return of the mice

[kirkcudbright]

(Pic from the original infestation 3 years ago)


We have mice in the garage again. Carelessness on my part, I put the unused flower seeds down with the flowerpots, potting soil, etc. This included sunflower seeds, which apparently the meeces love. Guess what I baited the trap with...

We found one this morning, and released it a couple miles away in the state forest. But I'd be surprised if it was just one.

Comments

[c1.livejournal.com]

A FOAF took mice he found in his house, and deposited them a "couple miles away" in the woods. He kept having problems. Finally, before bringing a new batch of mice to the woods, he sprayed them with bright spray paint. A few days later... you know how the story ended.

I took a new view toward kill-traps after I saw a friend remove several feet of electrical wire from his attic that had been stripped bare of its insulation: mice and other rodents strangely think electrical insulation makes for good eating. (Fortunately, said electrical circuit was very rarely energized.)

[kirkcudbright.livejournal.com]

The first nest of mice (found in the bbq grill, not even in the house) we relocated to the brush pile behind the house, but that clearly wasn't far enough. However, this release point is a literal couple of miles away. If the mice followed all the twists and turns of the fire road, they would come out pretty close to our house, but there are frankly other houses that are much closer to the release point.

I'm not philosophically against killing animals (I eat meat, after all), and I'd take more aggressive action if there was a significant population, and/or they were doing significant damage. But I'd rather use the least force required.

No mouse in the trap yesterday morning, and I forgot to check this morning, but there's one in there now. It's going to have to wait until morning, and then we'll take it far, far away.