Cooking Deterrent

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We have a mouse.  Actually, we have had this mouse for a long time.  It lives behind the oven and comes out to play once we have left the kitchen. 

I have seen it blatantly strut its stuff across the benchtops with bits of our food hanging from its mouth; in no hurry to get back to its nest.  It has forced us to store food in our microwave!

First we tried those humane traps where you get to carry the still living mouse outside and let it go.  Our mouse inherently knew that capture would result in a trip to the cruel outside world.

We tried traps -  and yes, even smothered in peanut butter and placed up against the wall because everyone knows that mice run along walls not out in the middle of benches. 

Our mouse scoffed at poison.  Our carefully laid out green stuff had little mouse paw prints through it as well as f*** you messages made of droppings. 

I tried to befriend an alley cat – but although it will now come to the bottom of the steps it will not be tempted further even by my tales of a positively yummy rodent waiting inside for it. 

So,  now I am trying these electronic deterrents.  They emit a really high pitched noise which the mouse supposedly finds so unpleasant that it will not come near them.  The noise is only meant to be heard by rodents and creatures like gerbils, ferrets etc -  and perhaps a teenager. 

Well,  I am a very long way forward of being a teenager but I can hear these things.   I have 4 plugged in around the oven so I am getting quadraphonic buzzing.  It's a sort of white noise with a high pitched whine in it. 

I don't know about the mouse, but it certainly keeps me away from the oven!!  

Mouse repel

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City Mouse

The other night I had a sense that there was a mouse in the kitchen.  You know the suspicion which comes from that slight rustling/scurrying sound as you turn the light on.

I examined the foodstuffs on the kitchen bench.  There were two large packets of corn chips, a couple of packets of StarKist Tuna Creations (Zesty Lemon Pepper), a packet of trail mix,  a packet of macadamia nuts and a box of mini moos.  I checked everything except the tuna & mini moos  – no teeth marks.

Next night I came out in the dark and was almost deafened by the rustling!  I examined the chips again and again no nibbles but this time I saw the mouse scurrying away so I investigated further. 

Well, our mouse had enjoyed nearly a whole packet of Zesty Lemon Pepper Tuna and a good helping of the macadamias!!!  

I am surprised that it chose zesty tuna over the corn chips.  Those foil packets are much tougher to get into than the chips and everything was laid out in easy buffet style.  

I think we have a gourmand city mouse. 

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The mouse saga

This is the "no view, no touch"  mousetrap.    No unpleasantness to the householder. 

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Seriously though -  would any self respecting mouse enter this?  It just screams "TRAP".

Obviously our mouse figured out what the system was and refused to eat even though there was no other food available.

So other methods were deemed necessary and poison was purchased.   I am not a big poison person – I think it is a bit cruel – the old fashioned mousetrap was fast and efficient and the mouse died happily munching the bait (with pleasant thoughts of the generous householder providing its last meal).

The paper satchet of poison says that it kills mice that have become resistant to Warfarin poisons (basically super mice).  It comes in a paper packet which you just leave lying around without opening – because mice love to chew through wrapping.   The instructions say to leave it out for 6 days to ensure that the mice get a big enough dose to kill them.  They then go away and die with nasty thoughts of revenge!

So, a packet was placed near the oven and sure enough we soon heard the sound of rustling paper.  We did not disturb his dinner but later looked and saw that he had, indeed, eaten through the paper and into the stuff inside.

We have not seen him since but I don't really believe he is dead.   I think he is just waiting for me to get all those good chocolates back out of the microwave!

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Well, you all know what…

I've been doing for the past couple of days!   Eating my way through a lot of chocolate!

 

I  also re-discovered the well known fact that although we think we will, we never do remember what that  unlabelled package in the freezer is!    I seem to have a lot of “what the hell is this”  stuff!  Of course I did not throw it away because I might remember what it is!

 

And I discovered that we have a house guest – a really blatant mouse!   I had left a packet of corn chips on the bench and when I went out to investigate the rustling noise I spied a mouse running away.   So … traps were purchased and placed strategically around the oven, the back of which seems to be home to the pest.

 

Our mouse does not like cheese apparently  - the traps are undisturbed – but last night I heard rustling again and when I turned the light on, the mouse was sitting there eating dried bananas!!  It looked at me nonchalantly, picked up another piece of dried banana and just trotted off steadily across the bench to the corner of the oven, where it turned its little rodent head to look at me again before disappearing!    I’m starting to have images of the Willard movie!!

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