MouseI have two cats and a mouse as pets, but I don’t want the mouse. I have always said that the mouse that tried to live in our apartment would be the least intelligent animal ever but it turns out he’s probably one of the smartest–right up there with Flipper, Lassie and that horse that could do arithmetic simply because he has been living where our cats, nor we, can get to him.

We started to see what looked like droppings around our kitchen sink when the weather turned cold. Then, I got a hurried call from my fianceé one night saying she saw a mouse and the next night I saw him run out of the kitchen sink and into the stove. We called maintenance but they could not find a nest. He always runs to our old gas stove, so we think that’s where he’s hiding amazingly. I set up some glue traps, but so far we have not caught him.

Then I read the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s rodent resource page and have developed a new plan. CDC says mice and rats can squeeze through very small gaps–mice only need a space the size of a nickel. If you have mice or rats, your concern should be disease. These creatures have been known to spread 35 diseases including hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, rat-bite fever and leptospirosis through their bites, droppings and urine. We clean these up with strong cleaning chemicals, which the CDC suggests.

CDC says if you find rodents in your home there are three things you should do. Seal up any gaps in your home, trap all rodents and clean up any sources of food, water and potential shelter. Interestingly enough, I found that CDC does not recommend the glue traps that I’ve been using because when rodents get trapped in these they become afraid and urinate–which, as I said, can be harmful to you. Instead they recommend the snap traps, so that’s what I’m off to the hardware store to buy.

Update: The CDC directions worked. An hour after I set the trap, I caught the mouse.

How do you deal with mice in your house?

Related posts:

  1. Medicare Mouse study shows effect of blood pressure drug on Alzheimer’s disease A drug used decades ago to treat high blood pressure has been shown to improve learning and memory in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study by researchers at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study found that the drug, diazoxide, acted on nerve […]...
  2. Make a mightier mouse resource for understanding disease Over the next five years, National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded researchers will extensively test and generate data about mice with disrupted genes to gain clues about human diseases. NIH today awarded a set of cooperative agreements totaling more than $110 million to begin the second phase of the Knockout Mouse Project (KOMP)....
  3. Systemic lupus erythematosus: From mouse models to human disease and treatment On Sept. 2-3, 2010, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) will convene a two-day conference on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: From Mouse Models to Human Disease and […]...
  4. NIH-funded study shows early brain effects of HIV in mouse model A new mouse model closely resembles how the human body reacts to early HIV infection and is shedding light on nerve cell damage related to the disease, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health....
  5. NIH-supported mouse studies suggest treatment target for alcohol problems A molecular pathway within the brain’s reward circuitry appears to contribute to alcohol abuse, according to laboratory mouse research supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The findings, published online today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also provide evidence that […]...
  6. Origins of XMRV deciphered, undermining claims for a role in human disease Delineation of the origin of the retrovirus known as XMRV from the genomes of laboratory mice indicates that the virus is unlikely to be responsible for either prostate cancer or chronic fatigue syndrome in humans, as has been widely published. The virus arose because of genetic recombination of two mouse viruses. Subsequent infection of lab […]...
  7. Medicare: Researchers produce detailed map of gene activity in mouse brain A new atlas of gene expression in the mouse brain provides insight into how genes work in the outer part of the brain called the cerebral cortex. In humans, the cerebral cortex is the largest part of the brain, and the region responsible for memory, sensory perception and language....
  8. Researchers develop mouse with ‘off switch’ in key brain cell population NIH-funded scientists have developed a strain of mice with a built-in off switch that can selectively shut down the animals’ serotonin-producing cells, which make up a brain network controlling breathing, temperature regulation, and mood. The switch controls only the serotonin-producing cells, and does not affect any other cells in the animal’s brains or bodies....
  9. Medicare Card, Scientists Identify Markers, Human Breast Cancer Cells, Linked to Development of an Aggressive, But Less Common Form of Breast Cancer Scientists have identified a group of surface markers on cells linked to an aggressive type of breast cancer called estrogen receptor-negative cancer. In this preliminary study, estrogen-negative breast cancer developed when three markers, CD44+, CD49fhi, and CD133hi were present simultaneously on the surface of human cells taken from breast cancer patients and transplanted into a […]...
  10. Medicare, Study of MicroRNA, Helps NIH Scientists, Unlock Secrets of Immune Cells With the rapid and continuous advances in biotechnology, scientists are better able to see inside the nucleus of a cell to unlock the secrets of its genetic material. However, what happens outside of the nucleus has, in many ways, remained a mystery. Now, researchers with the National Institutes of Health are closer to understanding how […]...
  11. Medicare Future? Pathways that Can Repair Brca1 Cancer Gene Mutation Clarified in Mice In a new study in mice, scientists have compensated for mutations in the Brca1 gene that can lead to cancer by deleting a second gene, which then lessens the probability of cancer. Mice Brca1-associated mammary tumors have significant similarities to human BRCA1- associated (BReast CAncer 1, early onset) breast cancer in regard to tumor aggressiveness, high incidence, mutations and genetic instability. The study, led by scientists at National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and their colleagues, appeared online April 1, 2010 and in print April 16, 2010, in the journal Cell....
  12. NIH-Funded Researchers Generate Mature Egg Cells From Early Ovarian Follicles Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health have for the first time activated mouse egg cells at the earliest stage of their development and brought them to maturity. In a related experiment, the researchers replicated the finding by also bringing human eggs to maturity in the laboratory....
  13. Medicare Help, Immune Cell’s Role, Lupus Nephritis Demonstrated, Paves Way for Safety Testing, of Potential New Use for Asthma Drug National Institutes of Health scientists have discovered that the activation of immune cells called basophils causes kidney damage in a mouse model of lupus nephritis. These findings and the team’s associated research in humans may lead to new treatments for this serious disease, a severe form of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that affects the kidneys […]...
  14. USU study maps hotspots of genetic rearrangement Researchers have zoomed in on mouse chromosomes to map hotspots of genetic recombination — sites where DNA breaks and reforms to shuffle genes. The findings of the scientists at the National Institutes of Health and Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USU) have the potential to improve the detection of genes linked to disease and […]...
  15. Cells’ energy factories linked to damaging inflammation Scientists have discovered that molecules called reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by the energy factories, or mitochondria, in cells, may play a role in a rare inherited disorder in which uncontrolled inflammation damages the body’s tissues. Their research in human and mouse cells suggests that blocking these molecules could reduce inflammation in TNF receptor-associated periodic […]...