The Intruder

Last week we found we had an intruder in our house. We’re not sure how long he had been there before we figured it out. He was quite sneaky, and, well, you know how it is. Sometimes we’re not as bright as we like to think we are.

There was only one clue and we missed it. We usually have bananas at home, and we keep them on top of a rolling cabinet that has the microwave on it. I’m sure you’ve noticed that it’s almost impossible to tell how ripe bananas are when you buy them. Once at home, they can slowly ripen over a week’s time, or in three days, they’re so ripe, you’re making banana bread again.

One morning my husband showed me a banana that had a small black hole at the very bottom. The next day, two more had the same hole. We just thought they were rotting bottom to top and tossed them. We bought a new bunch, and the next morning there was a two-inch slash in the side. Then my husband realized that it was a mouse.

Oh ick.

I don’t have anything personal against mice. I just want them to stay outside in nature where they belong. Nevertheless, when the cold weather comes, the poor little things—can you hear the sarcasm here?--go looking for a warm place to spend the winter. That place is often here.

We don’t want to share living quarters with them. We’re afraid that they’ll bring in friends and relatives and have babies and we’ll be overrun. We don’t want to be pushed out of our home by swarms of mice.

The worst part is trying to get rid of them. In the old days we used those spring traps baited with peanut butter. It’s effective, but I hated having to dispose of those little dead bodies when my husband was traveling. Then he found some enclosed traps. The mouse goes inside and is killed quickly. Not seeing it should have helped, but when I pick it up, there’s definitely a weight to it and even that freaks me out.

Anyway, he refreshed the peanut butter in the traps and moved a couple more into the kitchen. No luck. He put banana pieces in the traps. The mouse ate the banana pieces without getting caught. In desperation, he bought some of the old-style traps, baited them with banana chunks, and Bingo!

Wouldn’t you know it? We had a mouse that’s a picky eater.