the_rck | (no subject)

We definitely have mice. We've had hints that we might before, but we always ignored them because there wasn't much to go on. Now we have droppings both in the basement and in the kitchen. There's no sign that they've gotten into our food, but I worry about my books in the basement.

Cordelia is now terrified to go into the basement for fear of seeing a mouse. I can't figure out why she's so scared. Mice are annoying, but they're not likely to attack a person. I doubt she'll ever see one down there.

Scott's talking traps and poison. I'm not keen on either, but we have to do something, and I've got no other ideas. I think I prefer traps to poison. They're messier, but the dead mice aren't likely to end up hidden somewhere. Also, even though Cordelia's old enough that I'm not worried about her getting into poison accidentally, I'm still not fully comfortable with having it around.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I am sorry that I have to offer a very cruel solution, but the last time we had a mouse problem, the maintenance guys at my apartment complex brought in glue traps and put a dollop of peanut butter in the center. It caught the mouse and we did not have a surprise mouse corpse later on.

I felt like crap about doing it, though. :(

Please tell Cordelia that a mouse might surprise you, but they're very shy and retiring and it's highly unlikely that she'll even see it. They're probably interested in sugar products. The mouse in our apartment chewed through a tube of packaged frosting to get at the sweetness inside.

Hope it works out OK.

I'm afraid that the only solutions that will work are cruel ones. I'm resigned to that. I'm just hoping for solutions that aren't messy.

I'm trying to reassure Cordelia about the mice. I have no idea why she's so terrified. Mice are shy and teeny tiny. The odds of her seeing one are minute.