Day 299 of our Green Year: Dealing with Mice

Since we live at a ranch, there are mice. Most of the mice are dealt with by the cats both in the house and at the barn, but some still get through and on occasion we will see a mouse. While we are okay with living and let live, the problem with mice is that they carry some viruses like Hanta Virus.

So, we need to deal with them in our home, and we have decided to do it humanely. We will not be using snap traps, which are not as humane as you think. While they can snap the neck immediately, killing them instantly. Sometimes though, the snap will hit them in a way that they keep on living, slowly dieing. As well, the snap can get caught on a tail or leg, causing a long and agonizing death for the mouse.

Glue traps and poison are completely out of the question.

Instead, we will use live traps to catch the mice, as we did a few years ago as part of our work with a ground squirrel protection group. We will catch the mice, and then transport them out into the pasture and further out in the acreage. They may come back, but we will just transport them away again.