I've been having the same problem and have caught quite a few "visitors" recently. The scariest part for me is setting the traps - I always jump and scream when the bar slides off the trigger prematurely with a snap and sometimes no matter how gently I place it down it will go off.

I bet Midnight was saying "Thank you!".

Schoolhouse - No kidding, I hate setting those traps. I reset the least icky trap, and caught another invader. I don't reuse, cause I can't. I know I have 2 more new traps somewhere - I just need to find them and set them. Then maybe I'll only catch one - then I know I have them all. Or at least the dumb ones~~~

Nancy.

Schoolhouse - No kidding, I hate setting those traps. I reset the least icky trap, and caught another invader. I don't reuse, cause I can't. I know I have 2 more new traps somewhere - I just need to find them and set them. Then maybe I'll only catch one - then I know I have them all. Or at least the dumb ones~~~

Nancy.

Oh yucky!! I have had my share of mice adventures out at the ranch (the first time in my life I've had to deal with the skittish little creatures). Our Flower turned out to be an excellent mouser even at the age of 15 and going strong. I hate the traps and have started to use the sticky traps too but you do have to switch off once in a while as there seems to be a warning system among mice. I'll catch a few and then I catch nothing. So I set the icky wooden traps and immediately catch more. At least that means I don't have to use the wooden traps all the time. Blech. I don't unload, I made the Rancher do it. I don't what this winter will bring in the new place I did stuff steel wool into every crack I could find before I moved in because there was evidence of mice in the east addition of the house. Good Flower, mommy loves you. LOL!

MeMo

So it sounds like Midnight can't be bothered to chase down any silly mice, but if one is served up to him pinned down in a nice Victor mouse trap, he will be happy to play with and then dine on it. "Thank you very much, mummy, may I please have some more?"

Have you tried those slick new plastic traps that are super easy to set? You just squeeze a lever on one end and the business end (with teeth!) opens and locks. To release a dead critter you just squeeze the lever again and out it drops - ker-plop.

"Love to eat them mousies,
Mousies what I love to eat.
Bite they little heads offÂ
Nibble on they tiny feet."
ÂB. Kliban

ThinMan

Here is a link that might be useful: Kliban Cats

I had an infestation of mice one year after a developer bulldozed a big parcel of land nearby. All of these dogs I have, and not a one of them will mouse in the house. Although they sometimes catch mice outside. I adopted two kittens, and house mouse problem was soon solved.

Lol. TM - I was trying to remember that little poem!! Thanks. Lorna - it's funny what the little princes and princesses will and will not do!! In the old house, one of them would catch a chippy and bring it inside, then the game was afoot. I would come home to some terrified little creature under a piece of furniture, but there was no way to catch them and put them outside. Nici has brought 2 partridges into this house - I can always tells when is him, cause he can eat them. His teeth are mostly gone, so he just licks them. Gack. Memo - is this your little cottage?? Does the Rancher kill them when he takes them off the sticky stuff? I never figured that out.....

Nancy.

I hate mouse traps! We used to have a cat that would catch them and play with them in the bathtub (not eat them or even really injure them) then my husband would have to throw it outside. At least the mouse didn't run all over the house. Our boy could catch him quite easily, but eat him...how unappetizing.

Another time, same cat and his sidekick are watching a mouse eat their cat food...apparently the dry food was not to their liking and maybe they figured if it was gone, they could have canned food instead. LOL

After that, I got some barn kitties from next door and problem solved! Now there are no mice, moles, gophers or any other small animals around the house. They are very good barn kitties :)

Yuck... I can remember when I was a child, my father had bought white lab mice for each of my sisters & I. We were visiting a big city then and had to return by plane to our home city -so as kids, we smuggled the mice onboard in a cage. Well, the mice were clever and got away midflight. There we were on hands and knees crawling through the airplane aisle looking for our pets. the stewardesses kept far and away from us the entire time until we got our pets. Those 3 fat mice turned out to be pregnant and soon and within 2 months we had hundreds.. And one day, one of our dogs got to them and many escaped. Funny - I never saw any one of them since. I guess they must have blended in with the other city mice or may have gotten killed.

Nancy, we had a mouse problem in the kitchen too. I refuse to touch those nasty traps so DH has to do them. We caught one, but knew we had more under the range because the cat would sit there with her head tilted down listening!

After a few weeks we gave up and I opened a box of d-con and put in the bottom drawer of the stove (our cat can't open drawers!) I was hoping the mice would go elsewhere for water after eating the bait and die there. Must have worked.....no mice for two months now. I am just leaving the stuff out.

I know - I should use poison and rid myself of them, but I am such a worry-wort!!

Nancy.

Many many years ago I had mice for the reason of land clearing, also.

I had guests over for a casual dinner.

I opened up a drawer and there was a mouse in a trap. I yelled mouse and slammed the drawer, as I turned around my firend was already in the middle of the dining table.