Turns out I had roommates after all

[clevermanka]

Many thanks to write_out  who listened to my entirely-too-long-and-detailed voice narration of this saga.

Last Saturday I heard a noise coming from the kitchen and I thought oh god, here we go because Landlord Melinda mentioned the fridge was old and to keep an eye on it. But when I went to the kitchen, it was definitely not the refrigerator. I stood next to it and listened and realized ohhh, no those are small, unwanted mammal sounds, coming from the (empty) cabinet above the microwave. I q-u-i-e-t-l-y pulled out the stepstool, got up on it, s-l-o-w-l-y opened the cabinet door, and this (fuckin’ adorable, tiny) gray mouse looked up from where it was vigorously chewing the edge of the hole where the microwave power cord goes into the wall. I mean, it stared at me as if *I* was the one intruding. For a good count of five we just looked at each other and then I was like okay, welp, and I closed the cabinet door so it could continue gnawing the particle board in peace.

I texted Landlord Melinda and was like UH BAD NEWS GOT MICE? To my horror surprise she was all “oh yeah, mice, we get them here sometimes” and I was like no? “we” don’t??? But she's got a contract with one of the local pest control companies (the one I used to use, actually) and said she’d ask them to come out. She said she’d look for some traps they left last time (last?? time??) and bring them over the next day.

Before I went to bed, I pushed a metal scrubbing pad down into the hole.

Got the trap from her the next day (singular trap, one, because there is never more than one mouse) loaded it up with almond butter, set it, and hoped for the best. Less than two hours later I heard scurrying but no snap. So I repeated the previous performance with the step stool and this
happened.

Also this.


And then this.


Little fuckers were practically vogueing for the camera I swear to god. Look at that last one! Almost standing on the (emptied!) trap! Jesus Christ. The only reason the photos are blurry is I was laughing too hard to keep the phone steady.

Texted Landlord Melinda again like OKAY NEED BETTER TRAPS and she said the pest guy had been in touch and would be out the next afternoon (Monday). GREAT.

Two o’clock Monday rolls around and Pest Guy shows up right on time. It was deeply weird to have a stranger! in! my! house! but he was pretty cool. He actually trained the guy who used to be my regular contact back when I had a contract with the same company. So that was fun and could’ve been so much more awful. I’m convinced though that most pest control people think I’m off my rocker because I think mice are just REALLY CUTE OKAY and I tend to anthropomorphize them. A lot. But they are unwanted tenants and did not leave when politely asked and a girl’s gotta maintain her boundaries. He left me with five loaded traps—three in the cabinet, one by the fridge, and one just inside the garage door (where he suspects they got in).

Within a few hours one of the traps snapped shut so I texted him (as instructed, so he could come get it because that’s a service they provide you can see why I paid for this back when I could afford it—they’re great). Another one got caught early Tuesday, so he had two to dispose of. We kinda hoped that’d be it (two parents and maybe some pinkies in a nest?) but nope, heard another snap Wednesday morning. I told Pest Guy we’d got another but I just put it outside and he could come get it after the holiday (it’s cold enough it won’t start to rot and smell that way).

No more catches since then, so fingers crossed that's the end of them. After a week of no catches we can consider the area devoid of life and plug up the holes.

Comments

[roseconnelly]

Mice were a constant problem when I lived in that neighborhood. Once the weather starts turning cold, they invite themselves in.

So, come mid-autumn, I had to make sure all my food was in containers they could not chew through. I stored items in mason jars or these: https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/oxo-good-grips-reg-8-piece-baking-essentials-pop-container-set/1063001440

[salamandras]

They are adorable! How did they empty that first trap, though? I don't know enough about mice (or mouse traps, I guess) to be able to picture how they managed that and lived. Glad that you have a responsive landlord and pest company!

[clevermanka]

FANTASTIC. sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[clevermanka]

I have no idea how the almond butter came off but the weird sticky stuff the Schendel guy baited the new ones with sure didn't. And yes, thank goodness I'm not dealing with an asshole landlord.

[naye]

Oh my GOSH they are the CUTEST LITTLE PESTS I'm so glad you got these photos!! 😂 And then got rid of them! Inside is not for mice!!

[clevermanka]

Not this inside, anyway! (and I know I know omg they are SO fucking cute)

[riventhorn]

Those are some brazen mice! I had a mouse in one apartment I lived in, and I caught it in a humane trap and released it in a nearby park. I hate dealing with the bodies!

The pest in my current apartment is ants, which management is very lackadaisical about. Just last week, I had to invest in a bunch of plastic and glass containers to store food in because they'd gotten into a kitchen shelf and discovered my open cereal box.

It's like--THIS IS MY HAVEN, MY SAFE SPACE. KEEP THE FUCK OUT.

[khellekson]

Sorry for any typos, I'm laughing so hard I can't see. HAAAA!

Um, yes. Unwanted. I get you on the not wanting cat things, but it's either that or adorable pest control guys. WHATEVER.

[clevermanka]

BOLD AS BRASS!

If I had more energy I would have gone for live traps. Poor little beasts. I apologized to them before and after.

Ugh, ants. Hope you can get them cleared out and keep them away soon.

[clevermanka]

I was laughing to tears. Look at them, K. LOOK AT THEM. 😂

And I don't have to feed the pest control guy or take him to the vet. The on-call yearly subscription service is cheaper by far, even if I had to pay for it myself.

[naye]

We had mice in the house I grew up - the oldest part of it were 400 years old so there really was no getting rid of them, or the rats in the basement - and I kind of loved it. As a kid you don't care as much about hygiene as cute animal!. I once managed to trap one in my trashcan, and my parents let me keep it in an aquarium I furnished with moss and sticks and other forest things. I only had it for a few weeks because I knew it wasn't actually a pet, but yes. That's how cute I think they are. XD

[clevermanka]

🐭🧡🐁💛🐭

[calystarose]

Have you tried food grade diatomaceous earth? It's non-toxic, but it is a little dusty. You just place it along baseboards and in the cabinets affected. It gets inside the exoskeletons and cuts things up. We lived by a large field in a Texas apartment, this kept us roach free even when our direct neighbors were not.

[clevermanka]

That stuff works great for spiders, too!

[calystarose]

yep, pretty much any exoskeleton having thingy except the flying sort, like it doesn't help with flies or moths

[plingo_kat]

WHAT ABSOLUTE ADORABLE AND BRAZEN MICE, I'm glad you were able to get rid of them but omg they really are incredibly bold. Crossed fingers you got them all!

[clevermanka]

The way both of them looked right at me at some point. 😂

[trobadora]

OMG! Adorable, but yes, THEY DO NOT BELONG THERE!!!!!

[clevermanka]

No unwanted house guests, even when they're SO CUTE oh my god they're SO CUTE.

[plingo_kat]

NO FEAR. xD

[nnozomi]

Oh my God, judging by those photos you need to get them to sign a no-unauthorized chewing contract and then take the show on the road. Still, I'm glad they seem to have been dealt with.
(It's invasion day around here, clearly; my husband just sent me a photo of a ferret--or do I mean weasel?--that had crept into his office, all long and thin and furry. What gives.)
Also I got your card! Lovely "Rainy Day" painting, lovely handwriting, many thanks.

[clevermanka]

you need to get them to sign a no-unauthorized chewing contract and then take the show on the road
How are little rodents so charismatic???

Ferrets (at least the ones here) are much larger than some weasels (or stoats, even smaller). A friend's pet ferrets are probably around 18 inches long? I would freak out if a feral one made its way into my space, and I like them!

Thank you for letting me know the card arrived. ♥

[umadoshi]

Mice ARE adorable! It's just a fact.

Manymanymany years ago when we lived with wildpear and her now-husband, I think we might actually have had Just One Mouse. It was only rarely spotted and didn't really cause any problems, somehow. (Although on one memorable occasion, it was in my bedroom closet, where I had a SEALED bag of chips inside a grocery bag [we were a communal-food household, but I occasionally kept something in my room if I wanted to be sure I had it around later], and the mouse still somehow IDed it as food and nibbled its way in.)

[clevermanka]

If there's anything edible, they will find it. GOD SO CUTE.

Also I would honestly rather die than live in a communal-food household. Hats off to you people, I don't know how you give up that amount of control. 😂

[brandywine28]

I meant to just skim this, because VERMIN and PHOTOS and NOPE, but -- I looked. I looked and, okay, yeah, this is pretty cute and I am (shockingly) not screaming right now. You win, world.

[clevermanka]

A testament to the cuteness of these mice, indeed.

[write_out]

OMG ADORABLE. BUT WRONG WRONG WRONG. I'm still cracking up over this!! I mean, easy for me to laugh since it's not my problem, but still! I am crossing fingers that all unwanted guests are now taken care of. They may be freaking cute, but they absolutely do not need to share your living space.

[clevermanka]

BB, you know I was laughing. I mean, how can you NOT? 😂

No new catches today *knock*knock*

[tinny]

The only reason the photos are blurry is I was laughing too hard to keep the phone steady.

LOLOL, okay, so it wasn't too bad, then. :D

[clevermanka]

I mean, other than that I had disease-laden vermin infesting my new home, nah it wasn't too bad. 😄 Seriously, though, I'm so glad I'm not afraid of mice. If it had been spiders, things would have gone very very differently.