I was unloading groceries in the kitchen, minding my own business, living my life without harming anyone. I turned around to grab something and saw a black fuzzy blur dart across the kitchen floor and disappear in a miniscule crack between the dishwasher and the cabinet. I did what came naturally: screamed bloody murder and ran into the hallway by the bedrooms and cowered while whimpering. Lauren came running out of her bedroom and saw me doubled over bouncing from one foot to the other, squealing. "Was it a bug?" she immediately asked understandingly. "No. WORSE, so much worse!" "What?!?" I hesitated, not sure if I should tell her and devastate her world as mine had just been. "Mouse." "That's it?" What the hell do you mean "that's it"? Mouse. MOUSE! IN OUR KITCHEN!
Lauren kindly followed me back to the kitchen so I could blabber and shake and squeal some more. She then proceeded to get down on her hands and knees and clean our kitchen floor of any dropped crumbs. I watched her from just outside the kitchen where it was safe. "How can you be in there right now?" "Mice don't really bother me. As long as it wasn't a bug..." Lauren, you are my hero. Tomorrow is her birthday. She's getting a cat.
In order to convey how horrifyingly awful this is for me, you must understand that I love to be in the kitchen. I love to cook and bake. I often stand in front of that very dishwasher, chopping vegetables and mixing things up. Our kitchen is laid out so that the biggest area of counter space is directly over the very crack where said mouse disappeared. Unfortunately, I can no longer stand there ever again. Or be barefoot in my house. Or leave things on the floor. ("Hey Lauren, mice can't climb, right?" "Sure they can, how do you think they crawl around inside walls and stuff." "DON'T TELL ME THAT!" "Sorry.") Or continue to sleep in a bed that touches the wall.
UGH UGH UGH UGH! I'm so grossed out and disturbed. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Did anyone else see that episode of Sex & The City where Carrie was sleeping and a mouse crawled in her hair and she woke up screaming? I DID! That's my worst nightmare. I'm going to try to be strong, go on living my life. But for the record, I made tuna salad for dinner tonight and everything was chopped and mixed on the dining room table. And you can be damn sure my feet weren't touching the floor during the making. Now please excuse me because I have to go drag my bed to the middle of my room and tuck my hair into a shower cap so I can go to bed. This is so not going to help my insomnia problem.
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2 comments:
I went through something similar when I discovered mice (yes MICE) in my apartment my second night there. I heard a strange noise and turned on the light to see 2 MICE IN MY ROOM and they ran.
I spent the rest of that night on my bed (wisely pulled away from the wall - good instincts), wide awake with all the lights and the TVs and radios on (I also called my Mom who told me they do not like noise and light. Well, "Mickey"'s of the world, I got your noise AND light RIGHT HERE!). I also demanded the return of my cat ASAP. I frantically text messaged my roommate who had not yet moved in. I was a wreck AND expected similar fear, outrage, and disgust. My text messages indicated so . . .
She sarcastically replied (from her mouse-free California hide away) "Well, I heard if you're nice to them they'll sing to you and help you get dressed in the morning."
I flipped and sent her a text message the contents of which I will not use for fear of tainting your sweetly named "lovesome" blog, but let's just say, I did not hold back.
I did however spend the next day on a fervent "No Mas, No Mice!" mission. I have not seen a single mouse or evidence thereof since.
I write you this incredibly long post not only to try to make you feel better through validation (by mirroring your reaction) but also to let you know what I've done to stay mouse free.
Here's what I did.
(1) Clean everything.
(2) Caulk everything. Don't know how to caulk? Neither did I. Buy the caulk, phone a friend and go through your house scowering for possible places to hide like one would a sales bin at Barney's.
(3) STEEL WOOL. Purchase Steel wool for those places where caulk can't be used.
(4) Truthfully, get the cat. Borrow one for a while if you can't make the commitment. The smell drives the mouse/mice away.
Lots of love and luck in dealing with your uninvited tenants and your elusive sleep! :)
Thanks for the tips!
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