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Natural Science Forum / Biology / Biology / December 2004Weird question about mice
I have mice in my house. I trap them in a 'humane' trap and then take them out to the woods to release them. I seem to have quite a few and I'm wondering if the mice I'm releasing are finding their way back (to be honest they all look the same to me). In the past I've taken the trapped mouse in the car and released it a few miles away. My husband is sick right now and I just don't have time to take it for "a little ride in the country". Any idea how far I need to take them to be sure they don't come back? These are very small mice. About 2" bodies and 2" tails. I really don't want to have to kill them but I can't have them in the house since they are getting into things in my kitchen and pose a health risk to my family. |I have mice in my house. I trap them in a 'humane' trap and then take |them out to the woods to release them. I seem to have quite a few and [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] |house since they are getting into things in my kitchen and pose a |health risk to my family. Take them to a pet supply store, and give them away for free. Some people actually buy those things. >I have mice in my house. I trap them in a 'humane' trap and then take >them out to the woods to release them. I seem to have quite a few and [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >house since they are getting into things in my kitchen and pose a >health risk to my family. Buy some dye and do up their hair.  Signature"A nice adaptation of conditions will make almost any hypothesis agree with the phenomena. This will please the imagination but does not advance our knowledge." -- J. Black, 1803. > I have mice in my house. I trap them in a 'humane' trap and then take > them out to the woods to release them. I seem to have quite a few and > I'm wondering if the mice I'm releasing are finding their way back (to > be honest they all look the same to me). I've looked at some websites about mice and gotten the impression that only certain species can survive outdoors and that the untrained person can't really identify which species is which. Accordingly, one website says that it is more humane to kill them than to leave them outdoors, unless you actually know what you are doing. SignatureIgnorantly, Allan Adler <ara@zurich.csail.mit.edu> * Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT CSAIL. My actions and * comments do not reflect in any way on MIT. Also, I am nowhere near Boston. >> I have mice in my house. I trap them in a 'humane' trap and then take >> them out to the woods to release them. I seem to have quite a few and [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >says that it is more humane to kill them than to leave them outdoors, >unless you actually know what you are doing. That doesn't even make sense. They were outdoors to begin with, they're wild animals and heated houses are not the habitat that they've evolved in. It's true that mice in the wild tend to have short life spans, it's because so many things eat them. Signature"Let us learn to dream, gentlemen, then perhaps we shall find the truth... But let us beware of publishing our dreams before they have been put to the proof by the waking understanding." -- Friedrich August Kekulé >>> I have mice in my house. I trap them in a 'humane' trap and then take >>> them out to the woods to release them. I seem to have quite a few and [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >in. It's true that mice in the wild tend to have short life spans, it's >because so many things eat them. If you live in a city or well-settled area in North America, the mice that infest your house are most likely European house mice, which may or may not be able to survive winter outdoors in your climate. In cold climates they may go outside and multiply in the warm season, then the survivors seek out heated buildings in the fall. Really, the best method of controlling mice is a cat. Even if the cat isn't much of a hunter, its presence will deter mice from infesting your house. Second to that is a spring trap which usually kills instantly or at least rapidly. Bait it with a smear of peanut butter so the mouse is in position when the trap springs. You can live trap and release the mice, but they may have a hard time surviving in a strange territory outdoors. Usually a territory in which a mouse can survive will be full up with as many mice as it can support, so a stranger will have little chance between predators, starvation and exposure. Poisons are not only cruel, but they can result in dead mice decaying inside your walls. And avoid those despicable glue traps -- the mice die slowly and miserably from terror, stress and thirst. I'm surprised humane organizations haven't campaigned against them. Incidentally, if you want to have a happy little natural ecosystem in your hovel, I discovered by experience in my student days that mice will eat a lot of cockroaches, so introducing a cat that controls mice can result in an exploding population of roaches. > Incidentally, if you want to have a happy little natural ecosystem in > your hovel, I discovered by experience in my student days that mice > will eat a lot of cockroaches, so introducing a cat that controls mice > can result in an exploding population of roaches. Can you describe the experience that led to this discovery? One problem with the mice is that they have fleas, which also bite humans. Is there any way to deflea the mice without catching them? SignatureIgnorantly, Allan Adler <ara@zurich.csail.mit.edu> * Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT CSAIL. My actions and * comments do not reflect in any way on MIT. Also, I am nowhere near Boston. Well, we caught five mice in total. I simply didn't have time to take the "for a little ride" so we flushed them. I figured this was the most humane way of killing them. Haven't had any for weeks. I live is a fairly rural area. Only other problems people tend to have are chipmunks. There's no way I could kill one of them. Luckily we haven't had them in the house yet. I do have a cat, but I've seen what cats do to mice. I think that drowning them is the most humane way of killing them. Also I can console myself with the knowledge that they had a very good last meal - big glob of peanut butter. I'm not as nutty as I sound - I hope. I just hate to kill animals. Pretty hypocritical since I'm not a vegetarian. > >>> I have mice in my house. I trap them in a 'humane' trap and then take > >>> them out to the woods to release them. I seem to have quite a few and [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > will eat a lot of cockroaches, so introducing a cat that controls mice > can result in an exploding population of roaches. I know it sounds gruesome, but there is a very easy way to kill mice more quickly and painlessly than the toilet, if you don't mind using you hands. There is a small notch at the back of the mouses head, along the spine just forward of the shoulders. Using a toothbrush handle, or some other straight hard similar impliment, place the handle in the notch perpendicular to the spine. All the while keeping a firm grasp on the mouse's tail, and allowing it to sit on a hard surface. If you don't have a tool to use, you can use your thumb and forefinger, but that is slightly more gruesome. Anyway with everything in place, push down on the mouse's neck and one quick jerk of the spine will kill it instantly with no pain. Like I said, more gruesome, but actually quite humane if you don't mind using your hands. Smash it with a hammer. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy |
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