Mouse – 3, Man – 0

For the past two weeks, he (or she) has eluded four traditional mouse traps while continuing the near-nightly harassment. We can hear it up in the attic gnawing away at something hard like a 2-4 or insulation or some of the house and telephone wiring.

A fortnight ago, it took out our wireless internet. After gnawing through the plastic insulation on the hub’s power cable it then continued through the copper, severing it completely before moving on to a box of pumpkin-flavor cake mix and chewing through cardboard box and inner plastic bag to feast on the dry mix.

I mention the dry mix because I think that helps explain the newest point of attack.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

After that attack, we found the mouse’s “access point”; it was an elliptical 1-2" hole in the sheet rock ceiling inside the cabinet and just above the wireless. I’m holding off repair of that hole, however, until we get the culprit who, presumably, went to great lengths creating that entry way and might, therefore, choose to use it again.

Future repair #1 noted.

Two cheese-baited spring traps have since guarded the restored 802.11b/g/n tower. Two more traps were set in likely mouse-traffic areas as well. The wireless is now repaired and working again but, so far, no results in the traps.

Then, this morning I discovered that a recently repaired leak on the water softener has come back. The 3/8" tubing had a pinhole leak two weeks ago so I replaced it with new material from Home Depot.

But this morning, there was a new pinhole and, under the high power add-on lens on the Android phone, you can see what appear to be the marks of tiny incisors. (The white replacement tubing shows it the clearest.)

I replaced the tubing yet again and, this time, added two peanut butter-baited spring traps in hopes that Saint Mickey would soon pay a return visit to that location.

Inspecting that room, there are several gaps big enough for a mouse where the pipes enter and leave. So again, I’m leaving them open as I don’t want to encourage our visitor to create a new one.

“Come in, please, your feast awaits you!”

And then thirdly, in the floor of the lawn tools storage area adjacent to the house is a freshly dug-up-again hole just big enough for a field mouse. A year ago I had filled that in with dirt and rock and packed it down with my foot but the rocks are pushed aside and the hole is again open. Me thinks this is yet another “access point” for our wide-ranging visitor.

And so, two new Skippy, Extra Crunchy (and snappy!) “treats” await him or her at the watering hole.

That hole is future repair #3, again left open as invitation.

After two weeks, the tally is three things damaged and repaired, three future repairs pending his/her demise, and six mouse traps ready to hasten that eventuality.

That’s a lot of trouble for what I think is a sole but crafty mouse.

Each day now, I anxiously await the fall of darkness in the hope of hearing a loud snap instead of that worrisome gnawing at some new but vital component.