Tuesday, June 12

outwitting mice

I am currently reading a book called “Outwitting Mice - 101 truly ingenious stratagems”. This book is a swindle, the title’s the most useful bit. Most chapters are about the biology and habitat of various obscure rodents e.g. South American Coypus. Then at the back of the book there’s a list of 100 suggestions for getting rid of them:

1) Remove any Welcome doormats - they send the wrong message.

2) Play John Tesh albums at the highest volume setting …

and so on. I think perhaps it's supposed to be funny.

Personally, I use humane traps to catch the mice, then I release the wee timorous beasties in the woods. They find their way to the house of someone else who’ll poison or splat them, leaving my karma intact.
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8 comments:

  1. ion13 June 2007 at 00:33

    I use biological control in the form of a specimen of Felix domesticus. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to acquire a cat these days in the age of compulsory neutering, but after 3 months on a waiting list the arrival of Her Catness had the mice out within 2 weeks. In that fortnight, She had a field day, including the time She brought a moribund but still locomotory mouse onto my bed, just to show off.

    According to Carl Zimmer in 'Parasite Wars', mice and rats maddened by cerebral Toxoplasma infestation lose their fear of the smell of cat urine so that this parasite can propogate itself by being eaten and then excreted to find a new host. Now that's clever.

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  2. Hotboy13 June 2007 at 01:39

    Albert? How odd you Bavarians are! So you don't mind torturing and killing and eating wee lambs, but when it comes to pests, you come over all gooey!! Oh no! Mustn't hurt the little mice! Dearie me! You've lost the plot there completely! Hotboy

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  3. Anonymous13 June 2007 at 07:10

    I say!

    Cabbage is very partial to roasted mice. The next time you catch one, could you send it to him?

    MM III

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  4. Hotboy13 June 2007 at 09:04

    Albert! As a free lance Taoist, I fear you must elucidate on the meaning of the paracite and what it's all about. It would help. Hotboy

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  5. rob13 June 2007 at 16:58

    ion - does the dog let the cat live? Maybe it's just biding its time till the cat's full of mice, like veal cordon bleu or stuffed cabbage.

    MM - no offence re the stuffed cabbage.

    HB - didn't they give you Toxoplasma at the drug testing centre? A missed opportunity.

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  6. Hotboy13 June 2007 at 19:48

    Albert? Well, the paracite thing is truly amazing! The trouble with evolution is that you cannot encompass the time scales and mechanisms that can make something like that happen. The world is full of fantastic stuff like that! Like protecting ants getting fed sugar by trees! So you've no opinion? What kind of Taoist are you anyway? Hotboy

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  7. Lee Ann14 June 2007 at 09:02

    Just dropping in with a smile and hug to say hello! I miss you Rob.
    ~xo
    Lee Ann

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  8. rob14 June 2007 at 09:58

    HB - my colleagues at the NSCI tell me that what you describe is symbiosis, where each party sponges off the other. Like the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, really.

    LA - hope you're on the mend. oxo

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