We’ve blogged before about a white-footed mouse in the house. We read the story to our kids when they were little. Time after time we snuggled down with the book and they never got tired of hearing why the mouse might be cute but doesn’t belong in the house. A recent internet search for the specific book revealed lots of stories but not the one we wanted. Alas. So, here we are decades later writing again about a mouse in the house. Mice are cute but they do not belong in a house.
A person holding a mouse.
Whenever we’d find mouse evidence in our house, we’d set traps and usually catch a few, tossing their lifeless bodies outside for scavenger animals to eat. We do feel badly, but as the mother in the story said, “…a mouse does not belong in a house.”
Path to the outdoor pantry
In January we changed our mind…..sort of. It was 20 below zero outside. Rich trudged through snow drifts to fill our bird feeders and noticed tracks, tiny mouse tracks, in the snow. A crafty white-footed mouse had scampered on top of the snow the night before to scrounge a few leftover seeds for dinner. Its tracks led to a snug nook out of the wind and under the deck.
An average White-footed mouse weighs a whopping .7 ounce. That’s seven-tenths of an ounce! That such a tiny creature can survive the howling wind and intense cold is a marvel of nature. Every nocturnal predator from coyotes to owls tries to capture and eat this diminutive mammal. But, it is wily, wary, and quick. Although not usually out during the day, it has to be mindful of cats and hawks looking for a meal.
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- Patience
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- Nocturnal predator
After seeing those tracks, we felt a bit sorry for the animal that made them. We still won’t welcome a mouse into our house, but we’re happy it lives just outside in a safe place under the deck. He’s welcome to any seeds the birds overlooked.
To learn more about White Footed Mice and many other wild animals check out Animal Diversity Web out of the University of Michigan.
I caught a white-bellied female in my have-a-heart mouse trap two winters ago but, due to sustained below-zero temps, didn’t have the heart to put her out :/ so I dug out an old aquarium from the attic that my daughter had used to house her pet rat (the wheel still inside!) and created temporary living quarters for the interloper.
To guard against any additional unwanted guests, I left the trap out only to find the treats gone and teeny-tiny droppings nearby. Apparently, she had a baby who eventually grew big enough to set off the trap. The two were happily reunited (mice are social creatures) and, fortunately, no others ever appeared.
When spring finally arrived, I worried that they had become too domesticated to survive outdoors. A quick internet search, indicated that wild mice only have a life expectancy of about 2-12 months, so I decided to keep the mother-daughter duo as short-term pets.
Over a year later (after naming them and adding toys, an additional wheel, and elaborate climbing systems to keep them entertained) my Mom called to say, “I just read an article that said mice can live up to 5 years in captivity!?” Lesson learned.
What a great story, Carrie!