Rats!

We have rats! Okay, maybe rat and mice. Or just mice, but there is a really big one. They use our back fences as an interstate.


T. saw this big one a couple of times before I got to notice it. I then proceeded to set out a trap. Because there are two dogs on the other side of the fence next to us and there are many birds that like to flock to the grapevines, it was decided that D-con was not an option. So we went with the old fashioned type of traps.

The first catch was not the big guy. It was a smaller mouse. That is why we knew we were dealing with a “pack”. Or is it “herd”? Let’s just say a “bunch”. So, after three more mice, I was attempting to reset a sprung trap and place it onto the fence top when I jiggled it and caught my thumb in the trap. Yes, it hurt.

To add insult to injury, after the trap was reset, a mouse just walked right over it and nothing happened. It was then that I decided that we are dealing with extra-intelligent mutant type of mice. They live in a wooden shed that is on the neighbors’ side. The one with the big dogs so there is plenty of half eaten dog food for them to enjoy.

I now set up four traps all in a row because, of course, this is now war. The next morning as I was assessing the battlefield, I noticed that there were only three traps. To this day, I have not been able to locate the fourth trap.

Might have to rethink my strategy.