Mouse trap report

Melinda Shore wrote:

> Not fully. I'd expect a cat to poop in the basement, too.

Pee, at the very least, and there'd be no mistaking the smell.
(Well, there is, actually, but I doubt that Lia's growing that
particular crop in her basement.)

Raccoon, maybe? Still a mystery poop-wise, but it might explain how
whatever it is is able to get in and out.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

Shelly wrote:
>
> Pee, at the very least, and there'd be no mistaking the smell. (Well,
> there is, actually, but I doubt that Lia's growing that particular crop
> in her basement.)
>
> Raccoon, maybe? Still a mystery poop-wise, but it might explain how
> whatever it is is able to get in and out.


Maybe ...
A mouse got the peanut butter, and now the trap is gone.

So what eats mice?
Foxes!
A year ago, a fox was spotted in the neighborhood.
But a fox wouldn't go down the chimney.
What else eats mice?
Vultures.
Explains getting down the chimney.
But I'd recognize vulture poop.
And we could see them circling overhead.
On the other hand, we have seen crows.
Crows eat roadkill squirrels.
And squirrels eat peanut butter.

Explains everything.

Except the poop.


--Lia
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

There is now incontrovertible evidence that the critters are mice. Or
were mice. Or one mouse, now deceased.


Cubbe is silent to alert us to their presence at night. She goes nuts
trying to communicate by whining, wagging, and pawing at the carpet and
heating vents in the daytime.


Still no explanation as to what happened to the one trap that was placed
in plain sight and not behind paint cans, a cork board or hidden well
under the stairs. Also no explanation as to what knocked over the Red
Hook glass.


--Lia
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

In article <B_adneETssZFtAPanZ2dnUVZ_gidnZ2d DeleteThis @comcast.com>,
Julia Altshuler <jaltshuler DeleteThis @comcast.net> wrote:
>Still no explanation as to what happened to the one trap that was placed
>in plain sight and not behind paint cans, a cork board or hidden well
>under the stairs. Also no explanation as to what knocked over the Red
>Hook glass.

Mice can knock stuff over. But the presence of mice doesn't
preclude the presence of something else.

I wonder where they're pooping?
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - shore DeleteThis @panix.com

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

First I found Creepy in the trap behind the corkboard. I suggested to
Jim that we might share the labor. I put the traps down. He could
remove the corpses.


We were both down there deciding where to reset the traps. He wanted
them placed somewhere more convenient than behind the stairs. That's
where he found the snap trap I'd just put down and a glue trap from ages
ago. That one contained Crawly, newly dead.


Jim said that next to the washing machine would be a good place to
replace the trap, somewhere out of Cubbe's way but still easy for us to
get to. I put it down, was walking away, and that's when Jim said "oh,
look." There was Squeamish. We don't know how he and the trap got
there from 20' away under the water heater.


There may be other sorts of critters, but for right now, we're going
with the mice theory.


--Lia
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 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report 

gracious! i would suggest some heavy duty mesh to cover the chimney opening.
and look for a larger "live catch" type traps at garden supply stores..

good luck!

Davina

"Julia Altshuler" <jaltshuler.RemoveThis@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:pZydnUkOkoCSUgHanZ2dnUVZ_umlnZ2d@comcast.com...
> tiny dancer wrote:
>> Don't have any idea why they might have invaded Lia's basement.
>
>
> It may remain a mystery. Nothing has changed about the house or the
> squirrels since we moved in 11 years ago. Suddenly this year, we have
> critters. Last post I was sure they were squirrels. Now I'm not so sure.
> The broken glass and missing trap would suggest something big, but it's
> not like we're infested with many of them. The humans haven't heard
> anything, and there's no other evidence of nesting or scat.
>
>
> Jim wondered if the fact that the broken glass was a Red Hook one contains
> a message, perhaps a threat of what they'll do if we let the dog down
> there or a request for (grain-based) beer.
>
>
> Our next step is an investigation of the chimney to see if that yields
> more clues.
>
>
> --Lia
>
 >> Stay informed about: Mouse trap report