Eeek. A mouse!

[Z28Taxman]

It seems Ditto has a food thief. Last weekend I thought I saw a mouse in the house but couldn't find any evedince of him later and haven't seen anything all week.

Yesterday I noticed seeds in Ditto's happy hut, but he never eats in there. Tonight shortly after I put him to bed I heard seeds crunching in the cage. Ditto never eats after lights out so I got up to check. I lifted the cover and looked in the cage... Ditto was on his boing but his happy hut (on the other side of the cage) was moving :omg: and thats where the crunching was coming from!

I turned on the light and there was the little bugger, in the happy hut munching on some seeds and he had no intention of leaving. He just stared at me.


Now I've gotta go get some mouse traps but at least I know what I can use for bait. >:

Funny thing is, Ditto didn't make a sound. Just sat on his boing like nothing was going on.:rolleyes:

[Flapjack]

:omg: IN the cage??!!!! How funny that he got the seeds and carried them to the happy hut.
Too bad you didn't get a pic.
Ditto is a generous little guy not to make a sound and share his food. :)
Is there anything to worry about as far as bacteria, mites or fleas from it being in the cage and touching the food before you knew about it?

[spiritwolf46]

:omg: Is there anything to worry about as far as bacteria, mites or fleas from it being in the cage and touching the food before you knew about it?

This was my question also. And, what about a possible bite from the mouse? Can that affect the bird? I would be so scared!!! LOL!

[Z28Taxman]

Fortunately he appears to only gone into the treat cup and ate the seeds that Ditto doesn't seem to like. Ditto sleeps right next to the good food (avicakes/nutriberries) so the mouse couldn't get those without going past him.

I'll definately keep a closer watch on Ditto for any signs of him not feeling well. And until I get rid of that mouse, the happy hut comes out at night (Ditto doesn't sleep in there anymore) and the food comes out and gets wrapped up.

I also have to tuck the sheet into the seed guard so it's not close to the floor. That has to be how he got in the cage in the first place since I can't imagine him climbing the powdercoated metal legs (at least I hope not).

Now off to buy mousetraps.>:

[spiritwolf46]

Fortunately he appears to only gone into the treat cup and ate the seeds that Ditto doesn't seem to like. Ditto sleeps right next to the good food (avicakes/nutriberries) so the mouse couldn't get those without going past him.

I'll definately keep a closer watch on Ditto for any signs of him not feeling well. And until I get rid of that mouse, the happy hut comes out at night (Ditto doesn't sleep in there anymore) and the food comes out and gets wrapped up.

I also have to tuck the sheet into the seed guard so it's not close to the floor. That has to be how he got in the cage in the first place since I can't imagine him climbing the powdercoated metal legs (at least I hope not).

Now off to buy mousetraps.>:

GOOD LUCK! I hope that you catch that critter soon! :D

[chromasnake]

Unfortunately, mice never fly solo. So you see one, and think in dozens.

I hope your problem gets resolved. I've had good success with the electronic pest repellers in the past and they don't seem to affect the birds.

[carrier]

I'm sorry, but I had to LAUGH OUT LOUD at that story!!!:rofl: :rofl:

I live in the city, and have lived in places with mice before..and it's so true about how downright BOLD they can be! I have seen a mouse drinking out of my dog's water bowl!!! (She was older then, and not as quick as she used to be :rolleyes: )

Lucky for me, I had a ratter (Chelsea, my scottie-dog) and when she was younger she got a couple of those that didn't eat the poison left by the exterminator. ;)

I hope my new pup, Gracie, will have the same instincts as her predecessor and go after a mouse or rat if she sees one.:nyah:

[Eliza]

Unfortunately, mice never fly solo. So you see one, and think in dozens.

I hope your problem gets resolved. I've had good success with the electronic pest repellers in the past and they don't seem to affect the birds.

Chroma: What brand of electronic repellent are you using? I have the Black & Decker ones (no problems w/ my pets in the past) but I'm curious about the safety of Riddex Plus (www.riddexplus.com).

Dave: I recommend this type of trap IF you can use them in a place where Ditto can't get to OR when he is absolutely secure in his cage:http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100336762.

I've heard that you can rub Vaseline on the legs of a cage to make it less appealing for climbing rodents. I've also heard that you can take a disposable pie tie, cut a hole in it and slip the cage legs through it (the empty bit facing down).

I haven't had any evidence of mice in MONTHS and now that I have Pickle, I caught one earlier this week... GRRR!

[thebubbleking]

Lol all this advice and did anyone think to ask if ditto invited the mouse for dinner or a sleep over?
Lol hope all works out good and in my house i pitty the mouse that trys to steal boos food she eats anything that dares try, moths etc lol And from experiance i know the damage she can cause lol.

[Z28Taxman]

Chroma: What brand of electronic repellent are you using? I have the Black & Decker ones (no problems w/ any pets in the past but I'm curious about Riddex Plus (www.riddexplus.com).

Dave: I recommend this type of trap IF you can use them in a place where Ditto can't get to OR when he is absolutely secure in his cage:http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100336762.

I've heard that you can rub Vaseline on the legs of a cage to make it less appealing for climbing rodents. I've also heard that you can take a disposable pie tie, cut a hole in it and slip the cage legs through it (the empty bit facing down).

I haven't had any evidence of mice in MONTHS and now that I have Pickle, I caught one earlier this week... GRRR!

The link you posted didn't work. Said it was unavailable. I just got some good old fashioned spring type traps and baited them with p-butter with ditto scraps embedded. Just gotta hide 'em when Ditto's out, He never goes to the floor but it would be just my luck... :omg:

[Z28Taxman]

Well, 5 minutes after lights out and Ditto's bed time and snap! Trap behind tv gets mouse. It's a shame to kill it. It was a cute little thing. :(

[michael]

Well, 5 minutes after lights out and Ditto's bed time and snap! Trap behind tv gets mouse. It's a shame to kill it. It was a cute little thing. :(

My gosh!.....:mad:......Now how are we supposed to know Ditto wasn't just fattening him up for thanksgiving?.......... Imagine how fat that mouse would have been in another four months :nyah:!....Poor Ditto.............. :(

[chromasnake]

LOL, all this talk about mice, and I come home and find the bird trash bag in the living room was chewed open with old seed and litter all over, and a few toys that had been on the windowsill knocked down...

and a big, fat SQUIRREL laughing at me.

Now, I've had scrub jays and crows stop in for a chat every once in a while, but they waited politely in the doorway. Mr Squirrel, despite the abundance of sunflower seeds and peanuts outside in the outside bird feeder, took advantage of the open deck door to see how the pampered parrots lived.

sigh...means i can't leave that door open on really hot days any more.

As to the electronic repellers I used--and this was back in North Dakota because, until today, I had no rodent issues--I don't recall the brand. They were ultrasonic, for indoor or outdoors, and worked great on squirrels (nesting in my ceiling and driving me insane) and mousies, and kept bunnies out of my container garden, but the problem I had was that I heard them too and they drove ME crazy! My birds at the time were blissfully unaffected.

Time to get another one! I want to try those new ones.

[Z28Taxman]

My gosh!.....:mad:......Now how are we supposed to know Ditto wasn't just fattening him up for thanksgiving?.......... Imagine how fat that mouse would have been in another four months :nyah:!....Poor Ditto.............. :(

I think it was hiding behind the tv waiting for the lights to go out and Ditto knew it was there. about 9:30 (an hour befor lights out, we were on the couch watching tv and he started shouting at it and even flew over it and back a few times. I think he's been watching too much animal planet and believes he's a hawk. :rofl:

[carrier]

I think he's been watching too much animal planet and believes he's a hawk. :rofl:


:rotfl :D

There are times when Fenway dive-bombs and does loop-de-loops around my puppy that I think the same exact thing! :rofl:

Sorry for the mouse, but I know they can be disease carriers and it's for everyone's benefit that he's gone. I'd set the trap a few more times...there NEVER is just one mouse.:rolleyes:

[Z28Taxman]

Well no new mice since that one last night. Maybe I'm lucky and it was a loner.

[linda040899]

Well, 5 minutes after lights out and Ditto's bed time and snap! Trap behind tv gets mouse. It's a shame to kill it. It was a cute little thing. :(
Dave,
As far as mice are concerned, I have a hard and fast policy here......outside or dead. I've also had a few I thought were really cute but I know if I put them outside and let them live, they will come right back again! Been there, done that! And when they return, they usually bring a friend!

[Z28Taxman]

Dave,
As far as mice are concerned, I have a hard and fast policy here......outside or dead. I've also had a few I thought were really cute but I know if I put them outside and let them live, they will come right back again! Been there, done that! And when they return, they usually bring a friend!

I have the same policy, that's why I didn't buy the no kill traps. I know darn well it would be back in the house almost as quickly as me.

I've got a similar deal with the spiders, They can live happily ever after in the basement eating all the other bugs they want. If I see 'em up here they're goners. Almost never see one up here. And I see few other bugs also. :happy:

Day 2 and no more mice. Maybe I got lucky and had a loner.

[Eliza]

Dave,

What would you do if you saw one of these in your house ;)

http://kimmiphillips.com/__oneclick_uploads/2006/10/house-centipede.jpg

I seriously thought about moving...

[wilkiecoco]

Dave,

What would you do if you saw one of these in your house ;)

http://kimmiphillips.com/__oneclick_uploads/2006/10/house-centipede.jpg

I seriously thought about moving...

YYYYYYUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!


There is no doubt that I would either burn down the house and start over again, or move if I saw one of those in my house!!!!! :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg: :omg:

I absolutely hate creepy crawly things, and that was a major creepy crawly thing!! :omg:

[Janie]

I have the same policy, that's why I didn't buy the no kill traps. I know darn well it would be back in the house almost as quickly as me.



It's true, they will come right back in unless you relocate them. We found some good traps at a local Ace Hardware and after we caught our culprit I drove the little guy a few miles down the road and released him in a field. My exterminator once used a glue trap when we were out of town and that was a terrible thing to come home to. Don't get me wrong, I would and have killed them in the past but if I can easily catch and release far away from the house, that's my first choice.

Dave, I am so surprised that Ditto didn't react to having that critter in his cage. I think my three would have freaked out! :omg:

[Mummieeva]

Dave,

What would you do if you saw one of these in your house ;)

http://kimmiphillips.com/__oneclick_uploads/2006/10/house-centipede.jpg

I seriously thought about moving...

Not only have a seen one of those. I had one fall on me at night. I was playing my Game-boy(no lights on in room) and felt something fall. I used the light from my game to look and saw it.. I jumped 10 feet and ran to get my husband.lol. I have seen a few since then but always dead.



Steph

[lemonypickett]

Awh, don't kill him. I once had a mouse in my horse barn. I trained him to eat and drink from my hand. I even have a pic of him somewhere. That was outside though, not in the house.

[Z28Taxman]

Dave,

What would you do if you saw one of these in your house ;)

http://kimmiphillips.com/__oneclick_uploads/2006/10/house-centipede.jpg

I seriously thought about moving...


I see those from time to time. They creep me out! :omg: I hate bugs! If it's got more than 4 legs it must die immediately. That's why I have the deal with the spiders and the basement.

[Z28Taxman]

Awh, don't kill him. I once had a mouse in my horse barn. I trained him to eat and drink from my hand. I even have a pic of him somewhere. That was outside though, not in the house.

If it was not in the house it would have been fine. But there are nasties that mice can carry that could be fatal. Like this little gem: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/

Cute or not they can't stay in here. :(


Dave, I am so surprised that Ditto didn't react to having that critter in his cage

I can't believe it either, At first I thought it was just him beak grinding himself to sleep like he always does. Then I realized it was seeds crunching and I know he doesn't eat in the dark. When I looked in he was just sitting there on his boing looking at me and the mouse was munching away in the happy hut (which went immediately in the trash).

Sometimes I think He's too mellow for his own good, but at least he didn't freak out and hurt himself or risk attacking the mouse.

[Keltoth]

Dave, I am so surprised that Ditto didn't react to having that critter in his cage. I think my three would have freaked out! :omg:

Ditto was probably happy for the company, thinking he had his own pet... :rotfl

- Eric

[Z28Taxman]

Ditto was probably happy for the company, thinking he had his own pet... :rotfl

- Eric

He has a pet... ME! :rofl:

[Eliza]

If it was not in the house it would have been fine. But there are nasties that mice can carry that could be fatal. Like this little gem: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/

Cute or not they can't stay in here. :(


Agreed... my friend's aunt died of the Hanta virus :( That's why I have a strict kill policy. I hate to do it but it's not worth the risk.

[butterfly1061]

Dave,

What would you do if you saw one of these in your house ;)

http://kimmiphillips.com/__oneclick_uploads/2006/10/house-centipede.jpg

I seriously thought about moving...I use to get those when I had a crawlspace. Now I have a concrete slab and haven't seen one in about 3 yrs. I get spiders (they give me the willies). Thought I had a mouse once, but could never see anything but that one time and nothing since. I do have a fox in the woods behind my house. She eats that cat food on the patio every morning :rolleyes:

[carrier]

What would you do if you saw one of these in your house ;)

http://kimmiphillips.com/__oneclick_...-centipede.jpg (http://kimmiphillips.com/__oneclick_uploads/2006/10/house-centipede.jpg)

I seriously thought about moving...

OK, I am having a serious case of de-ja-vu. I had to kill one of those yesterday in my bathtub! :omg:

It was a big one, too...almost 2 or 3 inches long! :x

[Eliza]

Not only have a seen one of those. I had one fall on me at night. I was playing my Game-boy(no lights on in room) and felt something fall.

Steph

I think that my heart stopped after reading that :roll:

It took me a good week to be able to sleep through the night after seeing one on my bathroom wall. I sleep with a fan on in my bedroom, so that makes my hair blow around a bit, which of course reminded me of long dangly evil legs...

UGH.

Here's to another sleepless week :lol

[Z28Taxman]

Well, 4 days later and still no more mice! :happy: :happy: :happy:

[thebubbleking]

We get centipedes here all the time mostly if you live in the country part of the island and they get like 4 inches long and 2 inches wide and have enough venom to swell up yer leg!
But thats the worst we got no snakes and such so i guess we should count our blessings oh and a centipede has nothing on a cane spider to give one the willies!
Big furry spiders that jump imagine a spider the size of a tuna can..! heck heres a picture of one!
http://www.instanthawaii.com/cgi-bin/hawaii?Animals.cane

[nfmgirl]

Sometimes I think He's too mellow for his own good, but at least he didn't freak out and hurt himself or risk attacking the mouse.

This made me think of my brother's python. Once he tossed in a rat to the python before going out for the evening. When he came home that night, he found the python curled up asleep with the rat. He said he had to return the rat to the store. Once he saw that, he became endeared to the rat and couldn't wait around for the snake to get hungry enough to eat it.

[nfmgirl]

Big furry spiders that jump imagine a spider the size of a tuna can..! heck heres a picture of one!

We've got spiders that look like that here in Florida. Not sure what they are, but I've seen some at least as big as a tuna can. I've told people in the past, "You know that a spider is big when you can hear it's feet ticking across the linoleum floor..."

My mother and I had this happen when I was a teen. I happened to spot a bunch of tiny spiders all over the wall and ceiling of the bathroom. I told my mother the next morning that I was afraid we'd had one of those big spiders hatch a nest of babies in the house. She went looking for it, and found it in a closet. She chased it into the hallway, and at one point the thing leapt off of the wall and hit the floor and ran across it. We could hear it's feet ticking as it ran across the linoleum. After Mom had killed it, we both stood there jumping up and down and freaking out. Mom said, "Did you hear it's feet running across the floor?!" I said, "I know!"

<shiver>

On a similar note, you know a roach is big when you can see it's head turning and following your every movement. I had this happen to. I was trying to get passed it to get out of the bathroom as a teen, and I saw it's head turn to watch me. I moved back the other way, left, right, left, right, and watched it's head following my every movement. Ewwwwwww!

[nfmgirl]

Don't get me wrong, I would and have killed them in the past but if I can easily catch and release far away from the house, that's my first choice.

Yep, me too. I even caught a mouse in a trashcan at work and drove it home at the end of the day and released it in a pasture across from my home. I have a squirrel trap that Mom has used to trap a rat in her house and release. I catch and release spiders usually, even though I have arachnaphobia, and I do the same with hornets and silverfish. Mom has captured and released coral snakes and black widows, as has my father. We all try to capture and release when possible. I've even captured and released ants, until the trail appears and it gets out of control. Then it's "go time"!

I recently used my vacuum to catch and release a monster hornet! Took the whole vacuum outside and opened up the canister to let the monster out. He was white with dust, but alive and kicking!

[nfmgirl]

BTW, we've had lots of rain over the last few weeks, and we had some minor flooding recently. Last week I ran home for some reason (maybe to take Odie home at lunch?) and as I left my place I was going to Subway to grab lunch. As I went to turn into the CVS parking lot, I spotted two large catfish flopping around in the driveway to CVS. This isn't unheard of, since catfish are known to "walk" during rainy periods from one area of water to another. But I live a mile or two from the river, so I have to assume that they came up the flooded storm drains. Well, I was worried that they would get run over. It's one thing for them to go "walking" in rural areas, but they were right on a busy street.

So I carefully pulled into the parking lot, and then got out my gloves (I always try to have cat carriers, gloves, blankets, etc. in case I need to pick up injured wildlife), and proceeded to chase around catfish on the street and carry them to the flooded area nearby. I must have looked crazy, and had cars pulled over watching me. When I finished getting a fish into the water, people would just laugh and wave.

It's never a dull moment when you care about life and have to figure out a way to help it out of it's predicaments!

[Eliza]

We get centipedes here all the time mostly if you live in the country part of the island and they get like 4 inches long and 2 inches wide and have enough venom to swell up yer leg!


Bubble -- my friend Jennifer tells me that the ONLY thing that she DOES NOT MISS about Oahu is the centipedes :lol