So over the past month or so, we became aware of an extra "pet" in our house... the kind of pet that usually has a partner and can produce more pets at an astounding rate.
It's really no surprise that we would acquire this kind of winter-time pet... goodness knows it had plenty to eat with my littles leaving their crumbs about.
I bought traps that are fully enclosed so that when you capture your pet, you don't have to see the end results of the capture - if you know what I mean. (Can you even imagine Iraq finding a squashed mouse in the kitchen? It would traumatize her for months.) The other benefit of such traps is that they are pretty much child-proof (a good thing in our house). Unfortunately our pet didn't take the bait.
So my hubby went ahead and bought the old-fashioned-type mouse traps and then proceeded to come thiiiiiiiss close to trapping his own fingers... twice. (It's really entertaining to see a 6'3" man's reaction when a mousetrap gives way in his hand.)
Finally he got 2 traps set and placed (all of his fingers still intact), and over the last week our "pet" has apparently been using the set traps as feeding stations... and then leaving.
Until this morning.
Did our little pet have the decency to stick its neck in the trap like a normal mouse? No. I got to wake up to the most pathetic little brown mouse dragging the trap around the kitchen by its broken femur!
So. Not. Right.
You see, I have a real issue with killing critters. Yeah - it's a mouse. I know. But it's a life. (I swear - I must have been a Buddhist monk in my last life.) If the thing had been relatively uninjured, I would have had no issue with driving it out to the countryside and releasing it. No problem at all.
But no. NO... now I have to kill it. I can't just let it suffer with a horribly broken femur (and possibly hip). I have to put it out of the misery that we inadvertently caused it by catching the wrong part of it's anatomy in a trap and mangling the poor thing.
So I found a plastic container and held the trap over the container while I gently lifted the lever, letting the mouse plop down into the container. I've heard that carbon monoxide poisoning is a good way to kill small critters with a minimum of pain, so I trot out and turn on my truck. I open the container and hold it up to the exhaust pipe (but not too close so as not to burn the poor creature). As it got down to the twitching phase, I capped the container, assuming there was still enough carbon monoxide in there to finish the little scrap off.
Just as I was about to deposit the container into the garbage... our pet awoke and started running around the container again.
Really?
Back to the exhaust pipe, and this time I held it there long after the twitching stopped.
Then, as I was dumping the mouse and its clear, plastic coffin in the garbage, I could see that the mouse was female... and lactating.
Yippee... more pets!
And with that, I leave you with some recent pictures of the two people in our house who have seemingly put themselves in charge of ensuring our "pets" will have enough to eat. As you can see, with the weather turning nice, I am encouraging them to eat their treats outside.
*
It's really no surprise that we would acquire this kind of winter-time pet... goodness knows it had plenty to eat with my littles leaving their crumbs about.
I bought traps that are fully enclosed so that when you capture your pet, you don't have to see the end results of the capture - if you know what I mean. (Can you even imagine Iraq finding a squashed mouse in the kitchen? It would traumatize her for months.) The other benefit of such traps is that they are pretty much child-proof (a good thing in our house). Unfortunately our pet didn't take the bait.
So my hubby went ahead and bought the old-fashioned-type mouse traps and then proceeded to come thiiiiiiiss close to trapping his own fingers... twice. (It's really entertaining to see a 6'3" man's reaction when a mousetrap gives way in his hand.)
Finally he got 2 traps set and placed (all of his fingers still intact), and over the last week our "pet" has apparently been using the set traps as feeding stations... and then leaving.
Until this morning.
Did our little pet have the decency to stick its neck in the trap like a normal mouse? No. I got to wake up to the most pathetic little brown mouse dragging the trap around the kitchen by its broken femur!
So. Not. Right.
You see, I have a real issue with killing critters. Yeah - it's a mouse. I know. But it's a life. (I swear - I must have been a Buddhist monk in my last life.) If the thing had been relatively uninjured, I would have had no issue with driving it out to the countryside and releasing it. No problem at all.
But no. NO... now I have to kill it. I can't just let it suffer with a horribly broken femur (and possibly hip). I have to put it out of the misery that we inadvertently caused it by catching the wrong part of it's anatomy in a trap and mangling the poor thing.
So I found a plastic container and held the trap over the container while I gently lifted the lever, letting the mouse plop down into the container. I've heard that carbon monoxide poisoning is a good way to kill small critters with a minimum of pain, so I trot out and turn on my truck. I open the container and hold it up to the exhaust pipe (but not too close so as not to burn the poor creature). As it got down to the twitching phase, I capped the container, assuming there was still enough carbon monoxide in there to finish the little scrap off.
Just as I was about to deposit the container into the garbage... our pet awoke and started running around the container again.
Really?
Back to the exhaust pipe, and this time I held it there long after the twitching stopped.
Then, as I was dumping the mouse and its clear, plastic coffin in the garbage, I could see that the mouse was female... and lactating.
Yippee... more pets!
And with that, I leave you with some recent pictures of the two people in our house who have seemingly put themselves in charge of ensuring our "pets" will have enough to eat. As you can see, with the weather turning nice, I am encouraging them to eat their treats outside.
*
Just remind yourself that it is less of a life than the cow you are having for dinner and you should feel better..
ReplyDeleteOh, dear. You probably should have just stomped on the poor thing to put it out of its misery. (Although in light of the previous poster's comment, I have to wonder why you're so concerned about the well being/humane death of a mouse to begin with)
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I didn't know you have a blog! Your girls are getting so big!! Too cute!
Such sweet photos! :)
ReplyDeleteYikes! You are brave! If there was an injured mouse dragging around a trap in my kitchen in the morning, I would probably pack up the kids and get out as quickly as I could from that scary, scary scene!
When it comes to mice, croquet mallet is the way to go, though a shovel with also serve you well. Brutal, but quick.
ReplyDeleteCarbon monoxide poisoning... huh, never thought of it. Good idea (as long as my boys weren't watching... must be careful not to plant dangerous ideas in their heads). I used to have such a weakness for cute little "house pets" but now I am stronger. We usually put peanut butter in the traps so that they have to actually eat it on the trap rather than grabbing at it with those little paws.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, there must be a supermom badge for what you did :-)
Why not use a humane trap that is designed to trap mice live? We do that each time there's been a mouse in our home, baiting the traps with peanut butter, and have had no issues, we just release them in our park. Honestly, you sound really hypocritical saying you have issues killing critters, when you chose to use a non-humane trap, and so caused unnecessary suffering, it sounded more like the bit that bothered you was having to deal with the result of your actions more directly. If you truly care about killing animals unnecessarily, and you'd prefer to avoid a repeat of this situation (kill traps often fail to kill mice outright), please try a humane alternative next time!
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous - Thank you for your contributions and concern for the well-being of those around you. I can't even begin to tell you how my life has changed for the better since you posted your constructive and kindly-worded thoughts on my blog!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to know there are people out there who are more concerned with being kind to critters who spread feces and diseases including (but not limited to) leptospirosis, murine typhus, rickettsialpox, tularemia, lymphocytic choriomeningitis and potentially bubonic plague - than being thoughtful and kind towards her fellow humans.
For the record, we have used a live-traps in the past, but the mice kept chewing their way out. The live traps also cost roughly 10 times more than the standard traps and as a result of all our food the mice have tainted (by chewing through plastic containers, mind you), we can not afford to continue to replace the live traps. My family is on a very tight budget to begin with. The mice in our neighborhood have done thousands of dollars in damage, not only to food but to the wiring, the insulation, the siding... even the masonry! If it were up to me, we would put out a live trap and trap the thousands of mice in our neighborhood all at once so that we could release them to be happy and free (read: hawk bait) in nature. While we're at it, we'll all hold hands and sing about rainbows. :o)
I find that those who tend to judge others harshly without knowing the full story are the ones that often fail to take the closest look at their own faults.
If this were a perfect world (which it is not) I wouldn't even have this blog - in which I share the mishaps and mistakes in my life. Should you find it necessary to continue spreading your own brand of holier than thou-ness, might I suggest posting your perfection on your own blog so that we may all come worship you?
Cheers!
Wow, I was surprised by all the judgmental people jumping on you! I'm glad you stood up for yourself!
ReplyDeleteI dealt with mice too, finding poops in the cutlery drawer was the last straw. I used the live traps for awhile, but my husband pointed out the mice were probably back in the house before I was. ;) It's not pretty, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I applaud you thinking of the carbon monoxide, that was a lot kinder than the old shovel whack method.