Mouse issue!

susiestar

Roll With It
Yes, we have a mouse in the house. Country living, cold weather, my bro doing work and left the door open accidentally. It happens.

Kinda cute little dude, but we have traps out.

Upsetting issue came up though. Jess really freaked at the mouse. WAY out of proportion, seemingly.

HOWEVER....... she told us that right after we moved to OK (6 yrs ago) B used to torture her with mice.

If the cat had a mouse and was playing with it (one of my folks cats did this a lot) B would pick up the mouse. He would make it angry and then hold it against her shoulder or thigh so it would bite her.

He has no memory of this. She is very certain it happened. I have NO intention of calling her a liar. In light of all the other stuff it seems quite believable.

I talked to B about it. He is a much different young man now. I made no accusations, said we were going to deal with her on the perspective that perception is reality. But that it did NOT take away from the progress he has made, or the trust we are slowly developing in him.

I talked to my mom about it, and we are going to make sure he does not tease her about fear of mice. I think this is all we can do. Not only was he MUCH younger, he was in a period of many medication changes. We all know how awful that can be.

Any thoughts?

Susie
 

Marguerite

Active Member
The only thing I can suggest, is deconditioning. I had to handle mice and rats in my job; I used to be nervous about the really big, wise rats as well as mice. Trying to catch a mouse in a cage was really tricky for me, I found it easier to pick up a rat.

What worked for me, with my job - I used leather gauntlets at first (tricky with mice - they're so small). First we were told the correct way to do it, then shown the correct way, then we had a go. Once you know what you're doing, it's much easier to feel confident and safe.

So, a suggestion - take her to a pet shop, or a vet, and see if you can get her some exposure to the critters and, as SHE is ready, encourage her to get closer. Let her watch closely as someone else picks up a mouse and then puts it back down again. Show her that as a rule, mice will not bite you. It takes a lot of aggravation to get a rat or mouse to bite. With all the rats that I handled, I only ever got bitten once or twice and THEN only by particularly aggressive and irritable rats (they were hormonally imbalanced - long story). I never got bitten by one of those old, cunning rats that used to scare me the most.

Maybe all she will be able to do is watch the mice running around in their cage. Encourage her to watch, to see what they do and see how they behave with each other. Mice are not naturally aggressive and watching them interact socially may make her feel less afraid of them.

Marg
 

rejectedmom

New Member
First you were right on to acknowledge the abuse. Whether the mice actually bit her or not doesn't matter. That is how she remembers it. Second, I agree that at this late date consequences for those henious actions for your difficult child are probably not appropriate. Since he is on medications doing better and in therapy I would not punish other than talking to him explaining thhow it was a horrible thing to do and why and never allowing him to torture his sister again. Third I would have your daughter see a therapist about this symptoms from this could manifest in other areas of her life. -RM
 

houseofcards

New Member

I grew up on a small horse farm. During the summer months the horses just ate grass and weren't fed oats One fall I went to reach into a 55 gallon barrel to start back with the oats and 5-7 crazed rats lunged at me. I am fine with mice but don't expect a normal reaction to rats from me...and that was just one experience. She has my sympathy and prayers for healing.
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
I have 4 rats as pets. They are the absolute smartest critters in the rodent world and it's not too terribly hard to understand now why they don't get caught in traps unless you really have hungry critters.

In the pet shop there is a product called Yogurt drops. There is a specific one that is blueberry. They have a strong smell that makes my rats go koo koo and do anything to get one. I would venture a guess that if you got a live trap and put a blueberry yogie in it the smell alone will lure them into the box and you will trap your friend.

I will ALSO (sadly) let you know that if you have one you have MORE. IN a 28 day cycle a male and female can have 13 rittens. In as little as (I kid you not) 3 weeks they can start doing the "wild thing" and it's on from there. Glue traps are about the most inhumane things I've ever seen. The animal will only pull the fur off itself and leave it on the trap or chew off a paw. I highly recommend any snap trap, but put it in a cheerio box and in the corner of the room. They like the dark and that blueberry thing will drive them crazy. Fresh fruit, and peas...oh my gosh they love peas. Also if you have dog food...put it in a plastic bin...they go for ANYTHING really.

Sorry you have that rogue mouse, sorry you have a scared child, but Margurite is spot on with the advice about going to the pet shop and handling them. My DF hated rodents and now enjoys the rattys...won't admit it to many people, but he's the one that buys their Yogurt Drops.

Star
 

Marguerite

Active Member
Another weird suggestion from Down Under - get a diamond python. They love mice. A lot of Aussie farmhouses have a tame python just hanging around. Mind you, they can't do much for a mouse plague. If you want to see something horrific, Google "mouse plague" and "Australia" and see if you get any photos or film. Don't show her. But maybe show your son - he will never tease anyone again, especially if you threaten to send him to drought-ridden Australia.

And a more sensible Aussie idea - if your daughter is worried that the mouse will 'get her' in her sleep, a suggestion from mouse plague experience is to put each leg of the bed in a dish of water. Then keep the bedclothes off the floor so there's no bridge. Not that the mouse is likely to get on her bed (only in plagues, folks) but it should reassure her, if she's already fretting about it. If she isn't, don't suggest it or she won't get any sleep.

And yes, where there is one there will soon be more, if another of the opposite sex made it inside. Or if what made it inside is a pregnant female (50:50 chance). Fecund little beasts...

And I do agree, sticky traps are absolutely awful, because YOU then have to dispose of the rodents - they're not dead, just stuck and desperate. husband & I had to rescue a little old lady on Easter Sunday - the exterminators had come in on the Thursday and put down sticky traps (in some STUPID places, too) and had NO plan in place for disposing of the captured animals. This ninety year old woman and her daughter are vegetarians - no way could they hurt the rats that were caught. Baby rats - poor woman was in hysterics. My vote is also for the spring trap in a cereal box (love the bait idea - we haven't got that stuff, we have to use peanut butter and bacon rind. Or the snake).

Marg
 
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