican at heart since the mice don't get a hearing but DO get deported
to the woodpile, a goodly distance from the house, and not killed) - if I piss
in the kitchen, I get in trouble ...
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bad
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response 17 of 34:
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Mar 9 07:04 UTC 1992 |
Maybe they're seeking asylum from something in the woodpile?
Give them some weapons, maybe they could stage a coup.
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fes
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response 18 of 34:
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Mar 11 02:30 UTC 1992 |
OK, all deported rodents now get a surplus Lee-Enfield and 200 rounds of ammo.
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jdg
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response 19 of 34:
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Mar 11 02:48 UTC 1992 |
No, they wouldn't be able to load or to squeeze the trigger.
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bad
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response 20 of 34:
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Mar 11 05:38 UTC 1992 |
Sure they would, if you made 'em small enough.
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craig
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response 21 of 34:
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Mar 15 02:34 UTC 1992 |
When the USA destroys someone else's country or just generally takes it
over, they make provisions for those people (like the Japanese).
Perhaps there is a fear that the mice are actually economically superior.
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danr
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response 22 of 34:
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Mar 15 02:41 UTC 1992 |
I think you've gone over the edge in this item, Craig.
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bad
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response 23 of 34:
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Mar 15 05:38 UTC 1992 |
I think the mice are using their advanced technology to control
Craig's brain.
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craig
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response 24 of 34:
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Mar 15 15:08 UTC 1992 |
I mentioned no advanced technology... I mentioned an economic superiority.
You see, these mice do not base their general welfare on unnatural things
such as stocks, paper money with no gold (or even silver) standard, etc...
Mother Nature set up a beautiful world for all of us! And look what we
do! Destroy it! You don't see mice destroying the whole world, do you?
We should learn from the animals what real happiness is.
It isnt a can of hairspray.
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