Mice Mice Mice

There are mice everywhere, including one living in my Land Rover with me.

I suspect it may have been with me for over about 6 weeks and during most of that time I have been trying to find a way to deal with it.

I am not opposed to having a companion in the Landy, but I expect any companion to tidy-up after themselves, not pee / poo inside and not to chew the furniture, and not invite their mates over for rowdy parties in the middle of the night.

I have got to the stage where I feel like going out to my truck in the middle of the day to bang on the panels it hides it just to be malicious and disturb its sleep like it has been disturbing mine!

Mousie is quite talkative too, squeaking away at random times during the dark hours.

It even scampers over my legs or arms while I am trying to sleep!

All of these are leading to me being very tired (and a little grumpy) from disturbed nights sleep.

The little critter seems to have settled in.

I leave the doors wide open so it can 'escape' out into the wilds at night, but it obviously prefers living in the Landy.

I can hear you say just poison or trap the damn thing.

But imagine that, a dead mouse trapped behind my dash board while my vehicle is parked outside in 38 degree Celsius plus days... mmmmm ripe rotten mouse. NO thanks.

And also, I don't want to kill it, I just want it to live elsewhere.

Methods tried so far: 1. Leaving food near rear door – aim it will be lured to rear door and use opportunity to jump out, go live elsewhere.

Result – mouse eats food, doesn't leave Unintended consequence: Other mice jump into truck, eat food, run around upsetting my Landy mouse with squeaks at them and chases them around the inside of the truck while I groggily watch in disbelief as three mice race around, before Landy mouse chases them out the back door, but it stays! Seriously, that happened two nights ago.

2. Leaving food just outside the Landy, on edge of bodywork.

Result: Mousie goes out to eat food and returns back 'home' to Landy

3. Leaving food on ground outside Landy

Result: Mousie goes out to eat and comes back in again, or refuses to goes out and eats rubber mats instead

4. Not feeding it

Result: Mousie eats the rubber floor mats, timber and wiring

So, here I am tired and grumpy at mouse.

Still not grumpy enough to want to kill it – we have a sort of bond now. I do after-all say hi to it as I get into my car everyday, etc etc

Mouse traps – I went out to local hardware store looking for a non-kill trap, they don't stock any.

So, next stage, online research...

Wow !!! have you seen some of these amazing ingenious humane mouse trapping methods!

Sharing them here with you now

This website lists 5 clever ways to make a simple no kill trap

Or watch these little videos...

I like this one best

And I have learnt from one website that apparently mice do not like Peppermint Oil – so I am about to go out and buy some, then will try making one of these human mice traps...

I will keep you posted on the outcome