So. I casually strolled over to the washing machine, opened the lid, and was about to push a towel in on top of the large blanket thing already sitting in there when a little brown blur caught my eye.
A mouse! A mouse in my house! More interestingly, a mouse IN MY WASHING MACHINE!
He hopped into the little crevice bit above the tub and sat there with his tail sticking out. Then he was gone. I pulled out the blankets and saw mouse shit GALORE. Well, a week's worth at least, because I'm guessing he wasn't in there when I did the washing last week, unless he is AquaMouse.
I briefly wondered How The Hell a mouse could get into my washing machine, with its closed lid and much-taller-than-a-mouse sides, but it was quickly replaced by How The Hell do I get the little bastard OUT of my washing machine.
I do no favours for mouses. None of that Stuart Little shit for me. A mouse is a mouse and they shit, breed, and chew through things they shouldn't. I had one as a pet when I was a kid and the little bastard smelt bad, and bit me. NO FAVOURS.
I need to do my washing by tomorrow. If I do my washing, mousey will drown, or be crushed by the wobbling tub thing, or be burnt by the hot motor thing. And then I will have Dead Mouse in my washing machine forever more, which will be gross indeed. And Dead Mouse on my clothes.
(Morbid? Yes. Sorry.)
If I do not do my washing, then I will smell like pre-worn clothes, or have to wear clothes that I don't normally wear. And doing the latter will get me by for a week or two, but what happens then? I only have so many clothes. Fewer than the average girl, too, due to being crap at the whole girl thing.
I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?
A mouse! A mouse in my house! More interestingly, a mouse IN MY WASHING MACHINE!
He hopped into the little crevice bit above the tub and sat there with his tail sticking out. Then he was gone. I pulled out the blankets and saw mouse shit GALORE. Well, a week's worth at least, because I'm guessing he wasn't in there when I did the washing last week, unless he is AquaMouse.
I briefly wondered How The Hell a mouse could get into my washing machine, with its closed lid and much-taller-than-a-mouse sides, but it was quickly replaced by How The Hell do I get the little bastard OUT of my washing machine.
I do no favours for mouses. None of that Stuart Little shit for me. A mouse is a mouse and they shit, breed, and chew through things they shouldn't. I had one as a pet when I was a kid and the little bastard smelt bad, and bit me. NO FAVOURS.
I need to do my washing by tomorrow. If I do my washing, mousey will drown, or be crushed by the wobbling tub thing, or be burnt by the hot motor thing. And then I will have Dead Mouse in my washing machine forever more, which will be gross indeed. And Dead Mouse on my clothes.
(Morbid? Yes. Sorry.)
If I do not do my washing, then I will smell like pre-worn clothes, or have to wear clothes that I don't normally wear. And doing the latter will get me by for a week or two, but what happens then? I only have so many clothes. Fewer than the average girl, too, due to being crap at the whole girl thing.
I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?
posted by GBE at 4:18 pm
14 Comments:
This sounds like an issue that a boy should fix either by coming up with some awesome solution that is beyond us, or tipping the machine over (carefully) to let the lil fellow run away to safety...
When we had mice at the bottle-o, we just put down mouse traps and they worked a treat. For bait we used potato crisps. If the mouse is in the same washing machine it should only take a few minutes. Easy. I think they even have non-fatal traps at harware stores.
Or you could just leave something hanging inside the machine so it can climb back out - but then you'd have a mouse in the house.
Okay. Two awesome manly solutions to your mouse problem right there. I can even tell you a third if you have a hammer handy...
You can do a fatal or non-fatal trap. Use peanut butter for bait. They love the peanut butter, as so many of us do. If you do the "tip the machine over" bit, the tub may crush the mouse if he is on the tipped side, so be careful.
I agree with mark, tape a piece of string or something so it dangles into the washing machine and then leave the mouse to climb up the string and run away.
I am not a mouse lover, but I don't know if I could bring myself to set a trap for one. I can't kill anything with fur, except big creepy furry spiders.
Maybe you could bang on the side of the washing machine before you turn it on, just to give him a fair warning that if he's not out by now, it's his own fault.
Scratch mine - the non-fatal sounds a whole lot better.
It could also be a good opportunity to meet the local hot washing machine repair man who'd be intrigued by your unique circumstance...
I have no advice whatsoever, just wanted to say the NO FAVOURS cracked me up.
I had a mouse too as a kid, he was gorgeous. Until he got weird and starting biting everyone. Hence why they freak me out now because those little bloody teeth are painful.
You have a cat right?
Get a cat. Doubles as a mouse trap and hot water bottle.
Enny, I bet that if we went to the trouble of tipping the machine over, he'd run out, then run straight back into the laundry, and find his way back into the machine. He strikes me as a stubborn little shit.
Mark, that hammer idea is sounding the most tempting of the three. Potato chips sound like a good idea, too, and they could perhaps be the only thing that we haven't yet tried.
Michelle, that is a frustration that hits very close to home. The little shit has NEVER set the trap off, and we've set it about twenty times. He's just sitting there thinking he's got the sweetest deal ever.
MHE, peanut butter definitely looks like the way to go. All of my attempts have failed miserably. I must succumb.
Jen, I did give the washing machine a bit of a thump. I also tentatively wobbled the tub a bit to give him a scare. But it seems that he has no problem with climbing out the bottom of it, which is a bit of a worry. He's probably chewing through all the wires and building himself an electrically-charged, wirey nest. I'm not too squeamish with mice, to be honest. Probably something to do with growing up in the country and seeing my cat eat several hundred of the wild field ones.
Enny, your idea does indeed sound tops, but I strongly suspect the local washing machine repair man is old, with a plumber's crack you could park your bicycle in, and a beergut you could rest your dinner on. I don't have much faith in the attractiveness of the washing machine repair industry.
Lucy, I knew a girl who kept a large rat as a pet and warned everyone not to put their fingers in its cage. My best friend at the time (we must've been about 8) stuck her finger straight in, and Ratto sunk his teeth in and blood sprayed everywhere. That incident gave me nightmares about carnivorous rats for weeks.
Phishez, oh, how I would love a kitty, but my nasty real estate would not allow it. Also, my cockatiel Reg would not allow it and would protest quite loudly, I suspect. Birdies and kitties don't mix well.
Teach your bird how to catch mice? Then set him on the little fuckers!
Jason, I wish! Reg is utterly useless. I think he has formed an unspoken bond with the mouse and made a vow to never reveal his whereabouts. I don't know how else the mouse is navigating this room without us knowing. Reg is punishing me for refusing to let him eat my toast.
I was house-sitting my Uncle's place once and they'd had a serious mouse problem for the past couple of weeks. He assured me that they'd taken care of it (using poison pellets or something) and there were no more mice. Unfortunately for me, one of the suckers had eaten the pellets, nested in the motor part of the fridge, then proceeded to die and then burn on the motor. The smell was so disgustingly rank, and I couldn't work out what it was for several days. Ewwwwww.....
Chikabub, Oh. My. God. I sincerely hope I don't have any Roast Mouse experiences. I would have to buy lots of smelly things, like pot pourri, and incense, and room fresheners. And use them all at the same time.
I've got a little bstrd in my washing machine now! Just saw it... Now the wash is on self clean.. Muhahaha
I FOUND A LITTLE MOUSE IN MY WASHING MACHINE LAST WEEK AND SCREAMED BLOODY MURDER WHEN i WENT TO REACH FOR MY CLOTHES AND SAW A LITTLE TAIL MOVE. I HATE MICE AND RODENTS IN GENERAL SO CALLED EVERY LOCAL EXTERMINATOR I COULD THINK OF. WELL $240.00 LATER HE WAS REMOVED BY AN EXTERMINATOR USING A GLUE BOARD SORRY NO MERCY, AND GLUE BOARDS WERE PLACED THROUGHOUT THE GARAGE. 1 WEEK LATER, WE HAVE NOT SEEN ANYTHING ELSE LURKING IN THE GARAGE BUT i HAVE YET TO USE THE WASHER AS i HAVE NOT GOTTEN OVER THE MOUSE TRAUMA, I THINK IM TRAUMATIZED FOR LIFE THANKS TO THAT WHOLE EXPERIENCE. iM STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THE HELL DID THAT MOUSE GET IN THE WASHER IN THE FIRST PLACE AND DID HE GO THROUGH THE WHOLE WASHING MACHINE CYCLE OR IS THERE A WAY THEY CAN CLIMB IN THE WASHING MACHINE FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE WASHING MACHINE? THE REASON WHY I ASK, IM TRYING TO PREVENT THIS FROM EVERY HAPPENING AGAIN SO I CAN GAIN THE CONFIDENCE TO USE THE WASHING MACHINE AGAIN. FOR THE TIME BEING MY BOYFRIEND IS DOING ALL THE LAUNDRY LOL
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