A mouse killed my mouse.

[Mk42gunner]

Talk about ironic, a mouse chewed the wire in two for my computer mouse. It may have been more than one hungry little critter, it seems I have a bumper crop that moved inside this year.

This necessitated a quick trip to town this evening, at least the roads hadn't started freezing yet. While I was there I went ahead and purchased a new keyboard, I have been getting tired of the sticky keys on the old one.

It won't happen again, the new mouse is wireless. Now I just have to wonder when the battery will go dead.

Robert

[richhodg66]

Sounds like you need to get a cat.

[AllanD]

While people hav been tying to invent a better mouse trap for a Long, long time
I doubt anyone will create and mechanical device as effective as Felis Domestica,
the common domestic cat.

I was having issues with mice that moved inside this fall...

"having" is appropriate as the problem is very "past tense".

A friend of a friend had several female cats that had litters of
kittens in her horse-barn this past summer and adopted two of her overpopulation
and rescue them from being fox/coyote snacks or fur-lined Clydesdale hoof-prints.

They are both adopting well to their new indoor lifestyle, so much so that the yellow
one is "supervising" my typing from the back of my chair right now...

Nobody in the house has seen any new evidence of mouse activity
since I brought them home, so I think it highly likely the mice all found
themselves promoted from "vermin" to "chew toy"...

[bubba.50]

gettin' a cat is no guarantee. while my cat does take care of the furry mice he's also killed 3 or 4 computer mice. I've now got a wireless one. as long as ya turn it(the mouse) off when not in use the battery lasts a long time.

[MaryB]

Tigger keeps the mouse population under control here and he knows better than to chew on cables.

[Bullwolf]

A while ago (back in the DOS days) my neighbor at the front Ranch was complaining to me that he was having computer problems. He asked me to take a look at his PC for him.

Tried booting up the computer, only to be rewarded with a series of beeps instead.

I pulled the outer case off the PC, and noticed inside that a mouse or some mice had made a nice cozy nest on top of the CPU composed of hair, foam, and carpet fuzz.

The rodent, or rodents had also chewed some up some wires and insulation. The biggest surprise though was the IDE ribbon cable that connected the Hard Drive to the PC Mother Board had been chewed completely through.

Since I'd assembled that PC for my neighbor out of parts, I had cables and other pieces on hand. I put it all back together with a new IDE ribbon cable, and everything worked fine after wards.

The diagnosis was easy. I told him the problem is you have mice.



Bet folks who do tech support don't get to say that one very much, but it probably happens more often than you'd expect.

Gives a whole new meaning to the term "computer mouse".



- Bullwolf

[BrassMagnet]

I like Tin Cats.
They are a high capacity live mouse trap. Bait them with dog kibbles and they will rapidly dent an enormous mouse population.They can be used indoors or outdoors. Insert the trap with live mice in a large bucket full of water and it is "bubble, bubble, no more trouble."

Then add some bleach to the water to kill any hantavirus. Let set a few hours. Empty, rinse, sun dry, re-bait, and reset. It helps to have extras.

[mozeppa]

A while ago (back in the DOS days) my neighbor at the front Ranch was complaining to me that he was having computer problems. He asked me to take a look at his PC for him.

Tried booting up the computer, only to be rewarded with a series of beeps instead.

I pulled the outer case off the PC, and noticed inside that a mouse or some mice had made a nice cozy nest on top of the CPU composed of hair, foam, and carpet fuzz.

The rodent, or rodents had also chewed some up some wires and insulation. The biggest surprise though was the IDE ribbon cable that connected the Hard Drive to the PC Mother Board had been chewed completely through.

Since I'd assembled that PC for my neighbor out of parts, I had cables and other pieces on hand. I put it all back together with a new IDE ribbon cable, and everything worked fine after wards.

The diagnosis was easy. I told him the problem is you have mice.



Bet folks who do tech support don't get to say that one very much, but it probably happens more often than you'd expect.

Gives a whole new meaning to the term "computer mouse".



- Bullwolf

exactly how they got the term "bug and debug"

[Blackwater]

It's that time of year when mice try to find warmth like all woods creatures, and inside homes is usually the warmest place around. I live in what used to be an old crop field, and for years, we'd have to break out the traps this time of year and trap the little grays that tried to move inside. Seems they've finally learned their lesson, but cold can be an awful powerful temptation, and sure as I've printed this here, one will make a liar out of me tonight! Eternal vigilance is the price of "freedom," even from mouse invasions.

[bikerbeans]

I prefer cream cheese and a Victor over a litter box.

BB

[RogerDat]

There are several dog breeds that are excellent mousers. We have a standard schnauzer that will pounce, pin, and snap a mouse out of the snow. Nothing rodent lives in her territory. Moles are dug up and dispatched, squirrels are run down, and once she knows the location of a mouse nest or hangout she thinks of little else while the rodent yet lives. My job is sometimes to lift the log or board she is interested in and watch the scramble. She is now 11 years old and has slowed down a little, yet any squirrel that goes for our bird feeder is living on borrowed time she will run it down, squirrel has to make it to the tree or fence first every time, she only has to beat the squirrel once. Mouse in the garage is on its way to being a chew toy.

[popper]

Get some of the white lab rats, let them loose once in a while. No more mice and you can put them back in the cage.

[rancher1913]

I've been wanting to try the soda can on a stick over a bucket of water trap that supposedly traps 50 or so mice at a time. so far the barn cats have not made it worth my while to build it.

[montana_charlie]

This necessitated a quick trip to town this evening, at least the roads hadn't started freezing yet. While I was there I went ahead and purchased a new keyboard, I have been getting tired of the sticky keys on the old one.

While you were there, you should have picked up a box of D-Con.
It will clear a population out in a few days, or a week.

We are 'rural' and mice are abundant.
We keep the 'bait' on the perimeter (covered porch, and crawl space under the house) and one of those silent electronic things inside.

Very rare to see a mouse inside, anymore, and it only happens when a door is left open for some reason.
Probably due to the repeller, they go nuts trying to get BACK out.

[FISH4BUGS]

We feed two flocks of turkeys and wild birds. Our seed stash consists of two large garbage cans - one with cracked corn and the other black oil seed. It is out in the man cave and inevitably there is some spillage, much to the delight of the mice.
The 3 cats take care of them. Sometimes we forget to put lids back on the cans and come back to see mice in the barrels. We tip the barrels over a bit and they scurry out. The cats will sometimes give chase, but that really isn't sporting of us.
I even had one on my reloading bench smiling up at me once.
They are cute little creatures and the cats love them for snacks. There seems to be a balance here - there are enough mice for the cats to be kept happy.
Only one strange thing - I have a 1964 Hammond B3 organ in my office and I had the tube amps pulled to be totally rebuilt. While the organ was down, a mouse got in and built a nest on the keyboard, even with the cover down. No damage, just lots of fuzz.

[Artful]

[TXGunNut]

I don't have a cat anymore but that doesn't stop me from putting some cat food out for a feral cat that drops by regularly. No mice, no rats and my computer mouse has been wireless for years, lol. Last time I had a mouse inside it seemed to prefer my computer desk for some reason.

[xs11jack]

What makes me nervous is Mk42gunner saying that there is so many mice inside this year. They know about weather. Means that it is going to be a tough winter. Dang!!
Ole Jack

[MaryB]

I heat my house with a corn/pellet stove and often have half empty 5 gallon buckets of corn sitting by it. I heard some scratching one night and looked over. There was a mouse with his stomach so full he couldn't pull himself over the lip of the bucket. His cheeks were packed full too. He tried 3 times and on the third try was hanging on the edge of the bucket looking at me with a "what? I am fat give me a break" look. I finally took the bucket outside and tipped it so he could get out. He probably made it back in the house and ended up as cat food but it was so funny that night I couldn't kill him.

[Mk42gunner]

I've got some barn cats; but every time I manage to get one inside, they want out quickly. They do know how to catch mice and field rats, I see them with them pretty often. I am not going to import more cats to improve the bloodline.

I guess it is time set out the winter trapline in the house. I am going to go with a variety this year, wooden Victors with the metal trigger and one of the five gallon home made ones.

Robert