I hate it when people write on their blogs, "Oh, I can't believe it's been 16 years since I gave you all an update!" Yes, you can. You know darn well you've been putting it off forever. Or in my case, since August 23rd. So why the gap? Well...
 |
| Fancy no Hanta Virus mouse evicting gear. Where in the hell did all those wrinkes come from? Wear your sunscreen, Chillins. |
Evidently, there have been some mice living and doing what mice do, in the house. Under the washer and dryer. In the stove. You heard me correctly. IN the stove. Comfy in their bed of shredded pink insulation, with a 3 year supply of dog food from the previous owners.
 |
| A nice cache of dog food for the coming months. |
WARNING: GROSS PHOTOS BEYOND THIS POINT.
I had to get over my heebie begeebies at the mess. Plus, the cord that allows us to download photos from our phones had to be located, which took until 2 days ago. And I wondered about the wisdom of showing the photos to people we like.
 |
| Mouse urine and poop with poison in it under the kitchen cabinets. |
|
But now that those things have settled out to a distant-ish memory, I'll fill you in on what you've missed in the meantime.
 |
| After kitchen cabinet removal. Dear God. I had forgotten. |
We knew there was something icky under the stove because Hoopa had an unusual interest in it. If you squatted down and looked closely, you could see little pooplets by the edge of the stove. Having already gotten out the masks and spray bottle of alcohol several times on previous weekends, we knew something foul was afoot. But we didn't know how foul. Or that the PO (Previous Owners) had thrown down some poison and stuffed some tinfoil in the gaps of where the water pipes come up into the house as a "solution".
If only I had had the presence of mind to take a photo of the very pregnant mouse that we created a raceway for to help her onto the next stage of her life - somewhere other than our stove. She listened very attentively while I explained that we didn't want to hurt her, but she was going to have to find somewhere else to live. She moseyed out the door, guided by box lids and folded rugs, and disappeared between the slats of wood of the deck. She was very cute.
 |
| A variety of common household materials created an impromptu raceway. |
 |
| Mikey is very good at envisioning stuff. |
 |
| The rubber boots were needed to keep the folder rug from falling over. |
 |
| Even a rodent could figure out which way to go. |
Anyhoo, we have now concluded that all cabinets or fixtures with plumbing pipes must be removed, the holes closed up, surfaces disinfected, and new fixtures and cabinets installed. Funzies. We send the stove to Scrap Heaven. I don't think it could have been adequately sanitized.
The thing I can't wrap my head around is how the PO lived with this. And why they didn't address it more thoroughly. Yikes.
There's a product called OdoBan. It is formulated of natural ingredients and was developed to disinfect kennels. It will kill just about everything including hantavirus. I get it one gallon concentrated jugs and mix according to the whatever I'm trying to kill (1 part concentrate to 2 parts water is my common goto for...) Spray liberally over the moused area then with yellow kitchen gloves on, wipe up with sacrificial rags or paper towels and put directly into a plastic bag to dispose of. I learned about this stuff about 20 years ago, and it will get urine smell out of anything (hamster wee out of clothes, that is the worst ever!). I have saved couches and mattresses with it (it will take about a full gallon of undiluted concentrate and don't ask about the paper towels). It will desmell a carpet if you can get at it right away. IF I have mouse issues, this is the thing that will clean it up. Do not mix it with anything other than water. If it gets overwhelmed it turns from sweet smelling to sour, just discard and mix more. IF you ever have to again....
ReplyDelete