It was a simple act.

The sugar bowl was empty so I decided to fill it.  I opened the high cupboard and grabbed an unopened bag of sugar.  Instantly there was an avalanche of the stuff.  Fuck!  Mice!

I don’t know how or even why they get to that cupboard.  It’s mounted on the wall so there is no obvious way a mouse can reach it.  There are other items around the kitchen which I would imagine would have easier access, but for some unknown reason those bags of sugar at the top of the North Face of the Eiger are always their first port of call.  Equally strange is that there isn’t any other sign that mice are around.  They may be thieves but they are clean thieves.

While their gymnastic feats remain a mystery they make one basic mistake – they always choose the same route into the room.

Way back in the mists of time we got central heating installed.  One of the biggest hurdles they encountered was running the pipes from the extension into the old house – through about two foot of granite.  Their method was to drill a hole at the base of the wall at floor level.  So the pipes that link the two parts of the building rise out of the kitchen floor and then make a sharp right turn and disappear into the granite.  This is fine as it’s hardly noticeable, but there is a small space in the floor where the pipes come up.  This is the entry point for the meeces.

I have a couple of traps for mice.  They were expensive as they are made out of tough plastic and steel.  None of your cheap wooden ones for me!  The advantages are that the traps are easy to clean and when set are rock stable until the hair-spring bait container is moved.  There is no fear of trapped fingers and certainly no chance of a mouse robbing the bait while leaving the trap set.  They are worth every cent.

I would put one of the traps beside the pipes on the floor.  I then build a wall of boxes [tins of dog food] so any mouse exiting the hole has to pass through the trap.  This works brilliantly.  I have actually caught two mice at once in that trap which is pretty impressive?

The other day I set the trap.  That night I caught a mouse.  I reset the trap.

The next night I caught another.

Last night I caught a third.

Presumably I’m going to have to continue this until all the Hammas mice are dead.

I hate doing it but I need my sugar.