More Vermin Tales

 We no longer have a dog. I no longer have any toxic houseplants (maybe). I really have very few houseplants. I gave them all away before the big hike, only requesting that one of them come home. Two more have appeared since then, but one of those is now dead.

Well, I do have the succulents that came inside from the rock garden for the winter. Two of those are a variety of aloe, but I don't really consider those houseplants.

The mouse traps we had were getting tired, and the mice were continually stealing the bait without getting caught. So I bought new traps. Good traps. Caught seven mice in four days and the current population seems to be zero.

However, I've learned something this year. I've never had this problem before, but mice will burrow in houseplants. And they will bite them off.

See the hole beside the Christmas Cactus? At least this plant is still alive.

They plain old killed a plant Marie gave me this summer.

There are some plants that are supposed to be poisonous to them. Aloe is on that list. However, they don't seem to have noticed. The two aloe that I would like to grow large enough to put in the rock garden for the summer have been continually dug up and left lying on the top of the soil. Aloe are tough, but even they have limits. I have two small sprigs that are still alive. Barely.

I have not caught a mouse for over a week now, nor seen, nor heard one.

Do I dare fill in that hole? Last time I did, it was immediately cleared out the next night.

I have now read that I can put certain spices in the pots that will deter the mice. If they come back, I'll try that.

I love the cute little deer mice and hate killing them, but they have to agree to my rules that they stay outside-- out of my pantry, kitchen and plants.

In other news: I edited a LOT. I watched White Christmas because, well, I like Danny Kaye and Vera Ellen, and it's a sappy, feel-good Christmas story.

See Six Mice