We’ve been having some mouse problems in the kitchen. They got into the oatmeal, nibbled our pineapple, even chewed through a coffee can. So we started trapping them and got 4 so far–alive. As for now they are living in a giant terrarium at the foot of the bed. What to do? What to do? I’ve yet to meet an animal, even a bug, that looked content living in a cage. Could eat em, but they are so darn cute (but if we get ten I’m totally making mouse fingered gloves). I suggested we press them into slavery building tinder bundles. I’ll put the material in for them to make a nest and when they are done I’ll steal it and give them more. But seriously folks any suggestions? Do you think they’ll die if we let them out in the cold after living inside all winter?
Hantavirus scares me too much to eat mice.
If they were shacked up in your kitchen, I would guess they abandoned their non-civ pad for your place. If you turn them out now, I’d bet they’ll just be back. Rodents are fucking brilliant–especially at getting where they want to be. Everyone is probably better off (you and they) with them in a cage for now, and then you can turn them out when the weather warms. Maybe then they’ll have enough to keep them busy and they won’t be as interested in your kitchen.
My dogs liked to eat mice.
Thanks for the advice Rix but I just received an important new bulletin on the mice. One of them had babies. I suspected this might happen. The other mice were taking up the nest while the mom and babes were shivering the corner so nick took all the mice except for the mom and babies and let them go in an abandoned house. Is hanta virus a danger in the Northeast?
I think hanta virus is a danger everywhere. I remember reading a book by Bill Bryson (A Walk in the Woods) where he was planning on walking the entire Appalachian trail, and he was concerned with it.
Babies, eh? Yeah, those fuckers can breed like wildfire. My roommate after college wanted to breed some rats, and he kept having problems with the females being pregnant before he could even tell that they were females. I think rats are sexually mature after 2-3 weeks and have just as short of a gestation cycle, if i remember correctly. I would think that mice are pretty comparable in the sack.
An abandoned house sounds like a lovely new home for them.
Side note: after I moved out of the apartment with my friend, I ended up living in my VW bus at some friends’ house next to a river (yes, it was a glorious cliched existence). He left me some of his rats, and I always wondered if I could breed them fast enough to live off of them. I never got to find out, though, because I only took males–and I liked them too much to eat them
ever hear of ‘rabbit starvation’?
haha rat starvation. well, i never intended to live solely off the rats. i would have shared the free corn chips (from a local restaurant) that i was feeding the rats.
if i were going to do it now, i would probably try to talk one of the local butchers into giving me some of the fat trimmings that they throw away or grind up for birdfeed. then i could make some nice rat/beef pemmican.
you could use them as bait in snares or for fishing.
if you let them outside they would probably be fine, but if they already got inside they would pobably try to get back in.