Earlier in the week, I was putting Jake to bed when I heard it. The creepy sound of a mouse gnawing and clawing at the wall. Knocking on the wall did not stop the little beast from trying to eat his way through. Pounding on the wall was yet another failed attempt. By this point, my little boy is starting to panic and has requested to go back downstairs. This mad dash to the couch that I have been waiting to claim all day led to the "they're more scared of you" talk. I could see he was beginning to feel a little better. Meanwhile, I just stared at the wall waiting to see the first sign of mouse freedom.
Ten minutes after an already drawn out bedtime, Jake wandered downstairs to get some toys. Afterall, he couldn't sleep with all the noise by his bed. I made a snap decision to use my magical mommy powers and turn his dark cloud into something brighter. I asked him if he'd like to name the mouse. Sherman the Vermin was born. He immediately went back to bed and began to talk to Sherman. Jake made one demand: that we not kill Sherman, cats included. Um, okay.
Disappointment washed over Jake when he went to bed the following night and didn't hear his new friend behind the wall. I said perhaps he went out to eat. I'm sure he'll be back just as soon as he can. Another night went by and no more word from his new pal, Sherman. Where was that little bastard? I certainly hoped he didn't make it to the other side of the wall somewhere else.
Thankfully, the next afternoon brought a visit from our pest control company. After much research to learn about humane traps, the decision was made to put a bait box in the access panel next to the toilet in the master bathroom. All evidence pointed to a mouse hangout in that area, not to mention it was often patrolled by our feline friends.
It has been at least 5 days since I have heard anything from Sherman. I can only assume that he is stiff-legged somewhere in our walls with his friends. Per the advice from a website, I dripped peppermint oil around the toilet area to keep any mice from entering through the access panel. I have no idea if they've made it through the barrier since I hike a little further to use the kids' bathroom at night. What can I say? I suppose someone needs to have the "they're more scared of you" talk with me.
Awwww! We had a bird hop into our garage about a month back (it was injured). Jeff told me that it went in there to die and the only thing I could think of is the smell if it did die somewhere I couldn't find it. Luckily I did find it the next day, sadly it was dead. Hope Sherman didn't die in your walls!
ReplyDeleteOk, I would not cope well with EITHER situation. You all know about my reaction when we had the snake. I don't even like the ants we've been dealing with (and are thankfully pretty much gone). I'm not sure that Island Dad would deal well with mice, either (though I think he could tackle the bird issue Leah had).
ReplyDeleteWe've had mice, and other rodent type creatures, in our garage...I'd I usually scream worse than R.! Great thinking on naming the little guy for Jake's sake, but I hope he's not to sad that Sherman hasn't made a visit. And for the record, I doubt you could pay me to use the bathroom...even during the day, if it was the entrance to the mouse world!
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