Mouse!

[CptnJack]

Ok, so here we are, midnight, a few days before Christmas, the house decorated, the kitchen about 2 days from being complete after a remodel and 12 guys on the roof putting a new roof on. The dogs are going nuts sniffing around the couch in the living room when I finally get tired of yelling at them to stop. I pull the couch out and sarcastically yell "Look stupid, there's nothing under there!" when a HUGE mouse runs out from under the couch and into the formal living room, behind my reef tank! We chase it in there, open the cabinet and there he is, staring right at me. I run out to the garage to figure out something to catch it with and by the time I get back, my wife informs me that he ran under the Christmas tree.

We poke around and can't find him so I start looking in the tree. At first I couldn't find him as we have a 10' tree. Then all of the sudden I spot what might be a tail!

There he is!

After much thought, consultation and a general discussion over 9 irons, buckets, nets and shovels and the consequences (we recalled "Christmas Vacation" and "The Great Outdoors") we decide to set a homemade live trap and go to bed. But I was able to get a few shots before we called it a day.

Mouse!

 

[1000th happy haunt]

From the photos it looks like it's a deer mouse.

We've had a number of mice set up residence in our garage. My husband's been catching them for days (and taking them to the woods near our home to release them). They move in looking for warmth and a good meal (we keep birdseed in the garage).

 

[bobbiwoz]

Please tell us when this is ended!!!

We too had small mice eating birdseed in our laundry room, but in the actual house seems worse to me. DH had relatives who lived in Rhode Island and they would tell us about garter snakes getting into their basement regularly. I could not act as calm as they did about this, and every time I go into our basement, I look. It's a creepy feeling.

Bobbi

 

[spiceycat]

he probably came in because of the construction that is still going on.

I really dislike mice. but my cats just love 'em.....

they do catch more this time of year - because they do seem to want a warmer place....

 

[LIFERBABE]

Maybe he's there to take you to WDW!

If I had 12 guys on my roof,hammering, I would need a break!

 

[Scratch42]

Are You Gonna Call Him MICKEY?

 

[erikthewise]

Good luck with the live trap. Peanut butter is better bait than cheese.

 

[athenna]

OMG

I have a major rodent phobia ( no Mickey or Minnie jokes , please, they're 6 ft tall and cute, not the same)

One we saw one in our house, I pretty much moved out and stayed at a hotel off and on for about a month. Couldn't eat, couldn't sleep. Sounds extreme and irrational, but a lot of phobia's are.
Good luck ( and better you than me )

 

[LisaS]

I run out to the garage to figure out something to catch it with and by the time I get back, my wife informs me that he ran under the Christmas tree.

As soon as I read this paragraph I was also thinking "Christmas Vacation". Love the photos! He's a cute little guy. And thank you for going with the humane solution of a live trap.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Make sure you wash carefully after touching the trap and other places Mr Mouse may have been. Watch out for any droppings, etc. Deer mice carry Hanta virus which can be deadly.

 

[CptnJack]

Indeed, and with a 2.5 yo and a 8 mos pregnant wife we are being extra careful. Plus the wife is nesting so she has been washing everything 7 times.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Careful...you don't want your toddler to open a present Christmas morning and think he/she got a pet mouse!

We have a wooded area behind our house and always keep Decon in the garage...I haven't seen a mouse in a long time but am always on the lookout because we keep having to replace empty boxes.

 

[LisaS]

Careful...you don't want your toddler to open a present Christmas morning and think he/she got a pet mouse!

My "toddlers" are all of the feline persuasion (or is that purr-suasion?). Every year they ask Santa for a small rodent but have to settle for the fake kind with catnip inside. A live rodent in our Christmas tree would really make their Christmas but then I would have to banish them from the room while DH and I rescued the poor little guy.