September 20, 2006
House of Death
Another mouse is now rotting between the walls of my bedroom. I knew it was coming, but I can't stop these things on my own unfortunately. That makes around 12 or more mice that have died thus far. Kinda freaks one out when it comes to feeling safe in this house. Is something in our house, like an odorless gas, killing these animals because they're small? What do I even do about it?
The weather shifted around 5 days ago and I am being hit hard. Hopefully my summer bubble will not totally burst, because I've really accomplished a lot over the past few months, and I would hate to see that fall apart. Wish me luck. I'm not going to stop pushing forward unless forced.
Posted by Andy at September 20, 2006 05:33 PM to the General category & Health categoryWell, I realize you're being silly about the "odorless gas" thing but if you're really concerned you could have someone inspect the house. You might recall, I did think your tap water had a faintly funky odor to it but I'm pretty sure that's from your well's filter. Or it could be mouse-killing marsh gas emitted by the mud-aliens that live upriver from you that I was telling you about.
Otherwise--it's a matter of: there is something that is attracting mice to the spot behind the wall. Warmth, something that makes them think there's food, something. I still think probably the best solution would be to get a cat, but with your mom's issues I realize that's not going to happen. Perhaps you could train some of the songbirds to hunt small prey.
Posted by: DQ at September 24, 2006 10:15 PMCan you find me an invisible cat?
You know, I thought this all might have been over, but today the smell in the wall next to my room has increased. The worst of that may yet come.
Posted by: Andy at September 26, 2006 08:33 PMSongbirds...that's it! Brilliant idea. Training will commence at 1530 hours today. Andy, please have some birdies waiting for me when I get home from work. (Say, I was just thinking...I have a cute little toy siamese cat at school. Do you think that could help?)
Posted by: Mom at September 28, 2006 07:50 AMHow's the training going? ;) Hey, if it worked for Hitchcock...
Toys may not help ... :) but come to think of it, some places--sometimes gardening centers--sell "prey scent" (basically treated coyote urine and such) that you can paint in certain areas, and it helps dissuade rodents from coming around. It's meant for outdoor use though... I can't remember if the scent is discernible to humans. Obviously, Andy doesn't want to paint wolf peepee all over his room. But if it's NOT a discernible scent and was available, maybe that could be spread behind the wall and in small areas where mice might get through.
That is an interesting notion. I will pass it along to the establishment. Alternatively, we could just capture a fox and stick it in the wall. That would be cheaper but possibly more risky when diseases are factored into the equation.
Posted by: Andy at September 29, 2006 08:05 PM