So what was it? A bit furrier and greyer than a roach. It had one long tail, not 2 long antlers. Mouse.
I am sure there are mice in Denton, but I had many more roach sightings than mouse sightings when we lived there.
The first was that time we set one of those sticky traps under the sink and the poor little guy was stuck but still alive when we found him the next morning. My fearless husband put the whole thing in a plastic grocery bag and headed for the outside trash can. Absentmindedly he swung the bag in a circle. The mouse squealed. Now Darren had 2 choices: finish him off or call the whole family out to listen while he spun him again. He chose the latter and it is part of our family lore, now.
The other memory involved a dark closet, the wife safely on the bed, the husband's bare feet, using the broom as a hockey stick, and a few choice words that I shan't mention here...but this post is about the fountain of mice under my current home.
As I laid my traps on the counter, the nice clerk pointed out that it was "that time of year." Oh, great! At least that sounds like this will just be for a season and not permanent. I tend to be the one to set them up at night and Darren disposes of them in the morning. Well, except for Monday morning. He left early with Katy and I was not committed to removal, so it stayed there, under the sink, behind the box of trash bags for a full day. Yuck.
Other mornings, I have opened the cabinet door to find cute little mouse eyes staring back at me with only a broken leg foreshadowing their coming demise. I feel very sorry then and start thinking of Stuart Little or Ralph Mouse who were wonderful mice in their own right. Darren has had a harder time disposing of those guys ... there were 2 under the sink in that predicament this morning.
Another method we've only used once is: The Layla. She likes to chase things...especially living things, but it is hard for her to catch them. Once, there was a bird on the back porch at the Kings Row house and I was sure the bird would fly away before Layla got to it - but as soon as I opened the door I realized I was wrong. Unbeknownst to me... that little bird had flown into my back door and nearly knocked itself out, so it wasn't flying anywhere when that big black dog jumped on it. I tried to get Layla to "leave it" or "drop it" or "give me that bird back", but nothing worked. I felt partially responsible for that one.
But not this time. Darren and I wouldn't have known until one of the kids found it in the morning, if we hadn't heard this weird scratching sound. It was loud enough that we woke up at the same time and couldn't place the sound. It didn't sound like one of the sisters getting up in the night to go potty or get a drink or one of the other many things they "need" to do every night. It didn't sound like Claire or Amanda rolling over in their beds and kicking the wall or falling to the floor. It wasn't Jacob moving around his room in that loud rolly chair he has. Layla should be barking at a stranger near the doors or windows, howling and whining if it was a cat or skunk, but she was mysteriously silent. Maybe someone had silenced my dog and was trying to saw the piano into smaller pieces to get it out the front door.
Nope. The Layla must have been in stealth mode and snuck up on that unsuspecting mouse creeping around my fireplace. After she subdued the first one, The Layla went back to get another one. There is an IKEA lamp right next to the fireplace and that weird sound was her claws scrapping against it. We did get her to move away from her prey with the promise of a treat. I really wanted her to have a drink of water, try to get that furry feeling off her teeth, but you can lead a dog to water and then they just look at you.
Another method we've only used once is: The Layla. She likes to chase things...especially living things, but it is hard for her to catch them. Once, there was a bird on the back porch at the Kings Row house and I was sure the bird would fly away before Layla got to it - but as soon as I opened the door I realized I was wrong. Unbeknownst to me... that little bird had flown into my back door and nearly knocked itself out, so it wasn't flying anywhere when that big black dog jumped on it. I tried to get Layla to "leave it" or "drop it" or "give me that bird back", but nothing worked. I felt partially responsible for that one.
But not this time. Darren and I wouldn't have known until one of the kids found it in the morning, if we hadn't heard this weird scratching sound. It was loud enough that we woke up at the same time and couldn't place the sound. It didn't sound like one of the sisters getting up in the night to go potty or get a drink or one of the other many things they "need" to do every night. It didn't sound like Claire or Amanda rolling over in their beds and kicking the wall or falling to the floor. It wasn't Jacob moving around his room in that loud rolly chair he has. Layla should be barking at a stranger near the doors or windows, howling and whining if it was a cat or skunk, but she was mysteriously silent. Maybe someone had silenced my dog and was trying to saw the piano into smaller pieces to get it out the front door.
Nope. The Layla must have been in stealth mode and snuck up on that unsuspecting mouse creeping around my fireplace. After she subdued the first one, The Layla went back to get another one. There is an IKEA lamp right next to the fireplace and that weird sound was her claws scrapping against it. We did get her to move away from her prey with the promise of a treat. I really wanted her to have a drink of water, try to get that furry feeling off her teeth, but you can lead a dog to water and then they just look at you.
Now that we've (Darren, Jenn and Layla) caught more mouses than I care to mention... including the chubby one that was feasting on our peaches. I assume it was a he, because all the girl mice have pink bows on their heads, don't they. The peaches were in the fruit bowl ON THE COUNTER, which means there was at least one mouse on my COUNTER!!!!!! I thought they just scurried along the baseboards!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm officially ready for mouse season to be over. Now. Thank you.
