Out With the Trash or…

I have a mouse problem. I stored a few boxes with some winter clothing in sealed bags in my attic. Once upon a time there was thick insulation up there. When I went to get my things,  it was shredded. With the exception of the insulation around the entrance hatch of crawl space, it looks like someone came in and dumped barrels of shredded paper. In a few areas, it looked concave, like tunnels. Where the hell were they going ?

I was freaked out. A family of mice living in my house. From the looks of it, I think there’s an entire village there. Where’s Hillary when you need her ?  She can have this one.

After dinner last night with a group of family and friends, about 16 of us, I started talking about my mouse problem. Has anyone else had mice ? Almost everyone I spoke to had, whether in the suburbs, country or city.  Large homes, small homes, townhomes.  I’m 3 minutes from the beach and all my neighbors have had problems too.

The suburban folks all seem to have a service. Four times a year. Those exterminating companies aren’t suffering from the bad economy.  One husband said to get poison. They don’t suffer. I looked at him. ” Are you joking ?  They must.”  He said they just get dry and look for something to drink. “Don’t you think a person suffers when they get poisoned, because I heard they did. Why wouldn’t it be the same for mice ?” He told me that the guy in Home Depot gave him that information.Oh, then it must be correct, he’s an expert, I said facetiously..

Another man offered his advice. “Get the glue traps. They’re cheap.” I had an immediate reaction to that one because to me, that’s barbaric. I think the person who  invented that concept is sadistic, arrogant and insensitive. “That is so cruel,” I said. His response was, “It’s only a mouse.” My response was ” and to a shark, you’re only a person.  A mouse is still a living, breathing animal that feels pain. It could rip its skin trying to get away, but ultimately it will probably starve to death. That’s torturous.”

I used to live in a condo in the city and we had mice, mostly in the basement, except for the few times they came to visit me. They set the glue traps out and I used to go around the building and pick them up and throw them in the trash when I found them. So, for any former residents, reading this,  now you know why we never got rid of them.

Most people use the metal traps. The other night I could hear mice. I know they go through the walls.  Walls I just put up four years ago. On my way home, I stopped at Home Depot. If I was going to trap them, I didn’t want them to suffer, so I thought a trap would be best because it kills them instantly.

That is, until I spoke with my brother.   He set out a few traps some years back and one morning he went to check and found the mouse that almost got away.  The poor mouse got a part of him caught in the trap and was still alive. Did he not bait it in the right place ? I couldn’t envision this. I knew just what to get. A few men who lived near me told me.

I went in looking for the traps concealed inside those little houses. You put peanut butter in to attract them, the door closes and I believe the trap goes off. You don’t have to see them. I bought four, But I will know. I’ll know a mouse is in there and that I either killed him or he could still be alive. I went to another store and got the peanut butter.

I was driving for a half hour. Maybe there are a lot of mice, or maybe only  5, 6, or 7. I can’t do it, I thought. I just can’t kill another living being. I’m going to call around tomorrow for the catch and release traps. They’ll be caught alive and I wondered who I didn’t like or who  gave me a problem in the past.  I was going to drop him off right in front of their house. But then their fate would be left in their hands.

So,  I’ll take them for a nice ride several miles away and drop them in the woods somewhere or conservation land. All I know is that I can’t just throw an animal out in the trash because I don’t like him/her. Or because I don’t want them living with me. Yes, they’ll be evicted, but in a humane way. I don’t want that on my conscience.