Ick! Eek! Yikes! Last night we awoke to a rambunctious mouse in our room. That is one of the not-so-pretty, not-so-pleasant realities of living in the country. Mice are extremely adorable until they enter the house and then they become very un-cute intruders. For a nesting mother, there’s nothing that gives you the heebie jeebies when you are trying to sleep, like a rodent running around your room. So today I’ve been cleaning like crazy, which makes me feel better. And we have set a ridiculous amount of traps. No messing around when it comes to rodents in this house.
When I first moved to the country, I wanted to catch mice and rats in live traps and transport them to a new location. Oh how naive I was. I found out that they will travel a very long way to return to their home. There are debates on how many miles and miles you need to take them to keep them from returning.
Also, when I first moved here, I was very disgusted when I found dead mice and voles laying in the garden that the cats caught. I would step away from the gift they left me with a scrunched up face. How things have changed. Now when I see them, I praise the purring hunters like a delighted and proud mother. And as for the traps, I now accept it as a part of country living. I think the real turning point was a rodent in our room. At that point, I exclaimed “Bring out the traps!” and have been okay with it ever since. Rodents can live happy and free as long as they stay out of the house.
I learned that you can never really know what you’ll do until you experience it.