We have a mouse, and he's quite the smart little snot, too. Mind you, I like mice, when they are invited in and contained as pets. I even like rats; well, actually, I like pet rats much more than I like pet mice. However, when the little fuzzy critters come into my house uninvited I am not happy. So, out came the live traps and the peanut butter.
The mouse was first spotted skittering under the door that goes down to the basement. Since there is a fairly large gap (3/4" or so) between the edge of the stair tread and the wall I wasn't sure if the mouse was coming up the stairs or up the studs of the unfinished walls and through that gap. For starters, I set the traps on the top step, at right angles to each other. I figured that way I had a chance of catching him either way.
The next morning, I check the traps and see that they are both closed. Now we've had mice before (5-6 years or so) and I know that a closed trap does not always equal a caught mouse. I carefully picked up both traps and took them out to the garage. I was pretty darn sure both were empty just by the feel. Because of this, I opened the traps into a plastic box that I could slap a lid on if I was wrong and then could use to transport Mr. Mouse to the nice island nearby. Sadly, no mouse. And a quick look in the traps (just to make sure he wasn't hanging on for dear life) confirmed that some of the peanut butter is gone. One point to Mr. Mouse.
After chatting with the partner, we recalled that the multi mouse traps were more successful last time around, so I trundled off to the hardware store and picked up a couple. I baited them and put one on the top step and one, perpendicular, one step down. Last night, DP heard a strange noise from the kitchen/garage end of the house. Now it could be the foster bunnies since they live in what the builder calls the breakfast nook. DP cautiously crept down the kitchen and listened intently. The noise repeated and no bunny had moved. In fact, she claims they were all looking at here as if to ask "What is your problem, lady?".
I finished up the pair of rows I was working in the MS3 and went to check the traps. The two multi-mouse traps were empty and the other two traps were several steps down from where they had been set. I feel like the darned mouse is thumbing his little nose at me. You guessed it. The two small traps are both empty and it appears that more peanut butter has been eaten. Second point for Mr. Mouse.
I did see the little guy last night when I opened the basement door to go down and get something out of the freezer, and noticed that he took a right turn at the bottom of the stairs. Now that the question has been answered (up the stairs or up the studs) I moved one of the traps to the bottom of the stairs, along the wall.
Wish us luck. I would really, really like it if I could outsmart the mouse.
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