The Return of the Jedi mice.

Click through for slightly bigger pictures.

Sitting on the upside-down trap

We have mice in the house again. We think they came in during the patio restoration in December. Traps have been put down and there was one noteable occasion when MWNN thought he'd caught one. We drove all the way to the local arboretum (risking tyre damage on the farm track) to release the mouse and found the trap was empty. MWNN had looked into the trap and thought he saw something grey in it. Turns out it was the little ‘dining circle’ used to bait the trap. Fairly certain the latest captive is a wood mouse, could possibly be a yellow-necked mouse.

Washing all the yuk off

On Tuesady morning, 5am, Ron alerted us to the fact that there was a mouse in the trap, so MWNN put the trap into a large plastic box and closed the lid. Later that morning, I moved the box so that Ron couldn't overturn it and went to get my camera. When I returned, the mouse had flipped the trap onto its back (the little buggers are really strong and boy can they jump) and was sitting washing itself.

Looking for an escape route

I didn't realise mice were so fastidious. This one was obviously covered in pee and poo, having spent so long incarcerated in the tiny space in the trap. It took a long time washing (and, by the looks of it) drying its fur before exploring the possibility of escape.

Posing for the camera

We left it in the box for a while, to allow it to dry-off  properly and then MWNN went on a shopping and mouse-releasing expedition.  This poor mouse is doomed to a cruel fate, I fear. When I asked MWNN where he'd released the mouse, he said ' the supermarket car park, where it scampered up the nearest heating duct.' He'd forgotten the Rentokil signs we'd seen on the walls last year.



The successful tactics so far include ensuring that the trap is undeneath something heavy enough to stop mice jumping their way out by flipping the door open just long enough to dash out and loading the trap with dog food rather than anything the 'experts' have suggested (peanut butter, chocolate etc).

Note: Do not adjust your screen. Photos on this journal entry seem blurred but they are not. The plastic box is 'smokey' rather than totally transparent.