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My son Patrick came into the kitchen, his face worried. “I caught a mouse in the basement.” I shrugged. Mice came into our house all the time, part of life in the Connecticut woods. “Put it out,” I said. He looked at me like I’d just spoken Swahili. “How?” I sighed. Time to teach my oldest the ways of humane animal relocation.

Spring’s an unusual time for a mouse (that’s usually ‘ant’ season), but it had been cool and rainy. Mice usually come in the fall when they’re attracted to the warmth.

I think mice are cute. Unlike many women — and a few men I know — I have no terror of them. That said, they leave behind little “presents” that aren’t cute. They must go.

I also hate killing anything. Living in the country for decades, I’ve become adept at removing unwanted creatures in a kind way, mostly insects. With moths, spiders, and hornets, a tried-and-true method is used to evacuate them: I take a paper cup and place it over the perpetrator, and then (this is the tricky part) slide an index card gently underneath. This is where you need nerves of steel, especially if there’s an angry wasp or hornet buzzing hysterically underneath. I slowly lift the cup and card off the surface and with the help of someone opening doors ahead of me, set it free.

Both of my sons had used this method with insects, but never with a mouse. Come to think of it, I hadn’t either.

We went to the basement where Patrick pointed to a small, upside-down clay flowerpot. “It’s under there.” I pictured how scared this little mouse must be.

At my suggestion, Patrick procured a cardboard sheet (the kind that comes inside a man’s shirt dry-cleaning) and I slowly, gently slid it under the flowerpot. Fast scrabbling was heard beneath and the tiny tip of a tail poked out. Yes, a mouse was under there. With Patrick opening doors, I carried the upside-down flowerpot with the cardboard sheet tight underneath.

“Put it somewhere far from the house,” said Patrick. (I sensed he wasn’t a mouse fan). I walked across our driveway and placed it on a rock. Slowly I lifted the flowerpot. There stood a baby gray field mouse, tiny with a big head. It could fit into the palm of my hand. I pictured its mother frantically looking for it.

The baby mouse scurried away into the brush, so fragile against the wild animals that live out there. I didn’t give it much hope. “At least we tried,” I said to Patrick, looking at the leafy spot where the mouse disappeared. He nodded. Maybe this little creature would get lucky.

The world’s cruel, but sometimes it feels good doing something kind, even for a mouse.

 

How do you feel about mice or insects in your house? Comments are always welcome and if you liked this, please share.

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Comments(26)

  1. Good for you. I’m afraid I have to admit I’ve killed a few mice in my day. Sometimes the cat did it for me; sometimes I had to put out traps.

    1. Yeah, cute as I always thought they were, mice on a working ranch are vermin. They destroy crops and chew into the wiring. They get into the stored grain and make a mess of it. Sometimes they get into the stored clothes and blankets, which then pretty much had to be thrown away. What the cats didn’t take care of, the traps did. It really was a tough life there–for man and animal alike!
      (And I always wanted one for a pet. You can probably figure out how that proposal was met!) 😬

        • Laurie Stone

        • 3 years ago

        Diane, Yes, one little mouse once a year is cute. Many that cause damage is a different scenario.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 3 years ago

      Tom, We also have trap set out, but if I come across a little mouse, I have to let it go.

  2. Vermin are my husband David’s domain. It was written into our vows. No, just kidding. Still…if I’d thought about it, they would have been. Between David aka as Little Bunny Foo Foo and the pest control people, they do a pretty good job of keeping bugs and other unwanted critters and creepy crawlers out; which is good, considering all our cats are good for are bringing said vermin in through the pet door and then dropping them, so critters run off inside our house and hide. Then we, I mean David, is left to find, catch and release the poor, scared thing — I mean vicious, flea-bitten, good-for-nothing, cat prey somewhere in the alley behind our house. Ugh. I loved your story. How old is your son? It was very clever of him to trap the mouse under the flower pot. 🙂 Mona

      • Laurie Stone

      • 3 years ago

      Mona, My son is 30, going full-time to grad school and saving his money. Thank God he’s around to do these chores before he moves back out!

    • Lea Sylvestro

    • 3 years ago

    I loved this story. Like Patrick, I’ve used your method to save/remove all kinds of insects. I’m not as brave about mice… and our old (1782) house has plenty of easy entries for them. For the most part, we have made our peace with their presence, but when they venture into the utensil drawer, the traps come out. Sigh. They leave us no choice. Thank you for this tale of your compassion. XXOO

      • Laurie Stone

      • 3 years ago

      Lea, Yes, the utensil draw starts showing signs right before Thanksgiving, when the weather turns colder. That’s when we must call the exterminator.

    • Susan Mundy

    • 3 years ago

    Yes, our country life is full of mice stories. I worked 2nd shift for many years and in Winter when I arrived home at midnight, the mice found my car to be the warmest spot in the neighborhood. I can’t tell you how many cabin filters, air filters, and the like I had to replace. Our cats never go outside but have caught many a mouse in the basement. They bring their prey upstairs to play with. One morning found a mouse cowering in my shoe, after I had tried to put it on!

      • Laurie Stone

      • 3 years ago

      Susan, Wow! A mouse in the shoe. That would be a surprising way to start the day.

    • Vinit

    • 3 years ago

    Beautiful idea of living with compassion. Our culture harbors a “kill everything” attitude with respect to other life when it inconveniences us. One may reasonably question whether a quick death in a trap would have been better than suffering outdoors slowly without mother mouse. Regardless, your intent was to save, not kill. This small act of saving the mouse will nurture a lasting attitude of compassion that this planet desperately needs from its citizens.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 3 years ago

      Vinit, A quick death might’ve been better, but just couldn’t be the executioner. I want to believe that every act of compassion (no matter how small) somehow benefits this planet.

  3. Whenever confronted by a large insect or animal – like a mouse – I call my resident hunter, my husband. He takes care of the intruder. Ants and tiny bugs I zap with a spray killer, like an ant & roach spray. Not a fan of these intruders.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 3 years ago

      Meryl, I think we each have to do what works. I don’t like ants either.

  4. I am a coward when it comes to this kind of thing. I may need your number on speed dial!

      • Laurie Stone

      • 3 years ago

      Paula, Laughing. Go for it!

  5. I can’t kill something, either. I just can’t.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 3 years ago

      Carol, It’s hard. Others do it easily.

  6. Clearly, you are a far better human than I am, Laurie. I am TERRIFIED of mice and bugs and admit I tend to not be as ‘careful’ as you are with them. Let’s just put it that way. When I see bugs in the house, especially ants, it completely drives me insane.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 3 years ago

      Joy, Have to admit, ants don’t get the same level of amnesty.

  7. I try to be humane but when I was living in my apartment every once in a while a 2″ cockroach would scurry through and even though it was quick I sometimes nailed it with a shoe. It was just too icky.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 3 years ago

      Rebecca, In the country, we don’t have cockroaches, but I can see how they’d be gross.

  8. Have to admit to killing more that a few mice in our house in various ways. They are cute, but totally gross me out!

      • Laurie Stone

      • 3 years ago

      Mel, I totally get the grossed out thing. One little mouse here and there is one thing, many of them is another.

  9. Not a fan at all. When it comes to spiders…vacuums have been involved. But here in Florida, we get cute little lizards and I really would mind them in the house except I found one running across my pillow and that’s an absolute NO. So like you, I use the cup and cardboard method.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 3 years ago

      Jennifer, Yes, beds are off-limits for all creatures except my dog, Libby. Ick!

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