Farmer Mouse

I have a bunch of cuttings rooting in the plant room that have suddenly sprouted strange seedlings. There's even a bunch in the elephant ear. These seedlings have turned out to be sunflowers from the bag of seed for the birds in the basement. I have a whole window sill of dirt this morning. I think Farmer Mouse has been planting again. The sticky trap goes up on the sill as soon as I get it cleaned up. this ain't funny anymore!

Kathleen,I had chipmunks doing that in my house!They dug a ton of my pots up and replanted them with bird seed.....I live trapped 4 of them and relocated them far,far away.....

This one's name is Earl, and Earl has to die! My grandson had a boot full of sunflower seeds. It's gotten ridiculous. Dirty little vermin. I've invested in several sticky traps. Now, if we can only get the mouse before he fills the traps with sunflower seeds...

I think I'll invest in a garbage can for the next bag of seeds. This one is pretty much a loss. I'm really upset about the Lavedula denticulata plant that he uprooted. I have another start, but they were both looking very good, and now one is very sad. And I used to raise the furry little pests! (not here, those mice live in the walls at my mom's. She tells me about them often.).

OOHHH don't kill Earl!!!!!
He's just showing you new planting methods...LOL

My DH hates it but I also trap the mice,when I catch them I throw them in a cage and keep them as pets....then I let them go..........

I Know,I'm not right in the head......

Kathleen

You used to rear mice??? I'm coming over there with a shovel! Mind you wouldn't it be great if you could train Earl to plant seeds where you wanted them.

CC

Do you know if they ever find thir way back to your garden or do you take them so far away they have to hitchhike back?

Oh they find their way right back in the house,one only had one eye and half a tail,we called him "one eyed willie",he got back in and trapped again in 4 days.......

ROTFL CC

CC, that is too funny! The mice I had at home when I was a kid (Baa, I was young!!!) had one blind eye - all of them. It was a very strong genetic trait, that's how Mom can be so certain that these mice are descendants of those mice. I sold them to the bio lab at my high school. Not terribly profitable business. I caught them in the grain bin in the dairy barn.

We got one of Earl's relatives last night, but Earl is now moving the sticky traps around in the plant room and hiding them, without leaving any body parts. Most talented mouse, this.

Half way to the nursery rhyme there Kathleen *G* What's a sticky trap?

OOOHHHH save Earl!!!!LOL

I will be so sad when you get him.....

It gets scarier when the trap is gone........and you can't find it....LOL

noooo!! dont kill earl!!
lol
you can use a live trap.. like this http://www.themousedepot.com/ , to trap him and bring him far far far away .. lol
they're not the cheapest traps in the world, but they are reuseable, and i much prefer them to killing the poor little rodents..
sorry, but i have a pet rat, and i used to have a pet mouse..
they're not all bad, really
:)
Kim

miss_kitty, that is a great mouse trap. We have lots of little field mice that want to overwinter inside the garage with my birdfood.

This is a great way for us softhearted folks to relocate our pests.

I want a pet rat but my Dh says no way.......

I guess since I have him I already have a rat...huh?

rats really do make great pets..
there's actually a LOT of people who have them, way more than anyone would think
they're cleaner than any other pet i've found.. their cages dont smell if you clean them once a week orso.. and they're as friendly as a pet dog or a cat.. and they're just as/if not more intelligent :)
plus they dont take up very much space, because they live in cages
AND most apartment complexes that have no pet policies, or excessive pet fees and deposits, allow rats and other caged rodents anyway.. without a pet deposit or any extra fees
soooo, crestedchik, you can tell your DH all the good stuff about rats, and maybe whittle him down to letting you have one (or two. .. or three... they're much happier in groups of atleast 2 or three of the same sex)

-Kim

Earl dies, that's all there is to it. Rats and mice on farms are not cuddly creatures, but destructive and carry some really nasty diseases. Especially those adorable deer mice.

Baa, a sticky trap is a small plastic tray with a jelly like adhesive that the dear mice get stuck to, efficient and deadly. Not the best way to go, but they work. We've caught 4 mice and lost a trap. Stan has poison in the basement, and I may write a children's story about Earl. Nothing like taking advantage of the situation, cheeky grin.

Sorry, ladies, I can't get sentimental about rodents of any stripe, too long a farmer.

CC, I was violently opposed to the idea of a pet rat in the house. But, after I got to know him, 'Dubba' - my grand-rat - became part of the family. My Dad even helped build his cage. =)

As far as I'm concerned, the only downside is that they don't have a very long lifespan, 2 - 3 years. Of course, to some that's an up-side ...

So, I won't be getting a pet rat of my own, but I can say that they are clean, fun, affectionate and economical pets.

Cheri'

NOTE: Dubba came from a pet store (rats sold as snake food). I don't think a wild rat would make a good pet.

Kathleen,I get field rats out in the barn and those cute little deer mice in the house ,and I agree ,the are destructive disease carrying vermin.....But they are still soooooo cute......

The mice in the house are the ONLY reason my DH allowed a cat in the house,which has ,since having a "confirmed kill" as he calls it,become his little princess ,which he buys toys,and one of those floor to ceiling climbing shelves,and special food,and catnip.Its so funny seeing a confirmed cat hater laying on the floor playing with his cat......

I think he did it so I couldn't catch the mice and make pets out of them....but I sometimes get the mice before the cat does them in.....and they are so cute going round and round and round on their wheel.......

I'm with you Kathleen the only good rat is a dead rat.

i knew a guy that did prison time and had a pet rat...
even had it on a leash.

It would seem we have got him! And what a big fat one he was, very healthy with all the sunflower seeds he'd been eating and planting. Now, if we can only clear out the rest of his kin! Earl is in the trunk!

Po,Po Earl.......

Rest in Peace Earl
Hope you find that big grain bag in the sky......

If your planting room is closed in you could get one of those electronic deals that emits a noise that drives them from the area. Can't think of what they are called right now. I had mice and got one of those that worked on a battery and within weeks they were all gone (my neighbor says they are at her house) and it is still keeping them out after a year or so and it has also kept the bug population down. Bought it at Lowe's for about $20.

Kathleen, I can't resist chiming in here to second the idea that rats do make charming pets. I kept pet rats when I was a little girl, and my sons kept pet rats, and now they are grown and married and still keep pet rats.

The truth is that rats are intelligent and affectionate pets. Because they are social creatures, like dogs, they welcome being handled and will seek out your company. Unlike hamsters, which are usually vicious tempered little hermits, who only tolerate human company. If more people knew the truth about rats as pets, no one would waste their money on a hamster.

Vickey

This message was edited Nov 26, 2003 8:13 AM

As long as you're talking "domesticated" or rats bred in captivity and given all the appropriate shots, I'm with you. But the critters I'm dealing with are very nasty, very wild and very destructive, as I said earlier.

Just by the by, we have now caught not only Earl, but two more of his kin and have one walking wounded somewhere in the basement. The plant terrorism has died down and the noises in the walls and ceilings are much less robust. War almost won - I hope!

This thread is so funny... I too had a problem. I potted up my banana plants and left them and the ears in the garage for a while. I looked a the bananas one day and told my DH that those little things were having pups already. It was corn. The mice had found the ear corn that I feed the birds and burried the seeds in the pots. Once I took the ears to the basement they started growing corn too. I hate mice, don't care what kind they are. Have brought in the mouse poison in hopes of clearing them out of the garage and Jim found a kitten that he is raising in his shop. I felt pretty stupid when I found it was mouse planted corn that was growing.

I am not suggesting making a pet of a wild rat. I am, of course, speaking of healthy, home raised 'laboratory variety' rats:-)

Wild rats need to be controlled. They contaminate millions of dollars worth of food in warehouses each year with their feces and urine. They can cause fires by chewing through electrical wiring, and they can carry Bubonic Plague, Hantavirus, and other dangerous diseases. Eliminating them is a social responsibility we owe to our community.

Vickey

Rats and mice get erradicated here sugar and mary whack the mice and just one bite gets the rats that try to migrate here in the fall.Ernie

Get a cat. That should help with your mouse problem.
Mobi

When my kids were little they had a pet white rat who we just let roam around. When I would get the mop out he would get on it and ride back and forth. When I washed the mop out I would push him off and he was waiting for his next ride. Sure was cute. I now have a mouse in my house and don't know what to do. Bought some sticky board and mouse traps but just can't use them. I've heard the mice smother on the sticky board because they put their nose on them. Guess I'll just let my son do it. He doesn't like mice. They do a lot of damage. I do have to get rid of him.

While most of the year I wage war on the mice sometimes in the dead of winter I catch mice in the dog food storage bin which is a garbage can with the lid off that sits in the garage.

The mice jump in but can't jump out since I don't get them in the house I just catch them and let them go out side much to the disapproval of the boss. I don't kill the field mice either but if a rat dares show up it is war. Try to remember little mice are just poor little creatures just trying to make a living.Ernie
Edited twice for spelling mices
This message was edited Dec 8, 2003 6:16 PM

This message was edited Dec 8, 2003 6:18 PM

Yea, but some do carry the haunta virus. Especially in the southwest.
Mobi

True but the guy down the road has aids the woman at work has hepititus the friend that kissed you on the cheek last had the flue and didn't know it and you can get ecoli from drinking unpasturized apple cider but you are right and I do kill them if they try living in my house.

It's just sometimes when I look at that poor scared little creature it's just hard to kill them when it's cold outside and all they wanted was a meal.Ernie

Oh, I agree I try to catch them and get them outside. I don't believe one should live in fear for MIGHT happen ONE day. I don't kill spiders, because what's the point? There are thousands of them living near you. Rats. however, I can't handle and you can have a real problem with them if you don't take care of it. I can handle bees but not wasps- etc the list goes on.
Mobi

This message was edited Dec 10, 2003 12:36 PM

I'm okay with all the creatures of the Earth. All except the ones that seem to bite/sting out of shear meanness...like fire ants!

I don't like 'buzzy bugs', which is what I call anything that buzzes around my head. Primary among the buzzy bugs are Horse Flies. ugh. Hate 'em!

and I gotta agree with ecobioangie about the fire ants ... talk about bugs with bad attitudes. It's hard to live and let live with creatures that won't live and let live.

Cheri'

lol, boy did this thread take some twists and turns! Just to update, we have either trapped or convinced the remaing rodents to vacate the premises. Although, I haven't dared look in the garbage pail that I put the sunflower seeds in - they could all be having a party in there!

I haven't had time to work on the story, but it's on my list, along with planting the pansy seeds to get blooms by early spring. And hoping no sunflowers invade the pots!

Well willard is back Every fall rats try to move in to my quail house they burrow under the concrete and come out at night and eat the quail feed. Now and then they will kill a quail.

I thought I was lucky last year because the dogs killed two in the corn and no more showed. I thought this year we would not have any because it is really late for them to be migrating.

Ok this is not a cute little creature just looking for a meal so the war is on. The proper stuff is in the burrow as we speak and I will replace it untill it quits dissapearing.


I will also put a road flare in the burrow and blow it in with the leaf blower that way the gas from the burning flare will go into every branch of the tunnel. By this time next week no more Willard. Ernie