Thursday, January 10, 2008

Patter of Little Feet

Well, my claim of victory over our resident rodents seems to have been a bit premature. As in, 2 nights ago, I was kept awake by the sound of a mouse scrabbling around in the wall right by my head. This was not a sleep-inducing experience. I woke Larry up, though I don't know what I expected him to do at that moment. So then we both lay awake and listened to the scrabbling, until the mouse suddenly fell and landed on the metal heating duct and ran along it to the other end of the house. Sweet dreams!

So, yesterday, Larry manfully deployed traps under the kitchen sink and in the attic above our bedroom. I elected to stay in the living room last night to keep Rachel company, who is sleeping sitting up to prevent coughing spells (because someone has to be sick around here, you know). I was woken up sometime past midnight by that damn mouse running along the heating duct in the ceiling above the couch. So I left Rachel to fend for herself and went upstairs to listen to traps snap over my head instead.

But they didn't. Not yet, anyway. So now I am sitting here trying to decide where I can sleep tonight and not be reminded that our house is overrun with disgusting little rodents (and, no, I am not referring to the children).

I'd get a cat, but Theo's allergic. I know you're all dying to suggest that.

Knit Night went well this evening - I even talked to a woman who owns her own spinning wheel and I must admit that she does seem rather normal. Or maybe I've just been hanging out with this group too long. And I got to show off my very first mitten. It has a thumb and everything. I am quite proud.

18 comments:

  1. We had the same problem in our old house, and it drove me CRAZY! And during one of my crazier moments I went ballistic in the basement -- waving around this huge level, trying to kill this little mouse. The level broke. The mouse got away.

    We got a cat and I never saw another mouse again. But now the cat pees on my rug. You just can't win...

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  2. Hmmm...her own spinning wheel? Take it slow.

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  3. Ugh. Those are the not the pitter patter of little feet that you like. to hear. Hope you can claim a true victory soon, and not a Pyrrhic one. :D

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  4. I'm impressed with Rachel's ability to sleep while sitting up.

    Heidi

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  5. Family Adventure - Are you kidding? At this point, I'm so tired, I could sleep sitting up myself. But she's coughing again. TB, maybe?

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  6. Eeeek! We had lots of little pitter pattering in our attic a few months ago. My husband set a few traps and so far it has been quiet up there.
    We can't get a cat either b/c of allergies!
    Hope you get rid of those little critters!

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  7. Don't joke about TB. There's a case in a school in the northern part of the state, and they're testing every single person up there. Apparently it's a very contagious kind. And is there a mom who can't sleep sitting up? I thought that was a defense mechanism. Holding a child, too. I've been known to fall asleep sitting up holding a full cup of tea and not spill a drop.

    If you keep talking about rodents in the house, I'm not coming back.

    And congrats on the mitten. In case I never visit you again. ;)

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  8. Sorry about the rodents. I hate them, HATE THEM!

    My sister knits. She does spinning, and I think she's pretty normal. She is my sister, though, so maybe I'm blinded by love. (ha, ha!) Check out her blog, if you'd like.

    Is It Time To Knit Yet?

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  9. Good luck. My daughter LOVES rats (the pet, fancy kind) and would be more traumatized by me killing their little nasty cousins I'm sure than in having them run wild around our house.

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  10. I don't think I could sleep while listening to mice running around...but I also couldn't stand the emotional pain and guilt of killing a little mouse, either. I think I'd have to move.

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  11. We are dealing with raccoons right now. I have visions of them laughing as they watch me pick up the garbage they have upended and strewn all over for the third time... little punks. What are you putting in your traps? Peanut butter seems to work the fastest 'round here. They LOVE it, and we usually catch them within a day or two using it.

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  12. We had a cat, USELESS. She would catch them to PLAY with them. Sheesh, at least Fiona EATS what she catches!

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  13. In our last residence we frequently had mice in the wall right at the head of the bed. I preferred them alive and running than dead and decaying. There was nothing I could do to rid the bedroom of the smell.

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  14. I'm certain I would be escalated to the Panic level hearing the mouse right above my head!

    I am still trying to recover from the "her own spinning wheel" thing. WOW

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  15. Well, I live in a foreign, tropical country where rats and mice are a daily reality. The best thing we have found is those little packets of mouse bait (I assume you can still get them in the USA). But to make them more tempting, mix some peanut butter with some oil to make it more liquid and roll each bait packet in the peanut butter mixture. Then have your husband hurl these packets left and right into the crawl space above the ceiling. If you have several access panels, toss packets in there from all of them for good coverage. this should quiet the walls and ceiling within 5 days, and it should last for quite a while.

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  16. I can't stand a mouse being in the house!!! I have written my own post on a recent experience I had with a "mouse-house" and I don't want to do that anytime again soon. It's not fun!

    A spinning wheel - now that's interesting, isn't it?

    Have a good Friday - see you soon. Kellan

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  17. Yikes. This story reminds of a time, when I was about 26 or 27, renting a room in the basement of a friend's mother. I could hear the mice running in the ducts just like you. The owner put up traps and one morning, right outside my door, I heard the snap, then the trap fell to the ground. I was "trapped" in my room cuz I knew it was right outside the door and couldn't make myself walk out and see it. Good luck!

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  18. It could be worse, you could have bed bugs. You wouldn't hear them, but their silence while they suck your blood would keep you awake for years. They can burrow and wait for up to 18 months to come out of hiding. How rude is that?

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