Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 7

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MorpheusPA
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Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 7

Post by MorpheusPA » May 12th, 2021, 7:53 pm

As of ten minutes ago. It's been a fun couple of days, and I have cleaning to do in the cellar again.

Also, apparently I'm the only one capable of dealing with the corpses of mice in the Victor Power-Kill reusable traps (which are great, by the way).

"Hon, there's another one. And I want soup, and it's in front of the rack. You need to clean that up. Now."

You lift it by the bar. Your hand is never closer to the mouse than three inches. Warranted, the area under my outside tree and rhododendron is starting to look a little macabre, but...

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Re: Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 7

Post by andy10917 » May 12th, 2021, 8:31 pm

Speaking of being afraid of mice -- my wife is a realtor and a large part of her business recently has been people trying to get out of NYC and find homes in the more-distant suburbs. She has had to deal with folks freaking out over a carpenter bee buzzing about its business, etc.

But the best one was someone who saw a mouse (or a vole) and freaked. My wife asked "you're from a place where there are rats the size of large cats, and this is a problem?".

My wife passed on telling the person that we get regularly visited by a full-grown black bear.

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Re: Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 7

Post by MorpheusPA » May 12th, 2021, 8:57 pm

This. We have a fox in the backyard that's enormous. Yet a dead mouse is an object of fear and loathing? What's it going to do, reanimate as a zombie?

Actually, that would be kind of cool.

And yes, Mom's new neighbors are NYC-transplants. They couldn't figure out why the cold water coming from their faucet was warming up recently. Bees are things of terror and dismay. Wait until June hits and the gardens start blossoming.

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Re: Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 7

Post by MorpheusPA » May 12th, 2021, 9:06 pm

Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 8.

I heard a trap pop as I was letting the dog out; dusk just ended and it's darkfall, so they'd be active now. At this point, I think I'm draining the population from the immediate outdoors as well. These are field mice invading the garage.

I heard that ultrasonic repellant plug-ins don't work or I'd try one. But the lure of the grains is probably much greater than the repellant could handle...

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Re: Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 7

Post by bpgreen » May 13th, 2021, 12:58 am

MorpheusPA wrote:
May 12th, 2021, 7:53 pm

"Hon, there's another one. And I want soup, and it's in front of the rack. You need to clean that up. Now."
I know you didn't mean it this way, but that reminds me of a time I caught a mouse in a trap and made a joking comment about having more meat for the soup.

My foster son (a refugee from a less wealthy country) looked a little confused and said something like, "That's too small. Not enough meat. You want the big ones. And better when they're on a farm. They eat better food in the country."

I explaind that I was only joking. And tried to be more careful/sensitive about food jokes in the future.


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Re: Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 7

Post by MorpheusPA » May 13th, 2021, 2:07 am

He's right, they're way too small to dress. Except maybe in cute little suits and dresses until rigor mortis sets in for fun little plays on the windowsill. I could do a little local show of "A Doll's House."

Mice are on the "not really worth it even if you're starving" list. Norway rats, however, which we do have locally? Now those have some meat on their bones.

Still at 0-8. I may have depleted the local population except for the cagey one, sitting in a chair contemplating the most efficient method of gettin' that peanut butter and taking over the world.

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Re: Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 7

Post by pristinegreen75 » May 13th, 2021, 9:57 pm

MorpheusPA wrote:
May 13th, 2021, 2:07 am
He's right, they're way too small to dress. Except maybe in cute little suits and dresses until rigor mortis sets in for fun little plays on the windowsill. I could do a little local show of "A Doll's House."

Mice are on the "not really worth it even if you're starving" list. Norway rats, however, which we do have locally? Now those have some meat on their bones.

Still at 0-8. I may have depleted the local population except for the cagey one, sitting in a chair contemplating the most efficient method of gettin' that peanut butter and taking over the world.
You have the most hilarious "warped " sense of humor :D :D My wife thinks you sound just like me ????? I had the same problem last week.Had my garage door open in the evening and one went rogue and slipped in. I couldn't get him for a few days with the PB....then switched to chunky and voile!! Guess he couldn't resist. If you need an extra for " A Doll's House" let me know :D

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Re: Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 7

Post by bpgreen » May 14th, 2021, 1:31 am

pristinegreen75 wrote:
May 13th, 2021, 9:57 pm
MorpheusPA wrote:
May 13th, 2021, 2:07 am
He's right, they're way too small to dress. Except maybe in cute little suits and dresses until rigor mortis sets in for fun little plays on the windowsill. I could do a little local show of "A Doll's House."

Mice are on the "not really worth it even if you're starving" list. Norway rats, however, which we do have locally? Now those have some meat on their bones.

Still at 0-8. I may have depleted the local population except for the cagey one, sitting in a chair contemplating the most efficient method of gettin' that peanut butter and taking over the world.
You have the most hilarious "warped " sense of humor :D :D My wife thinks you sound just like me ????? I had the same problem last week.Had my garage door open in the evening and one went rogue and slipped in. I couldn't get him for a few days with the PB....then switched to chunky and voile!! Guess he couldn't resist. If you need an extra for " A Doll's House" let me know :D
Your peanut butter content reminds me.

I bought some traps that are basically ramps up to a bucket, a string across ther bucket, some water in the bucket. Peanut butter on the string. The mice climb up the ramp and across the string to get the pb, but then they lose their footing (or maybe it's spring loaded). But they fall into the bucket and drown.

I've been spraying repellant and putting out poison. Nothing wrong with a third prong.

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Re: Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 7

Post by MorpheusPA » May 14th, 2021, 1:42 am

You really need 11 for a full performance of "A Doll's House," but you can double up on some with costume and makeup changes. Since all the little gray mice look the same to me anyway, I managed with four.

And yes, I tend to take three steps to the left and look at the situation from there. It looks very different than the way others see it. And you notice some unobvious solutions.

I also used chunky PB because I prefer it (and a low sugar version because I find sugar in things to be distasteful).

We're still at 0-8, so I think I've depleted the current population. I'll leave the current (five) traps set...

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Re: Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 7

Post by MorpheusPA » May 21st, 2021, 5:49 pm

0-9. One of the last was managing to eat the PB from the traps without tripping them. I broke up and wedged bacon treats the dogs like in the little cups and fastened it in with PB. Turns out it was a tiny adolescent mouse too light to trip the trap; once it got big enough, it did.

I think that's the last, but I'll reload them again. With the dry weather, I expect that mice from the local fields will be ranging and looking for food and water.

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Re: Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 7

Post by MorpheusPA » June 12th, 2021, 2:46 pm

Mice 0. Morpheus 13. They're. Everywhere.

I'm not catching any more in the cellar at least, but I'm actually trying ultrasonics in the desperate hope that they dislike it at least a little, and they area under the rhododendron looks like a charnel house.

Numbers are down to 1 or so every four or five days, but they just keep coming.

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Re: Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 7

Post by pristinegreen75 » June 12th, 2021, 6:07 pm

I got 4 more since the one that went rogue in early May. My neighbors house was built in the 1800's so his foundation is stone. They love those tiny holes and cracks to infiltrate his basement! I have a path through my Pachysandra and through my Privet hedge. Must be their freeway. I put some poison in a coffee can behind the hedge and its disappearing.....so I guess it's working. I have resigned myself to the fact that no matter what you do they will keep coming, and coming, and coming.... like ants!! Since they don't die immediately after eating the poison I'm sure there is a charnel house somewhere nearby also.

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Re: Mice -- 0, Morpheus -- 7

Post by MorpheusPA » June 12th, 2021, 6:36 pm

If you played Fallout 4, I feel like Pickman. Urbane. Well-dressed. Psychotic murderer in post-Apocalyptic Boston. I haven't yet started draining mice for their blood to make my paintings, but I'm beginning to think about it.

"Picnic with Mickey" coming up soon... ("Picnic with Stanley" holds Pickman's safe in his home): https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Pickman%27s_Gift

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