by Brenda Halverson

Created on: May 24, 2008   Last Updated: November 01, 2010

Catching mice can be a difficult task, made even harder by the irrational fear some people have toward them. It has been some time since I have had to deal with this issue, but I remember a couple of incidents that qualify me to pass on the following tips, which I hope will prove helpful. Because personal experience is a great teacher, I will start with some examples from my own life.

Some time ago, we lived in a one-hundred year old house. It had a lot of character, and a lot of cracks in the foundation, which let the mice in every fall. While cleaning my kitchen one day, I heard a scratching noise coming from the gap between my cabinets and the wall. I was on the phone, and I rested the receiver on my shoulder as I walked over to investigate. Suddenly, out of the crack fell a fat little brown mouse. He landed on the window sill and hung on for dear life. Maintaining my self-control, I quickly delivered a blood-curdling scream into the phone and looked around the kitchen for something to help me get the little guy out of there. My eyes fell on my vacuum cleaner sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, and instantly I reacted, as only a dental assistant, skilled in the use of the suction, can. There was a slurp as the mouse disappeared into the hose. With the vacuum still running, and disregarding the very real possibility that I would rip the cord from the unit, I hurried outside and deposited the whole works in the front yard, where it remained until my husband came home. I did not wish to be cruel. Hopefully the mouse found its way out of the bag and through the hose to freedom-it is possible.

Cats can be a valuable asset when catching mice. I remember one evening when our insurance agent came to our home to renew our policy. As we sat around the kitchen table, I glanced toward the stove and saw a little mouse head sticking up out of one of the burner coils. I levitated a couple of inches off my chair, which caused the mouse to duck, and my husband and the insurance man to leap up in alarm. This happened half a dozen times, until the mouse descended to the floor and into the waiting jaws of the cat. That flurry of activity had me standing on my chair and the insurance agent questioning the advisability of continuing our coverage or even remaining in our home. With my husband and myself in hot pursuit, the cat ran from the room. Since we could not catch her, we decided to let nature take its course, hoping she would eat the mouse and the episode would

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