It has been six days since the mouse incident, and I am still recovering.
Brian and I have been trying to determine if there are any more or if this was a freak appearance. The weather had been warm and then dropped sharply, so perhaps Mr. Mouse found an entrance into our warm abode to escape the cold. Still, we don't want to be so naive as to think that this is a one-time incident.
After we placed cotton balls soaked in vinegar around the house, one strange thing happened that immediately made me upset. One of the cotton balls that was just under the stove (you could see it, so it was only slightly underneath) was in front of the stove the next morning, and it was all puffed up. Now, as the cotton balls were drying, they were all puffing up to some degree, but this one was abnormally large. I immediately drew the conclusion that we had another mouse that pushed the cotton ball from the stove and pulled at the thing. Proof? I have none. There were no droppings at all. I just couldn't understand how the cotton ball would move and grow that fat on its own.
Thankfully, our brother-in-law, Chris, told us about these nifty mouse traps that are much better than the old-fashioned wooden ones I initially bought. They are spin traps, and you place the peanut butter underneath, which is then covered, and you set the trap to the word "set". The mouse is lured in, and then it says "caught". You never have to see the body of the mouse. You take the entire trap and throw it away. Sounds like a trap made for someone like me! The only good mouse is a dead mouse, but I don't want to see any mouse, alive or dead.
We spent Sunday afternoon and evening cleaning the entire kitchen. We went through the cabinets and looked for any evidence of droppings or things being eaten. We wiped each cabinet with white vinegar, and sprayed heartily. We did not see any evidence of anything amiss.
I am currently keeping the vacuum plugged in and ready to go, so that I can quickly vacuum up any crumbs that drop on the floor as I am cooking. I am wiping down surfaces with white vinegar after I prepare food as well. I even washed my the outside of my peanut butter jar so as to wipe away scent and hopefully not lure the creepy things in.
We did place the nifty spin trap in the kitchen, by the stove where we had seen the cotton ball "move". We've had it there two nights, but so far, nothing's been caught. I keep looking at the thing like it is some kind of ticking time bomb. It is sort of creeping me out just having it there, as if the peanut butter inside is going to call every mouse within a five mile radius.
I am still not fully relaxed. Brian is wondering when I'll stop keeping the towel underneath our bedroom door. Oh, I'm not completely stupid. I know a mouse can get in other ways, but since this one was in our living room, I feel compelled to block off that way into our bedroom.
We are still planning to get a cat, perhaps even looking into it as early as next week. Brian has many times tried to talk me into getting a cat, and I always told him, "Don't ask me unless we have a mouse. Otherwise I don't want one." Well, we did have a mouse. And the fact is, we could have another. I don't want to sit around waiting for the other shoe to drop. From what I read online, no house is completely safe. There is always an entry way for a mouse. I had always thought that only gross city apartment buildings had such rodents, but I have since learned that is not the case. Our home is clean, but it is also warm, which is a temptation for these rodents on a cold day. I have never had a mouse in any of the homes I've lived in prior, but I have also never lived so far into the woods as we are here.
I'd rather get the cat now, so that I don't have to worry about stepping out of our bedroom in the middle of the night. What if our baby is crying, and I want to walk around the living room while Brian is sleeping? I'm not naive enough to suggest we will never have a mouse again, even with a cat, but I know a cat will be a help. A detective, if you will. A security guard. A night-prowler to listen for sounds and sniff the air, so I can concentrate on other things, like our baby.
It will be an adjustment for me to live with an animal. I've never had a pet, and cats move fast and their movements often startle me. As I said to my mom, however, I'd much rather get used to living with a cat, then never get used to wondering when a mouse is going to fly out from nowhere as it did the other night, or wonder if my food is going to be eaten. I may not love this cat as affectionately as Brian will, but if it helps keep our home safe, I will love it in my own way.
So, though it may sound silly, we are currently praying for the right cat to join our home. Some of our criteria: it must be short-haired, of course friendly, somewhat independent (it won't get attention from me all day long because my main concern will be our baby), and hopefully it will be a good mouser. Brian already knows (and we established this long ago when we talked about "if" we ever got a cat) that he will be responsible for the kitty litter, clean up, and vet trips. I am simply not an animal person. I am not saying I will never help out, but I already take care of every aspect of cleaning the home. He can handle this one.
For now, I am still looking around everywhere I go for any evidence of anything, and I'm still not fully comfortable. I think when we get a cat, I will begin to relax. Hopefully.
