Call me, Sherah--Destroyer of Mice

I really don’t like mice.

Before we got married, my husband used to have pet rodents of different varieties. I told him he could have rodents or a wife. Since he’s my husband, it’s pretty obvious that I won that battle

We lived in a mobile home once with mice. I woke up one morning to see blood on top of my stove with a little tail trail running off into the burners. My husband explained (remember, he had been a rodent person) that two male mice probably got into battle over territory. All I could think of were the Jets and the Sharks from West Side Story.

Depiction of the possible fight scene on top of my stove.

Well, the house we are living in now has mice. Usually, it's my husband's job to deal with it, but last Thursday, he was working a 12-hour shift. I had to make the "mouse call".

First, mija let me know that there was a mouse stuck to one of the sticky mouse traps. I took a deep breath but knew I could handle it. All I would have to do is pick up the sticky paper, put it in a bag, and take it out to the big trash can.

But what I found made me stop and reckon.

For demonstration purposes only

That's right. The mouse was stuck on top of the mouse cord. There was a mouse on the mouse...or a mouse under the mouse depending on your perspective. 

My first thought was to just throw the whole thing away.

But, no. I took the bull by the horns, or in this case, the mouse by the cord and slowly slid the cord out from under the mouse. The mouse was very small, so I had to be careful not to dislodge the mouse...the animal not the computer part. The real challenge came when I had to slide the USB plug underneath. I was holding it over the big trash can just in case, but I DID IT!  I removed the mouse from the mouse! 

Okay, so mija accidentally spelled tea all over the mouse (computer part not animal) later in the the day resulting in the the mouse being thrown away in the end, but the victory was still mine.

I was on a high. So that night, I was ready to take on the mouse in the stove. Yup, deja vu. Mice in stove number two.

I was working at the computer doing taxes and started seeing the mouse sneak out from under the burner and look around. Testing the waters. I was really surprised by how fast that little thing could move. First, popping out from one burner and then under another burner within seconds. Then I saw this:

Reenactment. Not the actual stove or the actual mice.

There were two mice in the stove. The way they were popping up and down reminded me strongly of the "Whack a Mole" game at Chuck E. Cheese.

I was already ticked about one, but two was too much!

Well, I brought the trash can out beside the counter, grabbed an oven mitt in one hand and my Tupperware colander in the other, and waited. I waited until one of them had traveled to the far end of the counter and made my move. It didn't go quite as I had planned.

I made it to the counter before it made it to the stove. I slammed down the colander and actually hit the mouse across the back with the edge. I flipped it onto the floor and covered it with the colander.

A similar colander acting like it's on the floor covering up the half dead mouse.

Whew! It happened quicker than I could type it. 

I gently lifted the colander to see a dying mouse instead of an attempted escapee. I must have broken it's back when I hit it. I scooped it up in a bag and threw it away.

Tada!! I was so proud of myself both times! I definitely overcame some big challenges by dealing with little things. Some more battles won!

Just call me, Sherah, Destroyer of Mice!