I told my dad about it that weekend. He told me his story about how, one night the first in his first apartment, a mouse ran across his chest while he was asleep. By morning, he was packed and moved back into his parents' basement. I also told me that if I saw one, then there was more than one.
I was confident that I'd catch the mouse. I have a fool-proof trap that always works. It involves poison and waste-paper baskets.
I caught two with the first several days. The first one ran on a glue trap as it was trying to hide. That's kind of like falling in a hole running away from a bear. Whatever, I'll take it. Mouse-0, me-2.
I thought the game was over. One morning, I picked up my mega-vitmans. I guess the noise starled No. 3 because it dove from my 4 ft. tall barbage container. It hit the ground like a live hackey-sack and scurried off.
I decided that this one was different since it didn't fall for the same traps (pun) as the other ones. So I went all out. I bought glue traps, poison bait, poison sticks, I stocked my cache.
I put the glue traps where I actually saw No. 3. I laid 3 glue traps; all places where I actually saw No. 3.
No. 3 was definitely smarter that his cousins. He didn't leave evidence for a while. I thought maybe he left. I mean, I leave a place if two of my cousins disappeared. But no, he made his presence known eventually.
He fell for my first trap. Yes, the fool-proof one. The thing is, my equipment failed. Somehow, No. 3 managed to drag the trap from its strategic location to the stove and he managed to wrangle himself from the trap. Yes, he stepped ON the trap, ate the bait (which was real food) and stepped OFF the trap.
It was on.
No. 3 fell for the second trap. Just to make this part of the story short, the second trap disappeared. I left for work, it was there. I came home, it was gone. I couldn't find this trap at all. I had no idea where it could've gone.
I felt like No. 3 was mocking me.
The third trap was laid directly under the mouse hole. My strategy was to "smoke 'em out. ". Actually, it was more like starve 'em out.". I did not leave any food/garbage out No. 3 could get to it. Fruit and cereal went on top of the fridge. Garbage when in a plastic Pathmark bag on the apartment entrance door handle. This became a war of attrition.
But No. 3 simply rolled with the punches. I hid the food, he hid from me. This went on for months. When thought he was gone, I'd leave food out. He'd leave new evidence.
No. 3 was definitely mocking me. Little did he know that I became his drug dealer.
I'd leave stuff for him that I knew he liked: chocolate, cake icing, fruit, nuts, veggies etc. But I gave him prescribed doses. I had a plan. I was working my plan.
One night I left out McDiddies. I woke and found on evidence that he'd dined, so I covered it up. I thought maybe he got tired of the games. Eventually, when I went to throw out the McDiddy's not only had he dined, but it appeared that, when I covered up the trash, I had trapped him in. But somehow, he got away. (I suspect he got out when I moved the bin. I left enough of an opening after transit for him to squeeze out.)
No. 3 is making look and feel like a fool.
After months of this, I decided it was time to drop the bomb: the infamous snap trap.
I disguised it, though, as the war of attrition. I wanted it to look like the same routine as before: food on the fridge, bags on doorknobs, no exposed food.
Then, I left a nice morsel of cheese to bait the trap. I went out for dinner. Came back. Nothing.
"Maybe I'll hear the trap snap overnight..."
In the back of my mind I said to myself, 'maybe I'll feed his family overnight.'
I woke up.
"I didn't hear the trap snap so he must still be hiding."
I went on with my routine. Then I checked to make sure he didn't eat the bait and go home.
"It looks normal... Wait!"
I took a few steps closer.
"Artoo, is that you???"
"It 'tis you! It 'tis you! Oh, thank the Maker!"
The trap is spring.
No. 3 is no more.
Victory is mine.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
2 comments:
peek-ka-boo!! ;)
hey you.
you found where i was hiding.
whats up?
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