Today, I had to do something I hope to never, ever do again. I killed a mouse.
Not just throwing away a sprung trap or dead mousey body. No, this was close to rodent murder.
A little back story (so you don't think we're messy, disgusting people living in a pile of filth...) - Oh wait, that was our neighbors! We live in a building that has four suites; two up, and two down. We're downstairs, and the family that lived across the hall from us for a few months were, let's just say the statement above pretty much sums them up. They brought numerous pests with them; bugs, rodents, and stench. They're gone now, but we are still dealing with the stink and pests.
About a week or so ago, Ryan and I were watching TV after Logan went to bed, and I saw a mouse pop its head in under the door, scurry a little ways into our living room, and then back out under the door again. A few days later, the mouse came out from under our stove. And then a couple days ago, we realized that it had found its way into the drawer where I was keeping spices and a few dry, bulk goods. We went out and bought some traps; the only kind left were these black, plastic ones you can reuse. Happily, you don't have to touch the mouse to get rid of it. Just pop that sucker open, and the mouse drops neatly into the trash! Well, we caught a mouse this morning. And one this afternoon. And another one ten minutes later...
This last little guy didn't get the clean death his brave buddies did, though. No sir, he went into the trap from the front instead of the side, and was paralyzed in the back legs. Of course, he tricked me by not moving, so I thought he was dead. As soon as I opened the trap, he started scrambling to find an escape route!
Of course, I couldn't just let him claw around in the trash until he either died or Ryan took the bag out (because I sure wouldn't carry a bag with a live mouse!). What else could I do? I opened the trap a little, and after a few tries, managed to catch the hairy pest by the head in the trap. But because the trap didn't close swift and hard like it would have normally, it didn't kill the mouse. I had to squish its head. Yep. I physically committed the act of killing this mouse by crunching up its skull in a mouse trap.
Now, why in the world would I share this story? Because it was awful! A mouse that's already dead in the trap I can deal with. The trap has done the dirty work for me. That is the first time I ever had to do something like that, and I really hope it will be the last.
Also, remember this story if you ever find yourself in the same situation. Leave that mouse where it is for a few days, just to make sure it's good and gone before tossing it. Or, just buy the disposable traps, and don't worry about it!
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