4. My traps have killed 4 mice in my shed in the last 2 days. My only regret is that I let the problem go on for too long. My 5 traps are reset and waiting silently for another night’s catch.
I’m particularly pleased the the old school wood and wire snap traps. The two I own have accounted for all the fatalities. I’m disappointed by the newer, jaw-like traps which are still waiting for their first KIAs. I’m extremely disappointed with the live trap I set which clearly caught and let go one of the varmints.
I’m even considering expanding my efforts. I may purchase some rat traps and start going after the tree rats furry little squirrels. Normally I like the little guys. But today… Today one of the smug bastards stole my first tomato of the season right off the vine. And then, just to piss me off, he merely nibbled on my little green tomato before carelessly discarding it.
My recent run ins with rodents have me rethinking my hatred toward cats. Maybe it’s okay to have some neighborhood cats with owners who “take care of them” by letting them constantly roam through and piss and shit in other people’s yards who can serve as judge, jury, and executioner of the local Varmint-Cong population. Or maybe not. I’ve definitely seen cats in my yard. Unfortunately I have mostly caught them lounging comfortably on my deck furniture. Perhaps they are on strike from rodent-hunting since I chase them away.
Anyway, this all brings me to my brief review of the 3rd installment of my recent reading series. The book? The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden. In short, the author, William Alexander, recounts humorous stories about and pertaining to his garden. The book is well put together, and I liked the author’s sense of reality. Alexander was able to take his gardening seriously without mindlessly preaching about urban sprawl and other crap as some single-minded gardener are wont to do. Right now I’m reminded of his writing about the deer that came after his plants. He very clearly wanted them dead. His wife, however, at first liked the cute little woodland creatures. Eventually, the reality of deer hit her and she apparently recommended that the best deer repellent was a good gun. This attitude shift actually ties in well with the rational irrationality model that was discussed in the first book in my recent reading series; being idealistic and pro-deer was fine… until reality hit and the costs associated with the pro-deer stance became clear.
Overall, The $64 Tomato is the one book of the 4 I read that I most recommend simply because I think it appeals to the widest audience and because, unlike Everything Bad is Good For You, it pretty much is what it says it is.
UPDATE 2008-07-15 07:30AM: Add 2 more to the list, both caught with traditional snap traps. All death-traps have been redeployed.
UPDATE 2008-07-15 07:30PM: Add on one more. The total is now 7.
UPDATE 2008-07-16: Two more this morning. Make it 9.
UPDATE 2008-07-17: Up to 10. Things are slowing down.
UPDATE 2008-07-22: Got two more the last couple mornings. Both with the old-school traps. I’ve now re-deployed both traps and one of the new traps to the recent “hot-spot” of activity.
lawtonfunk Says:
May I also recommend the glue traps? We’ve scored 4/4 in the last two days, nabbing a momma mouse and three of her daemon spawn.
I would avoid the Giant Jaw of Death model myself, as well as the “roach motel” poisoned food models — never had much success with them. The old school wire snappers do continue to work, albeit in a messy fashion.
I may venture to give them a try. My only experience with them came when I was young, and, somehow, we managed to catch a bird instead of a mouse.