Cough, cough. Sniffle, sniffle. At-choo!
Got a cold.
Got three kids who have colds.
Got a husband on a killer deal who's almost never home. (Unless 3 - 4 a.m. arrivals count?)
Got wonderful in-laws in town who aren't seeing much of their son.
Got a weekend full of plans that don't sound very fun when I'm feeling lousy.
Got a 3-year-old who wakes up screaming MOM!!! hysterically multiple times a night, most nights of the week.
Got a 1-year-old who doesn't appreciate the 3-year-old's screaming and lets us know she's a little upset.
There's my internet whining for the week. Now, for the really SERIOUS complaint.
I'VE GOT A MOUSE IN MY HOUSE!!!
I know.
Totally gross.
I'm in the kitchen, at the table right now. Brian and his dad are in the living room nearby, watching the BYU game. Lights are one, people are talking, moving... etc. And, get this... I've seen him come out from under the stove three different times as I've been sitting here. BRAZEN little critter!! He sniffs around the rug by the sink, crawls along to the hole by the dishwasher, and hops under our cupboards... heads back to the stove. A few nights ago, he came out DURING DINNER! Yep. I was sitting there with my little kidlins, have some rice, and he poked his little head out from the side of the fridge and wandered slowly down the hall. Gross. Gross. Double Gross!!!
We have ten traps set in our house. TEN.
They're loaded with peanut butter, cracker crumbs, raisins, butter, cheese, chocolate. We've had them out for several nights in a row. Just now, I watched him go up to one trap, within two inches of "the goods." He sniffs carefully, backs away slowly and heads a different direction. We've got snap traps, glue traps, fancy plastic traps... And, one smart mouse.
I'm about ready to break out the deCon. But that's nasty stuff -- not something I really want to use with kids in the house. Plus, what if he eats it (which he's probably smart enough that he wouldn't) then dies in the crawl space under our cupboards? We'd smell him for months.
Anyway. He's about to drive me crazy. I'm obsessing over him, how to get rid of him, what to do?! I clean the floor after every meal, pick up crumbs from every snack, etc. Natalie insists on leaving him a small feast every time she eats -- so I REALLY have to stay on top of it.
Last night, Brian came home at 1 and worked downstairs until a little after 3 a.m. I laid awake in bed, listening to every move, imagining I was hearing the trap snapping, finally. But nope.
Brian named him Henry. (No offence to anyone who knows anyone named Henry -- Brian was just picking an H name, to match with his London cousin, Humphrey, who frequented our first flat after we were married.) I guess we're just going to adopt him and make him part of the family. Expect to see pictures of him soon. I mean, he made the blog, right??
7 comments:
Oh I am so sorry! I will commiserate with you though. We actually have mice. But it is that time of year. The farmers get to the fields and start stirring up the little mice houses and then they feel the need to invade mine! I saw it/them a couple of mornings sitting at the kitchen table while J-Man ate his breakfast. He/They ran across the kitchen floor from the table to the hole by the dishwasher. And Trent saw one one morning on the counter! He was helping himself to the last of the rice krispie treats. Needless to say, I am much more diligent about putting food away in plastic containers. But we (meaning Trent) have managed to catch a few. He set a trap next to the hole by the dishwasher, but never caught one. We only managed to scare HP, and mame one (HP still talks about the blood on the floor. It is his favorite story to tell people when they come over, much to my horror) But later that same night he got caught in the sweet spot for catching them. Between the wall and the TV Cabinet. Now I tell you all this because Trent has discovered that if the trap is parallel to the wall the PB is gone in the morning and no mouse. But if it is perpendicular to the wall there is a dead mouse and PB left for the next one. I think having it perpendicular leaves no room for them to get out of the way when the trap goes off. Just a thought, it sounds like your willing to try anything at this point. Give me a call sometime I will tell you about the disappearing trap and wonder mouse from last year.
you should get that thing that plugs into the outlet, and sends out a signal and makes all the mice leave your house. It's called riddex pulse. anyway, good luck with the mouse.
Oh Lisa's RIGHT, Kam--You can get a rodent repeller at Wal-Mart, even, so GO GET ONE!! (It's like that little plug-in thing that kinda bothered Brian that was plugged in in the hall here at my house. Remember??)
Also, try laying some Downy or Bounce dryer sheets out around the areas you've seen him. It might just be coincidental, but we really truly think those things keep away mice AND spiders, and they SMELL nice in the process! Remember--Grandma Hone heard about that a few years ago--laid some down in her basement, and found SEVEN dead mice just a few days later! Also, remember Don who used to work for Dennis? His wife stuck dryer sheets in all their heat vents to make the house smell nice, and Don's PET white rat ended up mysteriously DEAD. So......See???
I'm SO SORRY you've got that little "wise-guy" running around in your house. How AWFUL! I can see why it truly IS the WORST of your WOES!! (some people might think being awakened in the night countless times by a wailing three-year old would be a bit WORSE, but Hey....a Brazen Mouse is a REAL PROBLEM!!! Good luck on ridding your home of him--Soon! Love, Mom
Hi Kam!
Oh, so sorry to hear about your mouse problem!! We have been plagued with them this year! I think it means we are going to have a bad winter or something?! One actually died somewhere - I think in the wall, because we spent all day looking for the smelly little unwanted, dead, guest and never did find him! It took two days to rid my house of the horrible smell! But, it was sparkling clean!
Good luck!
Hugs,
Barb
Kam - not to scare you, but I bet it is really a whole family of mice. Hahahaha. I want to talk to you. I will call you this week so we can catch up. This mouse reminds me of the lizard that once lived under my dishwasher in Australia. Very Brave little critter!
put a little Clorox in a spray bottle w water and spray it all around the baseboard s where you've seen him...because pretty soon you'll have more like 10....use the DECON too! It's worth it & just be glad it's not roaches :'( sorry about your yucky weekend
Kam...you are super mom/wife! REALLY! I admire you so much! I can't believe how much poor Brian-and you-have to work! I wish you lived by me so I could help you more. I miss you tons! LOVE YA!
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