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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not immediatley want to kill the creature living in our car?

38 replies

RubyRoseRed · 05/12/2010 14:56

The boot of our car is quite full at the moment. DH and I were looking through some bags when we found a box of ferrero rocher that we had been given as a present about a month ago. The previously closed box was opened and it appears a cheeky little critter has delicately um wrapped several chocs and has a good nibble at them. DH freaked out as he was absolutely sure it must be a rat!

I was convinced, from the delicate nibbling and the fact that it didn't devour all the Ambassador's favourites, that it must been a wee mousey.

I found a little humane trap (mouse size). DH has purchased two medieval rat traps.

AIBU to want to try the humane trap first?

Update: DH has just pooped back in with the news that a box of chocs we had wrapped up for a friends birthday and left in the car due to not being able to get out because of snow has also been broken into......perhaps it isn't such a delicate little mouse after all? (At least it didn't get into the champers in the same bag...that would have been a tragedy!

OP posts:
TheButterflyEffect · 05/12/2010 15:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mistletoeploppy · 05/12/2010 15:04

Do you want to borrow my cat? Xmas Grin

nannynobblystockingnobs · 05/12/2010 15:04

Try the humane trap first. Why kill it when there's the option to not kill it?

something · 05/12/2010 15:06

Look for droppings, big difference between rat and mouse poo.

Original poster
RubyRoseRed · 05/12/2010 15:08

My Parson Terrier has been in the car and not even batted an eyelid, another reason I think its a mouse.

DH has just informed me he thinks it's going to be too big for the humane trap...think he is expecting some sort of super king rat!

I definitely don't want it there whatever it is but am trying to convince DH of the non killing option.

OP posts:
Maisiethemorningsidecat · 05/12/2010 15:09

If you DH just pooped back in, perhaps it's him who's been at the golden delights? Grin

I second the humane trap, but please remember to go back and check it (unlike my rather forgetful DH who didn't....Angry)

musicmadness · 05/12/2010 15:40

Please try the humane trap first. I remember as a kid we had a very stubborn mouse in out garage. My dad put down one of the lethal traps, when we came down the next morning the food was gone but the trap hadn't gone off! clever mousey. The humane one caught it eventually, which led to my dad having to go out at 10 at night to release it on a nearby track. I quite liked that mouse, I'd named him and everything. I doubt my dad was so impressed mind! He's never put down a lethal trap again though Grin

ragged · 05/12/2010 15:49

Even with a humane trap they can die quite quickly (within less than 9 hours), they find it quite scarey to be in there, I guess.

If you remove them in warmer months you may well be removing a mother from lots of little babies (thus killing a large number off at a stroke).

Wherever you release them won't be their usual territory, they won't know about the local predators or where to go to be safe, they won't have local kinship links so will be persecuted by fellows of their species annoyed at territorial incomers.

Cold as it is right now, without a family to snuggle up to, they may well freeze to death easily.

It's an ethical minefield! You could argue that a quick death is preferable to the other possibilities.

I tend to have both types of traps going at once, tbh, (have had mice and rats).

ragged · 05/12/2010 15:50

Oh, and food, if you release them somewhere they don't know and they don't have a family group to live with and provide support to them, they may well not be able to get any food (other animals will out-compete them). So starving to death becomes a real possibility.

kittya · 05/12/2010 15:55

can mice get through plastic?

I would try and be humane at first. What are you going to use as bait? we know they like chocolate!!

HelenRosie · 05/12/2010 15:58

Just don't use the 'humane' glue traps. You have to pull them off to set them free, not nice.

Original poster
RubyRoseRed · 05/12/2010 16:15

OK my DH "POPPED" back in rather than "pooped" very different thing!

Well we now have all traps set with chocolates so if whatever it is get squashed we will just have to put it down to natural selection.

No fear of us leaving critter in there to starve to death, DH is way over excited about finding out what it is and which one of our traps will "win!"

Good luck little mousey

OP posts:
Maisiethemorningsidecat · 05/12/2010 16:25

Let us know how you get on - we'll be rooting for you! Down with your DH's rat traps - booooo hissssss

lisad123isasnuttyasaboxoffrogs · 05/12/2010 16:39

hope its not the kids eating them! Grin

theoldtrout01876 · 05/12/2010 16:46

We were sposed to go camping in August,4 days before we were due to leave DH truck stuck in 4 wheel drive.He took it to our mechanic who couldnt get it out of 4 wheel drive nor find out why it went into 4 wheel drive in the first place.He changed a sensor then some other unit connected to the 4 wheel drive.It was gone 3 days at this point.We had to cancel the trip.Our mechanic called Chevvy and spoke to their big transmission guy who also had no clue,finally he took our truck to a transmission specialist in our town who had it for another 4 days without a clue what was up with it.Finally after having it 5 days they discovered we had mice living up inside the box that housed some bit that operated the 4 wheel drive.Upshot is truck was gone 10 days and cost us $2200 by the time we got it back.
So kill the little buggers before this happens to you :o

Original poster
RubyRoseRed · 05/12/2010 16:46

Definitely not the kids.....ttc first!

Will keep you updated!

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 05/12/2010 17:05

"can mice get through plastic?"

Oh yes.

YulenoYurbubson · 05/12/2010 17:24

If it's a rat and you get it in the humane trap, you could keep it as a pet. I have pet rats. Although they don't like living alone, so you might need to go soliciting for another one or two.

YulenoYurbubson · 05/12/2010 17:29

This thread has reminded me; we used to have various rabbits and guineas in hutches and runs in our garage. One day I noticed that some treats I had been storing in an empty hutch had been nibbled. I kept an eye out and soon saw a wee mousy skipping about. The enterprising little critter had actually moved into the spare hutch. It was warm, lots of soft bedding, hay, tunnels, plenty of food. Can't really blame him.

People were a bit horrified that we had mice and didn't intend to do anything about it, but tbh it would have seemed so arbitrary to kill and remove mousy, but feed and cuddle the other small furries in the room.

BalloonSlayer · 05/12/2010 17:43

Can mice get through plastic?

The buggers chewed through a thick plastic lidded crate to get to the bird food inside it in our shed.

They also made short work of the paddling pool... Confused

Original poster
RubyRoseRed · 06/12/2010 10:29

Well all traps still empty. Little menace must be sleeping off all the Ferrero Rocher and truffles!

OP posts:
discobeaver · 06/12/2010 10:32

Maybe it's a weasel?

ninedragons · 06/12/2010 10:34

We had a mouse eat all the wiring in our car. It cost us nearly a thousand pounds to sort out. Seriously, kill it now.

Original poster
RubyRoseRed · 06/12/2010 11:52

If it is a weasel can I keep that as a pet?

OP posts:
LadyOfTheFlowers · 06/12/2010 11:58

I used to keep rats from the petstore.

Surely you can't keep a wild rat? Shock