Of mice and wo-man

Canada
January 8, 2008 7:25pm CST
I want to start out by saying I am very much an urbanite. I purchased this condo a while back. It is on the 7th floor of a high rise at the edge of a big city. It is an older building but I spent a few thousand dollars to rip out all the carpets and install gleaming hardwood floors and new baseboards in every room. Two bedrooms and a den. Just before Christmas I heard these gnawing noises in the wall between my kitchen and dining room. I went to the building management and reported it. They told me it was probably mice and yes, someone had reported seeing a mouse in the lobby. Apparently at the outset of winter there was an epidemic of mice. The building management told me that the pest control had been called and put poison in the shafts that contained the lines for hot and cold water. Anyway, one evening I was lying on the sofa watching TV and I saw a mouse scurrying across the floor and under the sofa. I jumped up, moved the sofa, moved all the furniture in the living room and could not find it. next day I contacted the building management. They told me that the mouse had probably come up the shaft where the lines for hot and cold water came up under the cabinets in the kitchen. They proposed to cut bigger holes in my my kitchen cabinets and put poison in the shaft. Somehow I did not like the idea so they gave me some mouse traps. I baited them but no mouse was caught. I went away for a few days and when I came back I realized, yes there was a mouse. There were mouse droppings on the pillows of my guest bedroom. So for the last few days my days have revolved around the mouse. I put steel wool in all the cut outs for the pipes under the kitchen cabinets, then put duct tape over them. I purchased a mouse trap for every room in the house. I purchased poison and put it near the live traps but the mouse mocked me. Believe it or not it scratched dragged or pushed the poison into the opening of the live trap but never went in. I purchased an ultra sound device to drive mice away and put it into my bedroom. I have now a trap in every room, some conventional some live traps. I have stripped every bed and washed everything. Every morning I disinfect the kitchen counter, I wash every dish I take from under the kitchen counter, I swiffer every day under the sofas the beds and I have moved the fridg and stove numerous times. There is still evidence of a mouse. If I leave a morsel of bread or a quarter of a peanut on the kitchen floor it is gone in the morning. I went to the building management office again today. It was suggested that they would provide me with sticky tape which would make the feet of a mouse stuck to the tape. Then they would come and remove the mouse and tape and drown it. Maybe I am crazy but I would rather catch the mouse in a live trap and release it in an nearby park. But right now my whole day is consumed with cleaning, mopping, washing and making sure no food is seen anywhere. No garbage under the sink, no potatoes, onions or anything else under the sink cabinets, no dirt on the floor. Oh, by the way I left my ski jacket on a mat in the entrance hall the other day because it was wet, when I got up in the morning a hole the size of a quarter was gnawed out because I had forgotten a package of peanuts in my pocket. Would you accept the sticky tape and drown the mouse in bucket of water?
1 person likes this
6 responses
• United States
9 Jan 08
Yes, I would accept the sticky tape and drown the vermin. Yes, I said vermin. You could think of it as a cute cuddly furry friendly critter that shares your space and is a friend with beautiful brown eyes who cleans up the scraps of food you inadverdently leave lying about, but that would make it harder to do what needs to be done, which is: Kill the vermin! I live out in the country and frequently have to kill various kinds of vermin. It is the only way to deal with the problem or they will take over. All the species of the planet are in competition for resources. In your case, you and the 'vermin' are in competition for safe living space. Which of you is going to win? Who will get the prize you and the 'vermin' are competing for? You know what you have to do.
• Canada
9 Jan 08
Uh ha ha ha (crying) I know you are right I know what I have to do. I just wish the mouse would be reasonable and go into the live trap so I could take it to the park and release it. I am well informed and I know it cannot live in my place. Mice carry disease and are very destructive. Look at the black plague in the middle ages.
1 person likes this
• United States
9 Jan 08
I'm surprised you have not caught it in the live trap. I have one in my barn for rats because I'm afraid my cats would get into the regular lethal kind. I've found live traps work very well.
• Canada
9 Jan 08
Yes, I am surprised too but like I said the mouse dragged, shovelled or pushed the little pile of poison into the entrance of the live trap in the kitchen but did not go in. My kids think I am making this up but I can prove it, I kept the trap just were it was. Maybe city mice are sophisticated.
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@vera5d (4005)
• United States
9 Jan 08
i always say the best defense against any mice is a cat. preferably a female cat, since they are better mousers. If you can, find one that is an experienced mouser. Not all cats are good mousers. If you do not want to commit to having a cat for long term, see if you can borrow one or pet sit for somebody. you will not have anymore mice problems if you get a good cat.
• Canada
9 Jan 08
Unfortunately I live in a no pets building. I guess if that rule was changed we might not have mice in the wall. I suppose I could sneak in a cat for a few days but I have only one friend who has a cat and she is so timid, I suspect she might be scared of the mouse. But you are absolutely right the best defence against mice is a good cat. When I was growing up my parents had a cat and she would always try and bring us "presents" in the form of a mouse that she caught in the garden.
• Canada
10 Jan 08
Yes, I have been to the management office several times. We do pay for regular pest control services. Supposedly they were called immediately after my complaint and put poison in the shafts where the pipes come up. But I guess they can do this only in the basement. How this mouse (mice agh) climbed up to the 7th floor I will never know. Apparently there are ledges in the shafts. Crafty little beasts! Anyway the super is coming to my place tomorrow to make further suggestions. I now have have five traps, three Snap and kill and two live traps. Did not catch anything. I will leave a little peanut on the kitchen floor tonight. If it is gone in the morning I know I still have an unwanted guest.
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
10 Jan 08
ah, that is too bad...haha yes some cats are afraid of mice! Maybe you could band together with other condo owners and get your HOA to resolve the problem once and for all... the best traps are the traditional snap & kill them kind...put a little peanut butter on there as bait (mice love the peanut butter and since it is sticky, they are more likely to get caught in the trap. I hate dealing with that kind of stuff though, which is why in addition to a cat around the house, i also like to keep my husband :) :)
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
13 Jan 08
Sounds like it would make a good movie story line. No, I think that sticky paper is just awful.What are you setting your traps with. I catch mice with bread and peanut butter. If the cat doesn't get them first. I wouldn't release a mouse in a park either. They are vermin and need to be exterminated, swiftly and thoughtfully. Good luck!
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
18 Jan 08
When you finally catch the little blighter/s rest assured you will deal with it properly having achieved a nice balance between what's best and what's also humane. Good on you. We have baits with blood thinner in them. The rodents eat the bait and crawl off quietly and die. They actually dry out so there is no smell but you might find one months later where it's crawled to die.
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
9 Jan 08
Having a choice, I would prefer a live trap and be able to take the little mouse somewhere. That sounds great,and would make me feel like I did a good thing. But is that correct? HOw long has the house been living in a building - with people's food, and food always available? Maybe all its life. WOuld he survive wherever place we decided for him? Probably not. So both the live trap and the other end up being basically the same for the mouse - he will die. That being the case, and since nothing else has worked, I would end up accepting the sticky tape.
• Canada
9 Jan 08
Well, this is the first year we have this problem. I live on the 7th floor and apparently the mouse (mice?) climbed up the shaft where the pipes for the hot and cold water are. Yes, I would love to catch him in one of the live traps I have put up and release him in the nearby park but so far no luck. I hate the thought of the sticky tape but it seems I have no choice because mice and humans should not live together.
1 person likes this
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
9 Jan 08
Yes, I wouldn't like to live with mice/mouse either. ANd as I said, even if you were able to catch him in the live trap and release him in the park, chances are he might not survive anyways, unless he found the way into another house.
• India
9 Jan 08
Well ,you really have a problem ther.I haven't till now experienced such a horryifying experience but you seem to have your hands full.I think you should go to the extreme steps.Call an exterminator or somethng like that.But hey go easy on those little rascals.They sure can turn a whole house upside down.Or I think if the mice problem is for you and your neighbours together then you all should come up with a solution. I think the best way if the problem is as severe as you say it is,then it is time to call the help of some really good professional agency. Or just call Pied Piper(LOL)
• Canada
9 Jan 08
There is a regular pest control in the building in the common areas. The problem is that I live on the 7th floor and this mouse came of in the shaft where the pipes for the hot and cold water come up in the cabinets under the kitchen sink. If I call an exterminator for my own apartment I will have to move out for a couple of days and also destroy all the food in my apartment since I would not want to eat it after the apartment would be treated. Since I don't know a good Pied Piper I guess I will have to opt for the sticky tape that the building management proposed. Thank you for your response.
• Pakistan
9 Jan 08
like ... OF MEN AND HORSES
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
18 Jan 08
lol...no apology necessary.
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
13 Jan 08
No....Of Mice and Men By John Steinbeck.
• Pakistan
14 Jan 08
sorry.