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Old 12-23-2011, 11:43 AM   #1
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We have lived in our house going on 14 years (metro Minnesota). In that time we have had to trap mice three times, all over Christmas. I feel bad when I have to retrieve them because they are just looking for shelter from the brutal weather (today). Anyone else feel these same mixed feelings?
Puts a damper on the holiday spirit, at least to me.
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Old 12-23-2011, 12:02 PM   #2
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Many years ago, I had mice in the walls. Creepy as I'd hear them scratching at night!

Ended up trapping several of them with conventional snap-traps. Did feel a bit guilty as it was probably a family of mice. Yet, when considering the alternative, that is, them exploring and crawling and hiding around in my place, I had to do what needed to be done to get rid of them quickly.

Otherwise under the Christmas tree, the fuzzy thing scurrying around may not be a battery operated toy
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Old 12-23-2011, 12:05 PM   #3
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I know - it seems a shame to condemn something to death when it is just doing what it is meant to do.

Plus they're cute.

There are humane traps out there - but I wonder if it's any more humane to release them back into the cold weather.
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Old 12-23-2011, 12:07 PM   #4
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Please don't fee bad. After all, they didn't have your invitation for moving in, right? IMO, your holiday spirit probably would be changed if they can find and gain access to any of your holiday food. These little creatures are indeed very rational, sometime even more rational than us.
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Old 12-23-2011, 12:17 PM   #5
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We have lived in our house going on 14 years (metro Minnesota). In that time we have had to trap mice three times, all over Christmas. I feel bad when I have to retrieve them because they are just looking for shelter from the brutal weather (today). Anyone else feel these same mixed feelings?
Puts a damper on the holiday spirit, at least to me.
I am convinced that if left alone, mice and roaches could take over the world. They breed and breed and breed. They have to be controlled for the good of humanity IMO.

Now, when mice begin purchasing effective birth control options and using them responsibly, I'll revisit that statement....
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Old 12-23-2011, 12:28 PM   #6
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Mice are equipped to detect the odor of fresh cat urine, even in the tiniest amounts, and even if the cat is religious about using a box. If they catch the slightest whiff, mice will avoid the area. Before we got a cat, mice would find their way into our place each autumn, and stay for the winter. With a cat, no such problem. After the cat passed, the mice returned within a month.
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Old 12-23-2011, 04:01 PM   #7
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I have no mixed feelings when killing mice.
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Old 12-23-2011, 04:58 PM   #8
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Anyone else feel these same mixed feelings?
I don't like to kill them, we trap them live and take them far away to the woods. They get about 1/4 cup of birdseed and a paper cup filled with lint from the clothes dryer as a parting gift. I don't know if they survive, but I feel okay about the situation.
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Old 12-23-2011, 05:12 PM   #9
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I don't like to kill them, we trap them live and take them far away to the woods. They get about 1/4 cup of birdseed and a paper cup filled with lint from the clothes dryer as a parting gift. I don't know if they survive, but I feel okay about the situation.

I'm curious...how do you trap them live?
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Old 12-23-2011, 05:52 PM   #10
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Anyone else feel these same mixed feelings?
Puts a damper on the holiday spirit, at least to me.
No I don't. In fact I have gone on a jihad against mice in the past few days.

Since my 4 traps in the woodshed don't seem to be getting more than 2 or 3 a month and since I went into the shed and a lot scattered, I decided to put the other 6 traps I have in the basement just sitting there doing nothing to work. And did they work! Set 6 traps baited with peanut butter and the next morning I had 5 mice! Great. I put them out on the lawn by the woodshed and the crows came and took them away. Burp. Then the next morning I had 6 mice! Again I dumped them on the grass and the crows had another feast. This morning I had 4 mice, maybe I'm starting to get the last of them? Anyway the crows ate well again.

I hate rodents, the are vectors of disease and filth. They are destructive to property. They pee and crap everywhere all the time. Ever see a kitchen with mice under a black light? The pee trails are all over the counters, in the cabinets, floors and tables, it is enough to make your skin crawl.

I hope I have another bountiful night tonight and find 6 more tomorrow morning. Doesn't seem to be bothering my "holiday" spirit, nope not at all.
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Old 12-23-2011, 05:53 PM   #11
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I always say something like, "GOTCHA!, You little sucka....". Right before tossing trap and all into the trash. Then I go back to watching the ballgame.

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Old 12-23-2011, 06:13 PM   #12
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We have lived in our house going on 14 years (metro Minnesota). In that time we have had to trap mice three times, all over Christmas. I feel bad when I have to retrieve them because they are just looking for shelter from the brutal weather (today). Anyone else feel these same mixed feelings?
Puts a damper on the holiday spirit, at least to me.
Heck, I've trapped three this year alone in our Hawaii house. I guess you don't have to blame yourself for the weather.

We use a live trap and release them a mile up the road.

As Groucho used to say... "I like mice-- especially with a little garlic sauce"...
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Old 12-23-2011, 06:24 PM   #13
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Heck, I've trapped three this year alone in our Hawaii house. I guess you don't have to blame yourself for the weather.

We use a live trap and release them a mile up the road.

As Groucho used to say... "I like mice-- especially with a little garlic sauce"...


Holy moley, maybe it's just the zoom, in the picture that mouse almost looks like a rat.
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Old 12-23-2011, 06:35 PM   #14
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Holy moley, maybe it's just the zoom, in the picture that mouse almost looks like a rat.
The other two were smaller, darker, and cuter. But I didn't know that rats & mice could peacefully coexist at the same mailing address.

Here's a better view of the trap from last year's incumbent. Hmm... maybe I need to drop them off a little further away...
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Old 12-23-2011, 06:48 PM   #15
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I think that the little creatures are beautiful. I get to see them up close after killing them in snap traps. Things are under control this year but we had problems with them getting in the house. I try to discourage their proliferation by keeping bird food in closed containers etc.

Link discussing trapping methods:
http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ice-23400.html
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Old 12-23-2011, 08:15 PM   #16
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I'm curious...how do you trap them live?
There are traps that are made to do this--like the one in Nords's picture, or cheaper ones made of plastic that have a trap door that swings down. I even built a couple of traps myself to catch them (PVC pipe open at one end with hardware cloth over the other, a trigger wire in the middle that activates a standard mousetrap on top of the pipe, the spring lever on the standard mousetrap pulls the pin on a sliding door that closes over the open end, trapping the mouse inside)
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Old 12-23-2011, 08:29 PM   #17
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I thought they were cute and felt sorry for them until I had to trap and dispose of them myself.
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Old 12-23-2011, 08:32 PM   #18
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The few times that we've had a mouse get inside, the options for the mouse were-
- Die a quick but brutal death in a trap.
- Die slowly while providing instinctual entertainment to the cat.

I'll start to feel bad when there is a global shortage of mice.

OTOH, when a chipmunk got inside we ran right out and bought a humane trap. By the time we got the trap home, one of the cats had already chased the chipmunk and brought it upstairs. When he let it go and chased it again we opened the front door and it promptly ran outside. We thanked the cat and returned the trap.

Something about a chipmunk makes it cute and worth saving, while a mouse is just a small version of a rat.
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Old 12-23-2011, 09:17 PM   #19
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I don't enjoy killing animals, but a mouse in my house is a threat to our health. There's only been one in this house, but there were lots at our cabin. I throw the carcass out where I'm sure a predator will eat it. If I lived somewhere predator-free, I'd just bury the carcass in the shrubbery.
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Old 12-23-2011, 10:39 PM   #20
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Something about a chipmunk makes it cute and worth saving, while a mouse is just a small version of a rat.
I have to agree with you. While they are rodents, I view a chipmunk as a cute and lovable creature probably because they are portrayed as such in kids books. I would be unhappy if a chipmunk blundered into one of the traps but for some reason they never go into the woodshed or the shed. I think they live in stonewalls and prefer to avoid people and their homes.

Rats, mice and squirrels are all fair game to kill by any and all means.
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