I also had countless parakeets growing up, a Cocker Spanial named Taffy (who I loved!), a salt water fish tank, turtles, frogs, an couple green anoles, and of course Stockton, my families current Maltese Poodle who thinks he is the dominate male of the family even though he stands at 12" tall. I LOVED having all these pets growing up, and always have looked forward to the day when Shawn and I could adopt our first pet. But I have recently had a change of heart towards the animal world, and let me tell you why.
Early this spring, I got really really puppy hungry and thought that it would be good to adopt a puppy to watch our kids grow up with. Such a sweet heart warming thought. Then I found out that I was pregnant, and suddenly that puppy was way off the table, but I still really wanted one. So I found a family that was in need of a dog sitter for the summer and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see how a dog fit into our family. So we agreed to watch an 18 month old Boxer puppy for the WHOLE summer (and yes, we were paid, but not near enough). To keep this post somewhat contained in size, I will not go into details about the summer from h--- that animal caused us, but between the jumped through screens, chewed through cable cords, chewed up everything else, 100% complete and total disobedience, and of course going into heat the last week (@#!*%!#$*@), I quickly realized why my parents were so against a dog for so many years. I also learned that our little family likes to pick up and go way too spontaneously to be tied down with a dog. So I am happy to report that I am no longer puppy hungry and am once again enjoying and loving my CLEAN home (as clean as it gets with kids, but no more dog grossness), and livable backyard.
On to the most recent chapter of animals in my life...mice. Last year right after we moved into our house we quickly learned there was a mouse problem. We set some traps, caught a few, and the problem seemed to disappear. Well, two days ago it started cooling off and Shawn and I got the kids to bed when we started hearing some noise, from inside the house. We walked into the kitchen and saw 4 little mice peeking out at us from beside the dishwasher. I opened the pantry and another one darted out at me. We quickly set traps, and the first snap (about 3 minutes later) caught two mice in one trap! We are up to 10 mice in 24 hours now, and we are starting to get nervous that we have a real problem on our hands.
So we are looking for suggestions and tips from anyone. The number one tip we have gotten so far is to get a cat. Problem, I'm allergic, not horribly, but enough that I don't want to go visit my in-laws until my fall allergies pass and then the cat allergy will at least be manageable. Plus, honestly, I don't want another thing to clean up poop after, and cat poop is just disgusting. We've looked into having an outdoor cat, but I don't know how you train a cat to hang around your house, and we have a slight bear and wild animal problem around here that wouldn't fair too well for a cat. Anyway help! I'm totally grossed out and feel so unsanitary! But all and all I think it is safe to say that here at the Hammond house, we are not animal lovers, not even a little bit. And if you know anyone who needs a mouse or two, send them our way!
2 comments:
Okay Chantell this is going to be a long message but here it goes.
When we moved into our house in Woods Cross we discovered a mouse had babies under our back porch, we caught a bunch outside in traps (LUCKILY WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY IN THE HOUSE!) But as you know we do like cats and outside cats are the way to go. Let me tell ya why... 1. NO litter box in the house. (We have one in the garage for cold weather and such but I think I have only had to clean it twice since we moved here) 2. They DO catch the mice. After Mr. Magoo came along we had 0 mice problems they magically disappeared, of course I think the mouse problem is probably the reason Mr. Magoo showed up in the first place but every once and a while mice come up dead on the porch (without a head sometimes) but I'd rather have them dead then alive. 3. After you get them fixed and if you feed and pet them they will always come back. 4. If you leave the garage open a crack for them to get in and out it will keep them safe from bears and such, we have a raccoon issue here but the cat is still around, he does come home beat up sometimes but they do seem to have 9 lives. And 5. your kids will like having a pet and you won't have to clean up after it very much. As far a mice in the house I don't know what to tell ya but I'm sure they're getting in from somewhere and the cat will find it.
However cats also catch other things, we find birds on our porch and our cat has also caught a rabbit but not having mice is worth it.
Let us know what you end up doing.
If you have any questions let me know.
And congrats on the new baby!
We have had mice and it is no fun! After trapping the ones inside, we plugged in these tiny things in our outlets that put out a small frequency that keeps them out. Have not had one since we plugged them in. I think I got them at Walmart for cheap. I also discovered where they were coming in and blocked the access with steel wool, metal, caulking, just about barricaded the crud out of the space. They are disgusting. Good luck! We tried outdoor cats but they both lasted about 4 days, so if you figure that one out, let me know.
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