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| Re: Caltrops, we got mice. by Roop 08/14/2020, 10:09pm PDT | ||||
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| I'm not sure poison is a good idea if the cat might catch the mouse before it dies and then eats it. They can get taxoplasmosis from an infected mouse, but it doesn't hurt the cat... not too sure about poison.
The mouse you saved also probably didn't survive. Cats fuck with mice like that as a strategy, as a way not to get bit. They mortally wound the mouse, then wait for it to die, or to be too weak to fight. Now birds, they'll snap their necks. Anyway, I live near woods with lots of field mice, and they make their way inside in the winter and again in the spring to have babies, so I was complaining about it to a friend of mine who happens to be an exterminator. He said my best bet was the classic mouse traps, but the ones with the plastic piece for placing bait. There are two places you can set the trap on these models, one is firm and the other is labeled sensitive. My friend said he doesn't even bother to bait the traps, just sets them to sensitive and places them at intervals bait-side against the wall. He said mice run along the walls, so that's where you catch them. They'll eventually run over the trap as it's in their path. Now this guy also deals with full-blown infestations where traps aren't enough. For cases like this, he pulls out his humane mouse trap. It's a clear box that he baits, the mouse goes inside and a door slams shut, trapping it inside. My friend doesn't release him, he leaves the mouse inside. The little guy squeeks and makes a racket, and this attracts the attention of the other mice. He said they're always curious, and go to investigate their comrade in distress. But the exterminator has laid out insidious glue traps all around the cage. They come to find out what the fuss is, and get caught in the glue. Then others come. They don't die fast either, just struggle in the glue until he comes to collect them in the morning. He said he can kill hundreds this way. I told him that I found his story kind of unnerving. And he said, "This is war." And he has some stories, I remember him describing one place where he found inch-thick mouse shit under the bar where they stacked the glasses. They're cute, intelligent little creatures and I would actually let them all live if I could... but they shit everywhere they go. In drawers on the wash rags, in the laundry room inside the bed linens, in the cabinets with all the food. My buddy is right, fuck this it's war. He also mentioned if you can find where you think the mice are getting in, stuff it with a wad of human hair. For them always coming in our homes, they hate the way we smell. One time my cat had a mouse in the next room, and I could hear the thing squeeking in horror from where I was sitting. I went in and saw them both, the cat just sitting and watching the mouse five feet away and the mouse shivering in terror. I remembered my friend and his horrible story about the other mice hearing the trapped mouse and coming to investigate. Do the other mice hear the cat killing their friend? It was like some mobster movie. I just looked at the mouse and then the cat, turned and said, "Take as long as you need." |
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