Nocturnal Bag Rattler

[slang]

I have a little situation here. There is a mouse in my apt. This in itself isn't traumatic for me but the natural progression will lead to mice in my apt. That will be a large problem.

This pic was taken tonight. The couch is right next to my computer chair and is about 2 feet away. "Mickey" has become so bold now that he will shuffle through my junk food bags with the light on, my music playing with me sitting within arms reach of him! There for a few days I thought I needed to up my meds, I'd hear bags rustling in the kitchen but there were no "signs" of Mickey left for me to find. He's now trancended bold to cocky. He looks at me from the arm of the couch, eating the remainder of my CrackerJacks all cutesy, taunting me......begging me to fire a shot at him.

So here's the question. How do I euthanize him? Mechanical snap traps? 22 caliber shotshells (I've alerted the neighbor to the possibility of me shooting the little guy)? Sticky traps? Which? I dont mind one mouse spooking around every once in a while but if I don't stop this, he'll be driving my car by Stressmas.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Try to limit his sugar intake before he posts, though.

[insoluble]

you can borrow my cat if you want.

I got empathy for a mouse. He's just looking for a warm place to stay and some food. When you think of it, he's kind of a slang Jr. - he thinks your pad is pretty fly, and he enjoys the same types of food you do! Obviously having more than one mouse is a problem, though, so...

I would guess there are probably live traps. I'd use one of those. Find a barn or something for him and send slang Jr. on his way.

(That's just what I'd do. I understand that you're probably gonna kill him. I guess I would just use a plain ol' mouse trap. Something that'll be quick for him.)

[slang]

Bruce

It seems the only way I can limit his sugar intake is by limiting mine. Lets go another direction, I wonder if he'd drink whiskey. SoCo is sweet. Maybe he'd sip some in a saucer and I could klobber him semi-painlessly.

Insoluable

I'd really like to have a cat but I need to "test out" a cat before one could live here. There are a lot of cat owners but none are willing to let their cat have a vacation here at Fort Slang. If I could find the right cat having one would be cool.

Dave

The goal of "operation goodbye Mickey" is simply to eliminate the chances of being over run with mice. I dont have a problem relocating critters but I understand their tenacity in finding new ways inside if I were to seal up his entrance. This should'nt be a full time pursuit. Animals shouldn't be tortured but killing them is not out of the question.

The traps dont kill quickly. I'm not here much of the time. So the traps would have to be set when I'm snoozing so I can snuff him when I hear him squealing. On the other hand, as fearless as he is now, he stands still long enough for me to blast him. Whichever way I decide to use, it's not my goal to punish the little guy. I just dont want 50 of his friends or decendants here shuffling through bags in the future.

Anyway, it's really not that complicated. The opportunity will present itself and he'll be gone. Then next year there'll be one other mouse that will repeat this cycle.

[andcal]

Well, if he gets that close to you, the cleanest way I know of to get rid of him is to shoot him with a BB gun, but you better aim for the head, or it won't kill him. Even if you hit him in the head, it may only knock him out (depending on how close you are to him), so you better be ready to do a point-blank follow up to make sure he isn't sufferring needlessly.
Yeah, they are cute, but they also carry fleas and diease. And they don't wash before they eat out of your food.
What fascinates me is when they run so fast that they are a blur, imagine how fast each leg must be pumping back and forth!

[slang]

Originally posted by andcal
.... so you better be ready to do a point-blank follow up to make sure he isn't sufferring needlessly.

LOL. This isnt a mafia hit, I'll just step on his head.

More than likely, this is the last thing Mickey will see. Blammo. It's been a while since I fired a firearm inside. Coupla books or magazines covering the holes in the couch and no one will be the wiser.

BB guns arent powerful enough, they ricochet everywhere but the firearms embed the projectiles into the background.

[Undertoad]

Bow and arrow?

[Elspode]

Classic snap-type spring loaded mousetraps are popular for a reason...they work.

However, if you really don't want to kill the little beggar, they also make a nifty little plastic box type trap. the swinging door will open inward, but not outward, so when the little guy goes in to get whatever you bait it with, he cannot get back out.

Then you take him and dump him somewhere. May I suggest Marine guy's lunchbox?

[zippyt]

nows the time for some serious weaponry ,
http://www.pipersprecisionproducts.com/

[xoxoxoBruce]

Heh, heh, heh.

[wolf]

In an interesting parallel ... I am also having a mouse invasion.

Different mouse. And as far as I know it didn't accompany me home in my luggage on my last trip to slangsylvania.

However, I got one of the little bastards loose in here.

Well ... perhaps I used to.

Suspicion of the existence of the mouse-guest resulted in a trip to the fine Sears Home Center store that is three miles from my residence.

Took me a while to find the aisle of mouse-death, which I found to be near the lovely garden center "walk of poison spray."

I was confronted by a vast array of pest-ridding devices for pests in a variety of sizes and hardiness of constitution.

I ultimately selected some poison bait blocks (still unopened, incidentally ... they represent my stockpile of weapons of mouse-destruction) and a pair of sticky traps.

I set the sticky traps in two likely spots in the living room, along the wall where I have noted he likes to take his evening constitutional.

One morning I was rushing out to work and noticed the sticky trap was GONE.

Missing.

Not where I left it.

Worrisome.

But I had to be at work and was already running late.

When I returned home I began my search ... looked around the original placement area ... nothing.

Moved the couch.

No mouse. No trap ....

Started to worry.

I clearly was dealing with something out of the ordinary ... supernatural ... perhaps mousezilla ... or even something larger and scarier. Tried to remember prices of the rat-sized sticky traps and calculate whether I could make it to the Sears Home Center before closing ...

Finally found the trap. Empty (nearly) in another corner of the room. The little bastard had apparently scooched himself across the floor until he reached a child-sized rocking chair. He had maneuvered the trap under the back of the rocker, and somehow managed to scrape or lever himself off of the sticky trap.

I did confirm that the culprit was a mouse though ... plenty of little mousehairs, mouse pee, and mouse turds released in terror during the struggle.

Bought the snap traps the next day. Fuck this sticky-shit. I want him DEAD.

The snap traps remain untouched.

Mouse either died of fright as a consequence of his sticky-trap adventure, or said to himself "fuck this shit, I'm heading next door where they leave the twinkies out on the counter. "

[xoxoxoBruce]

In an interesting parallel ... I am also having a mouse invasion

It's that time of year when the little beggars move inside. They're the cute little field mice of so many childrens fables. Granted they carry lice and worse, but they're soooo cute.

[EdZachary]

Originally posted by wolf
...Bought the snap traps the next day. Fuck this sticky-shit. I want him DEAD.

The snap traps remain untouched.

Add peanut butter!! Those little buggers can't resist it.

We were having some work done a couple yrs ago and while the house was open, a family of four moved right in.. Heard the off and on again scratching in the walls for a week before we realized what the hell it was.

4 snap traps..2 in the attic 2 in the basement, little bit of JIF and voila, no more mice. The 2 traps in the attic went off 5 minutes after I went to bed.

[slang]

Originally posted by xoxoxoBruce
Granted they carry lice and worse, but they're soooo cute.

They certainly are. If I could train them to do a few basic things, they could hang here no problem. They have potential to make great (unpettable) pets.


Rules for Mickey(s) at the slang crib/winter resort:

1) Take a bath in some disinfectant and get yer shots.

2) Use the mouse litterbox

3) Wear a condom

4) Chew gum not the wires

5) Let me finish the bag of goodies before you plow into it, like you own the fucking place.

6) Always leave the car filled will gas when you return it.

7) Do not cling to or brush up against slang or his clothing

8) Always cover the food you put in the microwave

9) Do not open the door to strangers (especially the cable guy)

10) Use your own login on the cellar.

Pretty simple.

I think this guy is hysterical when he sprints across the floor. He likes the carpet, such as it is. It's like a running track for him. Sometimes he runs out from under the couch and stops right in front of my chair as I'm sitting in it. As if to say "look at me zip around".

At these times I look back at him as if to say "if you could only follow my simple rules you could stay here".