Traps

Yep...it's that time of year. It's getting cold outside. The fields surrounding our house are being harvested. The lot just down the street is being built upon. All of that equals little things that aren't supposed to be inside trying to find warm places to bunker down for the long winter ahead. Well...that warm place will not be here...not if I can help it. I stepped out to open the garage door this morning, and as soon as the door lifted, I saw that little 4-legged creature with that long dragging tail scurry from the outside rain straight into our garage. Of course, I let out a scream...it was an involuntary reflex...then started to shut the garage door...then opened it again...why trap the thing inside? Then, I slammed the door (all in a matter of 1 second). I loaded Sophie and Sawyer up into the van AS FAST AS I COULD, picked Lainey up from pre-school, and headed straight to Dollar General...my only option here in Gretna. I picked up 8 sticky mouse traps, then put them down for 8 rat traps. (They happened to already be baited, but I bought gummy bears and placed one in the center of each just for extra enticement.) No way in heck was I going to place a little 1"x3" piece of sticky plastic down in my garage. I just don't think that type of coverage will have staying power. Now, I do realize that the snap of the trap is a surer deal, but that snap could just as easily break little fingers that might wonder just what would happen... My neighbor across the street had big problems with little rodents last year and found these high frequency plug-ins from Lowe's that really worked for them. So, there is now one in the garage, and two in our house to hopefully help keep the mice away. I think it's like the Pied Piper in reverse... Gimmick? Maybe...but it seemed to work for them, and it sure makes me feel a lot better.

When I see a mouse, my blood runs cold. I hate them. I truly do. They are filthy, sneaky, disgusting. It sicks me out that they can squeeze their bodies into such an itty bitty little space to get where I don't think they should be. I'm sure my pure petrification of these animals has to do with a very early memory I have of being at my grandma's farm. I was only about 2 years old when a mouse ran across the floor of my grandma's kitchen. Every one of my aunts was up on her chair screaming, and my grandma was chasing after the mouse with a broom...while I was standing on the floor. Who knows if that's why I hate the critters so much....but it really doesn't matter, I do.

As of tonight, the traps are clear. I haven't checked them; I don't want to...but I don't hear anything. I am hoping the mouse turned and ran back out of the nice warm garage into the cold driving ran...ha...when it heard me scream. I can wish. It doesn't matter. The traps aren't going anywhere. I'm going to be proactive at least if this little mouse went elsewhere. I'm going to do my best to show that rodents are not welcome at this house.