All weekend, no sign of my friend the mouse. Either it is not tempted by organic peanut butter or is too smart for my humane traps. A new tactic is being considered, thanks to “J”. Sticky traps. In a circle, on the counter, with cheese in the middle of the circle. Something he cannot resist so he feels the need to cross the barrier of stickiness.
My question is, what do you do with the mice after you catch them? Obviously with the humane traps they are still alive. With the sticky ones, they are too. What is to be done with a live mouse that you don’t want in your house? If I let it go outside my home I have no doubts that it will find its way back in. I don’t want to take it in the car to relocate it farther away. But I am positive I am not up to killing it. There is a limit to the intensity of dislike I can have for a creature. (Snakes not included!)
Suzy Sells Sea Shells 
Have you seen the film ‘Ratatouille’? Maybe it just wanted to try a new recipe!? 😉
I know your pain…..I was of the same frame of mind….just use the humane traps – they are rather cute little creatures when you see them first. However, they always managed to tell all of their little furry friends that there was free peanut butter crackers if they don’t mind being detained for a while until the kind owner of said peanut butter delight decides to set you free. Anyway, then I tried the sticky traps – not humane in my opinion – they struggle so hard they die from exhaustion. I think that’s worse than what the snap traps do (at least that’s instant) anyway – I finally got some decon and placed it everywhere I could remember seeing sights of mouse invasion and I haven’t had the problem since. And they must leave my house before they die, because the smell i was afraid of hasn’t been a problem. GOOD LUCK!!
I have seen ‘Ratatouille’, loved it, now I am even less likely to want to harm the mouse! Too funny!
I think the one thing which has prevented me so far from trying the decon is simply that I am not sure it is wise with a 3 yr old in the house. I just worry she will somehow get into it. Though if I could manage to get it only between the sink back and the window ledge, it might be worth it. Someone told me that the decon pretty much dries them up from the inside out so they aren’t supposed to smell, I am just not sure how much truth there is to that!
Yeah, I don’t think there’s a way to remove them from the sticky traps
Maybe try some different baits in the catch-and-release traps, I have heard bacon grease works. Make J take the captured critter and let him out somewhere along the road on the way home or something 😉
If you need more humane traps, I have two brand-new never-used too-small-for-a-rabbit ones 😉
J has the same issue I do with taking care of this. We both have a very hard time murdering God’s creatures. Even though he talks big about the rabbits that eat his garden, I personally have seen that when he comes face to face with the opportunity to take care of one, he can’t do it!
I think you should just get a cat!! 😀
Here’s my experience with the little critters. Sadly, I’ve lived in two different houses with them. In the one house, there were five guys living with me. They didn’t seem to have a problem with the mice so they got pretty outta control. Then, I came home from a months worth of holidays and declared otherwise! LoL.
We ended up calling in an exterminator and he said the best route to go with mice was to use both traps and poison. The poison works well because they supposedly carry it back to their nests. We had a toddler in the house back then as well, also little Miss Sophie. So we used to put the poison in beer caps. It worked wonderfully. We’d put the caps on the counters and in the cupboards at night, then move them out of toddler/puppy range in the morning. We never had a problem, nor did we ever find any smelly or decaying mouse bits. PB seemed the lure of choice for the traps.
Now, this was all back in the years when I was still a strict vegan. I wasn’t eating any animal or animal by-products, so clearly I wasn’t so big on killing them either. Okay, I cried but I finally came to terms with the fact that it had to be done if I didn’t want to be living in a mouse-infested house. If you still only have the one, this might not be such a big consideration but I’ve always found where there’s one mouse, there’s usually at least one more. Then, you still hafta transport it to a new location and I’d never be sure they wouldn’t just come right back.
Those sticky traps, though? Oooh, those are causing me grave concerns this morning. Have you ever seen one in action? ‘Cuz it’s not always pretty. Eyes can get stuck, skin can stick, and things can tear. It can be pretty gruesome and just as someone else here said, long and painful. Personally, sticky traps are way more traumatizing for me than a quick snap. If you go that way though, make sure you get decent traps. The tres cheap ones aren’t always instant either and who knew mouse could scream?
In the end, you’ve gotta do what is best for you and your family. I’m wishing you well and hoping for a mouse free existence asap. Good luck!
I hear that there are no mouse in Lebenon:) ha ha ha I am such a dork.
Found your mom’s number:)