Recently there have been some questions about getting rid of mice when
ferrets are in the house, so I thought I'd share our success with safe,
nonviolent mouse removal.  We thought poisons designed to kill small
mammals would be entirely too risky to use--after all, ferrets are pretty
small too.  We considered seeing if the ferrets would catch the mice, but
we were afraid the ferrets would find their way into some place where they
would get trapped or injured.  So we tried three kinds of no-kill traps.
Hav-a-hart traps, which we got at a hardware store, work well for juvenile
mice.  The "Smart Mouse Trap" sold by PETA works better for adults.  The
type made by Victor didn't seem to work.  The best bait is peanut butter,
and it's good to experiment with different locations for the traps.  It's
also a good idea to prepare a temporary holding area, such as a Rubbermaid
container with air holes, to put a mouse in if you catch one when you don't
have time for a walk in the woods.  You shouldn't release the mouse near
houses because it may just end up in someone else's glue trap.  It really
was a very heartwarming experience to watch the mice scurry away to freedom
in the woods.  They are cute little animals.
 
The "Smart Mouse Trap" can be ordered from the PETA catalog
(1-800-483-4366).  People who don't want to support PETA could try calling
the manufacturer of the traps, Seabright Laboratories, at 1-800-284-7363.
 
Clare Sebok
[Posted in FML issue 2683]