# live mouse stuck in trap... help!



## Bowen4Horses (27 January 2010)

as some of you may know (i've whinged enough about it) i have a mega mouse problem in my house, mainly upstairs in the bedrooms cos they're up in the thatched roof. 

we set some traps. and caught literally dozens. that's fine. my OH disposes of them whilst i hide under the duvet.

i was just upstairs, putting clothes away and i could hear a mouse squeaking... i looked and it's stuck in the trap but still alive... it's back leg is in the trap and it's squeaking. some of it's friends have come to investigate (they don't even bother running away when i appear, they must know i'm useless... 

anyway, what can i do with it? my OH isn't due home for an hour or so. it's too cruel to leave it that long isn't it? could i drop it out of the window? what if it still didn't die? 

what is the best/quickest way to kill it (it's too squished to set free) without me actually having to DO anything...


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## ThePinkElephants (27 January 2010)

Got any neighbours or anyone to help it? :S.


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## stacey_lou (27 January 2010)

Hit it over the head with something to knock it out. Just to out it out of its missery.


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## wysiwyg (27 January 2010)

get a bucket of water and a mop..scoop up mouse and trap with a shovel, drop into bucket, put in mop, press down, leave for a hour...or until OH returns!!


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## tashpritty (27 January 2010)

Eeek! i feel for you! i wouldnt know what to do?


what about putting it in a bucket of water to drown? (maybe thats mean), but i think its the only way i could do it?


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## M_G (27 January 2010)

Whack it with a shovel


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## Bowen4Horses (27 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
Got any neighbours or anyone to help it? :S. 

[/ QUOTE ]

nope, have a 12yr old son.... bit young? i could put it up in the stables for the cats?


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## M_G (27 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
Eeek! i feel for you! i wouldnt know what to do?


what about putting it in a bucket of water to drown? (maybe thats mean), but i think its the only way i could do it? 

[/ QUOTE ]

That is cruel even for a mouse... I have had to donk one on the head with a rock before now not nice but better than the poor wee thing suffering


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## wench (27 January 2010)

hit it


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## alsxx (27 January 2010)

Don't drown it thats not very nice! I had to kill a bird once - I broke its neck, I was traumatised afterwards but I knew I had done the right thing (my cat had partly skinned it). Is there no one near you that will dispose of it for you?


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## Bowen4Horses (27 January 2010)

i can't whack it with a shovel. i just can't. i didn't realise i was such a wuss bag. 

i can drown it with mop. that's good. thank you martha79...

right... phew.... here goes ( *gag* )

i'm off

any minute now










gulp






*wipes sweat from palms of hand*





here i go......


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## Vizslak (27 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
Whack it with a shovel 

[/ QUOTE ]

That has made LOL...dunno why, think its cos that is exactly the phrase I had in my head!

I'm in agreement, smack it on the head with anything heavy that doesnt mean you have to get too close to it, if you can't bring yourself to go near it!


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## Bowen4Horses (27 January 2010)

oh god, now i see you all say not to drown it. i thought drowning was a nice way to die?&gt;!?!?!

i'm going to donk it with a brick. cos i can just drop the brick on it. doesn't take any 'whacking'...

is that better?


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## wysiwyg (27 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
oh god, now i see you all say not to drown it. i thought drowning was a nice way to die?&gt;!?!?!

i'm going to donk it with a brick. cos i can just drop the brick on it. doesn't take any 'whacking'...

is that better? 

[/ QUOTE ]

wear your wellies if you "donk it" as it might splat!!! LOL!


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## Vizslak (27 January 2010)

yep go with the brick...drownings horrid, know which i would prefer!


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## stacey_lou (27 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
Don't drown it thats not very nice! I had to kill a bird once - I broke its neck, I was traumatised afterwards but I knew I had done the right thing (my cat had partly skinned it). Is there no one near you that will dispose of it for you? 

[/ QUOTE ]

I had to do that to, I was walking to the yard and a car hit it, it lay in the middle of the road shacking so I picked it up and broke its neck and laid it in the near by bridalway. Poor thing.

We also had to kill a baby rabbit once at the yard i worked at, it had been attacked by a cat and was in shock no way would it have survived so we hit it over the head with a brick. 

Just put it out of its missery quickly.


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## M_G (27 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
oh god, now i see you all say not to drown it. i thought drowning was a nice way to die?&gt;!?!?!

i'm going to donk it with a brick. cos i can just drop the brick on it. doesn't take any 'whacking'...

is that better? 

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope to god you havent half drowned the poor little f**ker... Whack it on the head as hard as you can with a brick the harder you do it the less it will feel


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## alsxx (27 January 2010)

Please don't just drop the brick, hit it with it - OH did this to a rat and he didn't do a very good job and had to drop the brick about 5 times. I was furious!!!


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## Vizslak (27 January 2010)

I'm in agreement that some form of whacking would be better than just dropping the brick.


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## Ellies_mum2 (27 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
Whack it with a shovel 

[/ QUOTE ]




Thats what I thought when I read the post title 
	
	
		
		
	


	
















And yes I could do this .................... I think


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## Rosie1989 (27 January 2010)

imagine the pain the poor thing must be in, its more cruel to leave it than to hit it over the head.


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## Zebedee (27 January 2010)

Take it to the vets quick......they'll be able to give it a quicj whiff a ether &amp; either amputate or repair the leg.
On the way home buy a cage &amp; some mouse food  
	
	
		
		
	


	













Oh &amp; buy a humane trap for future use


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## alsxx (27 January 2010)

Should we be saying RIP mouse yet?


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## jendie (27 January 2010)

Oh how I feel for you! I'm terrified of mice, really phobic. Best thing would be to whack it on the head with something heavy, a friend of mine once did it with a frying pan. Only other thing I can think of is to put it in front of one of your car tyres and drive forward. Drowning is cruel, takes too long.


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## Bowen4Horses (27 January 2010)

RIP mouse. 

*wipes (murderers) sweat from brow*

ah, it was a really cute one, short and fluffy not long and skinny...

i wish i'd seen the idea about running it over before i donked it with a brick... with hindsight a shovel would have been better as when i was about to drop the brick i realised it might just bounce off the trap... so i had to actually hit it. i had my wellies on as i took it outside... didn't think mouse splat would go with my new cream carpet...

*gag*

oh well, i feel strangely heroic... (?!?!). now, where was i? oh yes, tidying my bedroom and turning it into a boudoir for OH's birthday  treat. hmmm.... funnily enough, i'm not really in 'the mood' now... the bedroom is slightly tainted.


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## wysiwyg (27 January 2010)

drowningis cruel?

TBH i was thinking more of the OP as she said she was terrified of mice..hence i replied as i did.

if it was me, i would put on my yard boots and stomp on it.


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## joeanne (27 January 2010)

For future ref CCP
Golf club (just remember to yell "FORE" first 
	
	
		
		
	


	




)
Stomp with boots.....maybe not if you are delicate
Meat cleaver, chop mouse at the neck.....instant! 
Maybe this could be the start of a whole new thread......."New And Improved Ways To Kill A Mouse"


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## Bowen4Horses (27 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]

Meat cleaver, chop mouse at the neck.....instant! 


[/ QUOTE ]

no way, not if you PAID me. i'm queasy at the thought of it. god, i'm a sucky country bumpkin eh?


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## Charmaine18 (27 January 2010)

Ooooh, that's awful.  
	
	
		
		
	


	




  I don't think I would be able to cope with something like that either.  My friend had to to finish off a half-dead bird she found on a Duke of Edinburgh camping trip - the other girls in her group were horrified and really laid into her, when she was already feeling awful about having to do it in the first place.  
	
	
		
		
	


	




  She slammed it with a hefty stick, for anyone who's interested.


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## Carsmore (27 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
Take it to the vets quick......they'll be able to give it a quicj whiff a ether &amp; either amputate or repair the leg.
On the way home buy a cage &amp; some mouse food  
	
	
		
		
	


	













Oh &amp; buy a humane trap for future use  
	
	
		
		
	


	





[/ QUOTE ]
hahahahaha! Thats funny! or were you being serious!!!!??? 
What about getting a cat in the house? They are the ultimate in rodent control! I find that girls are better hunters, but, even the smell of a cat can send the mice away. I would be getting in touch with my local cat rescue by now. 
Well done by the way!


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## ChesnutsRoasting (27 January 2010)

Yep, all Gods creatures and all that. Once upon a time I had to dispatch a squirrel that my lurcher had caught, who was  distracted by a mad labrador without finishing the job in hand. Thankfully. an elderly gentleman was walking his pooch and kindly lent me his walking stick to do the deed. I think I was over enthusiastic, and said man called to me to say he thought the squirrel was well and truly gone - I am by nature very thorough. Still, not a pleasant task.


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## jendie (27 January 2010)

Well done you!! 

When we were infested we had the Man from the Council. He put poison down in the loft and between the floors of the house. We were mouse free within a week.

We've had the odd visitor since then but never several families. A few days ago I found one curiously wet and bedraggled but chomping away on seeds at the bottom of the parrot's cage. I took the tray into the garden and themouse, a baby, toddled off. I don't mind them in the garden.

Oh....and they fluff up when they are on their last legs. I suspect your one was about to pop his clogs, with or without the help of the brick.

I think drowning is cruel because it takes too long - they struggle to swim and it can take several minutes for them to die. Instant is best. I don't like posions for the same reason, they take days to die. But living where we do there is little option. If we didn't put poison down we'd be over run by rats.


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## TelH (27 January 2010)

You are braver then me!! My solution for your problem would have been my jack russell, she can finish off a mouse in about a millisecond  
	
	
		
		
	


	




 Cats and terriers are definitely the way forward


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## kerilli (27 January 2010)

well done, very heroic!


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## Dubsie (27 January 2010)

Well done.  You need to get the eucalyptus oil about in the bedroom, will keep them out of 'your' space - and clear any colds you may have at the same time


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## M_G (27 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
RIP mouse. 

*wipes (murderers) sweat from brow*

ah, it was a really cute one, short and fluffy not long and skinny...

i wish i'd seen the idea about running it over before i donked it with a brick... with hindsight a shovel would have been better as when i was about to drop the brick i realised it might just bounce off the trap... so i had to actually hit it. i had my wellies on as i took it outside... didn't think mouse splat would go with my new cream carpet...

*gag*

oh well, i feel strangely heroic... (?!?!). now, where was i? oh yes, tidying my bedroom and turning it into a boudoir for OH's birthday  treat. hmmm.... funnily enough, i'm not really in 'the mood' now... the bedroom is slightly tainted. 







[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry but I am sat here laughing so much that tears are streaming down my face.... See when a country lass says whack it with a shovel there is good reason xx


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## Natch (27 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
Well done.  You need to get the eucalyptus oil about in the bedroom, will keep them out of 'your' space - and clear any colds you may have at the same time 

[/ QUOTE ]

Ooh, tell me more?

Am currently having a "discussion" with a mouse/some mice under my kitchen sink. I'm all set to re-locate them miles away, as long as the damn things actually get themselves caught! But I do need help keeping them gone. Eucalyptus, you say? How much?


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## CracklinRosie (27 January 2010)

Peppermint oil is how to keep them away.

Those plastic traps from B &amp; Q are magic, current score Me 6 Mice 0. Ha ha ha.


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## Echo Bravo (27 January 2010)

Def rat poisen or humane catchers. I've seen rats in my front garden and back garden. bit unsure what to do as my dogs have the run of back garden as I have a dog flap and a young labxcollie who has just been diagnosed as haviny epilepsy and I feed plenty of birds in my front garden. And at the moment I have a mouse problem in my kitchen, so the humane trap comes out yet again.


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## Snowysadude (27 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
RIP mouse. 

*wipes (murderers) sweat from brow*

ah, it was a really cute one, short and fluffy not long and skinny...

i wish i'd seen the idea about running it over before i donked it with a brick... with hindsight a shovel would have been better as when i was about to drop the brick i realised it might just bounce off the trap... so i had to actually hit it. i had my wellies on as i took it outside... didn't think mouse splat would go with my new cream carpet...

*gag*

oh well, i feel strangely heroic... (?!?!). now, where was i? oh yes, tidying my bedroom and turning it into a boudoir for OH's birthday  treat. hmmm.... funnily enough, i'm not really in 'the mood' now... the bedroom is slightly tainted. 







[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry but I am sat here laughing so much that tears are streaming down my face.... See when a country lass says whack it with a shovel there is good reason xx 

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto that - was about to post that - clipcloppop you just made my day 
	
	
		
		
	


	




!


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## Firehorse (27 January 2010)

i've drowned them before.  i know u all say thats horrible, but hitting its horrible!!!  i guess i've had to become hardened to it, as i'm a single mum and have no one to run to for help with such things.  it was all i could bring myself to do.  no mess, done in seconds.


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## mymare (27 January 2010)

I can't stop laughing!!!!  Is it now 3 legged, half drowned and with concussion from the brick??!!  LOL

Just stand on it.  I've had to kill loads of things, it gets easier, keep practising on them LOL!! I used to be a wuss too, in the end I realised it was more cruel NOT killing them when they're suffering.

Good luck!


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## 3Beasties (27 January 2010)

Clipclop, I really think it's about time you got a terrier, or at least a house cat 
	
	
		
		
	


	





Couldn't help PMSL at this thread 
	
	
		
		
	


	









I would have struggled to do it though, in fact if there were that many mice in the house I think I would be living somewhere else 
	
	
		
		
	


	




  I can't stand the things!


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## somethingorother (27 January 2010)

Oh well done clipclop, i couldn't have done that. I know it's cruel to leave them, it tortured me when i saw a pigeon who must have eaten some poison or something, i looked for a farmer to kill it for me. I even picked up a stone... but i really could not do it. I'm an evil person. You are clearly a strong and good person! I have to say though, i would use 'humane' traps, couldn't be doing with clearing up dead bodies


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## mymare (27 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
Yep, all Gods creatures and all that. Once upon a time I had to dispatch a squirrel that my lurcher had caught, who was  distracted by a mad labrador without finishing the job in hand. Thankfully. an elderly gentleman was walking his pooch and kindly lent me his walking stick to do the deed. I think I was over enthusiastic, and said man called to me to say he thought the squirrel was well and truly gone - I am by nature very thorough. Still, not a pleasant task. 

[/ QUOTE ]

PMSL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Toast (27 January 2010)

Ive had to see a rat off before, i put a shovel to the back of its neck and stood on top of the shovel, instant.. broken neck.
x


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## Storminateacup (28 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
Whack it with a shovel 

[/ QUOTE ]
tap with a spoon - like an egg - should be sufficient without making a horrible mess!


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## scally (28 January 2010)

Awww bless you, your posts do make me laugh, I love them.  

Seriously I have two terriers, call I can be there quicker than you can drown them, or rather will deposit the dogs on you to kill them, as I cant do it either.  The 11 yo kid next door comes and kills the mixi rabs for me.


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## HollyP (28 January 2010)

This post is amusing, its a horrible situation...haha about a year and a half ago the cat bought two mice into the house (luckily put them in the bath tub to torture) he killed one but left the other with what I assume was a broken pelvis....my mum and sister couldnt run it over ... they tried so in the end sam decided to drug it using the dogs metacam....yup back fired! mousey made a full recovery and has been living the life of riley as a pet!! and is still going strong she has adapted to life with her disabilty and is funny to watch but is actually really clean and doesnt smell...nothing like pet mice!


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## Natch (28 January 2010)

I can't believe I am considering this, but do wild mice caught turn into friendly pet mice?

my saga finally turned fruitful last night and again this morning. no.1 I have decided was the boy 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 and was just suprised to see me when I picked him up in his trap: he gripped on to the trip thingy with his little paws and look for all the world like he had been caught in the middle of rattling them to try to get out! 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 He was also stuffing his face 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 Cheese had gone and grain was going at fast rate too. He was so beautiful up close, I did consider getting a cage and keeping him 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 but 1) my landlord would FREAK and 2) the last mouse I humanely trapped died (heart attack?) before I could release him, and didn't want the same thing happening to this chappy. 

Anyway, long story short he was turned out a mile away to a car park in the forest. I left him an apple and some grain as an apology for the eviction (have I won the bunny hugger prize of the year yet?!) and figured with a rubbish bin nearby the humans would leave him enough food to get by if nature didn't provide.

The next morning his girlfriend (!) was in the trap and not looking so pleased. Took her to same place with another apple, and once I'd managed to persuade her she shouldn't still be IN the opened trap, she hopped and skipped off.

Now I just have to work out if there's a whole litter left to catch!


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## HollyP (28 January 2010)

Deirdre the mouse isnt friendly.....she is much braver and will sometimes sit and eat while your walking about....my sister does have to catch her to clean her out but she doesnt bite! i am just amazed she is still alive! quite porky too! 

We have so many because our amazing cats brings them inside but normally we just catch them by hand (unless they are angry voles/shrews) otherwise pop them in a shoe box and let them go outside! I have been known if one is on its last legs to simply put it outside in a bush to die.....i feel terrible doing it.....but i cant physically kill them....!


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## Bowen4Horses (28 January 2010)

ha! can't believe this thread is still going... 

re: terrier/house cat. i have a boxer dog who would get all upitty if another dog lived with us, and house cat would become a house-shaken-til-it-died-cat.
we have 3 feral 'yard' cats outside who deal with the outdoor ones. 

re: poison - can't do it, the mice are living in the thatched roof, and our bedroom is right up in the roof. it is NOT a good bedroom for a 'grown up' as the ceiling is literally inches from my face when i'm in bed... and i worry that they'd die in there and rot/smell. there is no way of accessing it. i couldn't sleep with rotting animal inches away from my face

re: humane traps. bah. i tried them. didn't catch a single mouse. bought normal traps, caught about 15 in one evening... 

anyway, my husband came home last night (it was his birthday) and i made him go out and check the donked mouse was still dead. and to dispose of it. he said it was... although i think he'd have said that even if he'd gone out there and found it breakdancing... as i was in a bit of a tizz.

i could barely sleep last night cos of the smell of death.... i'm such a wuss. 

you'd never think i was brought up on a farm...


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## happyhack (28 January 2010)

I will never forget when I was at the RS and one of the 'Pony Day' boys came running up to me and demanding I come and see this cool think he had done. 

He was meant to be tidying the mucjheap so I was expecting his name written hin horse sh1t or something, what I was greeted with was far worse.

A rat. On a pitchfork prong. Speared through the neck. 
	
	
		
		
	


	





He was very proud of himself and began searching for more rats.


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## Tiggy1 (28 January 2010)

Under car wheel. I have done that to dying mice before then you don't even feel like you have killed it!


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## Natch (28 January 2010)

In the last 24 hours I have caught and released 3.

How many more do you think I'll have?!

Getting a it fed up of it now!


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## kerilli (28 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
In the last 24 hours I have caught and released 3.

How many more do you think I'll have?!

Getting a it fed up of it now! 

[/ QUOTE ]

you do realise that they're just following you home...!

happyhack, that is a great story, good lad! the only good rat is a dead one. i killed one once by swinging a broom over my head and slamming it down across its back at a flat sprint down the yard after it, very tom-and-jerry-ish, but it had just bit my puppy on the lip and she was shrieking with terror, so i lost my temper with the disgusting thing. was quite proud of that one actually.
must admit, mice are just soooo cute, sometimes i let them go (if i find 1 that's fallen into a bucket or something) rather than summoning my rat pack (5 terriers) on to them. i look down at this little cute thing and suddenly it has Stuart Little's voice and i can imagine it doing a little dance...
look at that. nearly as pathetic as Naturally, driving them a mile away and leaving them with an apple, a pile of grain and an apology...!


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## spottybotty (28 January 2010)

Just be careful if you use a shovel to wack it! I did this to a half dead poisoned rat to put it out of its misery, lifted the shovel swung down hard at the rat and the handle broke of! poor rat just had a bit of a headache!


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## Natch (28 January 2010)

lol, it probably is the same one just following me home.  
	
	
		
		
	


	




 I dropped then a mile away from home like the packaging told me to! 

Oh great. Now I've got an image in my head of it probably hopping onto my exhaust, having an exhillarating ride home, and thinking wheee, let's do it again!  
	
	
		
		
	


	









FYI mouse no.3 had a very guilty look on its face.  
	
	
		
		
	


	





I swear to god no lie, where I dropped no.3 off there was a massive pile of grain, two apples, a blackbird, bluetit, squirrel and robin to keep it company. It was like a scene from mary poppins!  
	
	
		
		
	


	





I mean honestly. I took on board the claims "It'll be back," "but it wont be equipped to survive in the countryside," "It'll move into someone else's house instead" and "Its more cruel than killing them outright". I adapted my plan accordingly and gave them the equivalent of a desolate mountain miles from my and anyone else's home, with a ready built log cabin, king size bed, food in the freezer and a camping oven with enough gas to last a year and a map, survival book and a compas, and this is the thanks I get - a homing mouse?! 

I would love to claim I will lose my patience and get the poison/killer traps out. But I think I've exposed myself as the most pathetic person on HHO and completely unable to do that. I can hear mouse sniggering in the background as I speak!


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## amandaco2 (28 January 2010)

whack it with a shovel.as hard as poss. poor wee mite...


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## Bowen4Horses (28 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]














lol, it probably is the same one just following me home.  
	
	
		
		
	


	




 I dropped then a mile away from home like the packaging told me to! 

Oh great. Now I've got an image in my head of it probably hopping onto my exhaust, having an exhillarating ride home, and thinking wheee, let's do it again!  
	
	
		
		
	


	









FYI mouse no.3 had a very guilty look on its face.  
	
	
		
		
	


	





I swear to god no lie, where I dropped no.3 off there was a massive pile of grain, two apples, a blackbird, bluetit, squirrel and robin to keep it company. It was like a scene from mary poppins!  
	
	
		
		
	


	





I mean honestly. I took on board the claims "It'll be back," "but it wont be equipped to survive in the countryside," "It'll move into someone else's house instead" and "Its more cruel than killing them outright". I adapted my plan accordingly and gave them the equivalent of a desolate mountain miles from my and anyone else's home, with a ready built log cabin, king size bed, food in the freezer and a camping oven with enough gas to last a year and a map, survival book and a compas, and this is the thanks I get - a homing mouse?! 


[/ QUOTE ]

tears are squirting out of my eyes... brilliant!


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## kbsaff (29 January 2010)

OMG - I just had to go to the loo to compose myself. I am sat at my desk in slient hysterics!
I'm honestly not that morbid but there's something incredibly funny about his post!


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