I saved a life.....
This is Mr. Field Mouse that I named Jumper. I rescued him from a glue trap that we had in our garage this morning. Hubby went to go watch a movie with his brother last night and left the garage door open. And Jumper got in. I got a text message from Hubby at 7:30 saying that he thought he saw something moving in the garage this morning on his way out, and wanted me to check it out. Since he is afraid of every creature you can think of, I got up around 10am which was when I read the text message. I wish I had woken up at 7:30 to check the messages but my phone was in my dresser drawer hiding from Bug who likes to steal my phone every morning. So I got up, Got dressed and went to check the traps. We keep them because we have a massive spider problem from all the new construction going on. And yes, some of them got in as well. But what I found on the trap was not what I expected to find. I found a little field mouse. Well, Kinda little, his body was about 3 inches and his tail was about 4 inches long.
I believe his ear and nose was injured by the glue. After a very long hour of gently pulling, peeling and cutting away at the glue trap, I was able to free him. The "Trapper's" brand glue trap is what our bug people put down to catch the small bugs. Who know's how long this little guy was stuck there. I know he was there from at least 7am to 10 when I woke up. I could not stand the thought to sit there and let him die. I looked online and tried find out more about these traps. It seems it happens all too often that these glue traps are slow killers of small creatures like "Jumper" the field mouse. I found one website that showed another field mouse stuck in one, and the owner that placed the trap, felt as bad as I did, and he found a vet to put the mouse under so they could work to get him out and not have the mouse flip out. I did not have that luxury. I had to pull and peel slowly and calmly while I had plastic bags on my hands to keep him from biting me and keeping the glue off my hands, because I saved a toad from one last night and It took me hours to get the glue off my hands. And I didn't wanna do that again.
I sat there and had to hear the screeches of this tiny little mouse scared for his life as I tried to pull him away from this death trap that would have been his death bed.
I eventually got him free, and he got loose in our bathroom (Shhh Don't tell hubby, he would flip out haha)
And I caught him again. Took him back to the garage, put him in the green beach bucket and he jumped out. (Hence the name jumper) I had no idea they could jump that high, so I eventually caught him again, and he almost got into ANOTHER trap. Ugh. So once I caught him, I put him in a bigger container with a lid over it. (not closed obviously) And carried him out to the pond and let him go by the water so he could get something to drink since he was without water for so long.
Please, If you use these traps, or know someone who does, please throw them out. They are not humane. They have about a half an inch of sticky tacky glue, that encases the feet of animals, and causes them to fall over and get more stuck. And eventually, (over a VERY long period of time) they die. The website says Vegetable oil will help get a "PET" out. I tried it, it did not work.
Please don't buy these traps and allow these poor animals to die a very slow death from dehydration. Try cages. Trap them humanely and release them away from your home. Animals, or "Rodents" should not be treated like this. I used to own a pet mouse as a child. Also gerbil's and hamsters. They are just as much "Rodents" as a small field mouse.
If you have a pest problem, please call a local Fish and Wildlife and see if they can have someone remove the problem for you before going to extreme measures like traps. I WILL be finding a new way to trap the nasty unwanted spiders. Something that won't harm any larger animals in the process.
Kasey
I believe his ear and nose was injured by the glue. After a very long hour of gently pulling, peeling and cutting away at the glue trap, I was able to free him. The "Trapper's" brand glue trap is what our bug people put down to catch the small bugs. Who know's how long this little guy was stuck there. I know he was there from at least 7am to 10 when I woke up. I could not stand the thought to sit there and let him die. I looked online and tried find out more about these traps. It seems it happens all too often that these glue traps are slow killers of small creatures like "Jumper" the field mouse. I found one website that showed another field mouse stuck in one, and the owner that placed the trap, felt as bad as I did, and he found a vet to put the mouse under so they could work to get him out and not have the mouse flip out. I did not have that luxury. I had to pull and peel slowly and calmly while I had plastic bags on my hands to keep him from biting me and keeping the glue off my hands, because I saved a toad from one last night and It took me hours to get the glue off my hands. And I didn't wanna do that again.
I sat there and had to hear the screeches of this tiny little mouse scared for his life as I tried to pull him away from this death trap that would have been his death bed.
I eventually got him free, and he got loose in our bathroom (Shhh Don't tell hubby, he would flip out haha)
And I caught him again. Took him back to the garage, put him in the green beach bucket and he jumped out. (Hence the name jumper) I had no idea they could jump that high, so I eventually caught him again, and he almost got into ANOTHER trap. Ugh. So once I caught him, I put him in a bigger container with a lid over it. (not closed obviously) And carried him out to the pond and let him go by the water so he could get something to drink since he was without water for so long.
Please, If you use these traps, or know someone who does, please throw them out. They are not humane. They have about a half an inch of sticky tacky glue, that encases the feet of animals, and causes them to fall over and get more stuck. And eventually, (over a VERY long period of time) they die. The website says Vegetable oil will help get a "PET" out. I tried it, it did not work.
Please don't buy these traps and allow these poor animals to die a very slow death from dehydration. Try cages. Trap them humanely and release them away from your home. Animals, or "Rodents" should not be treated like this. I used to own a pet mouse as a child. Also gerbil's and hamsters. They are just as much "Rodents" as a small field mouse.
If you have a pest problem, please call a local Fish and Wildlife and see if they can have someone remove the problem for you before going to extreme measures like traps. I WILL be finding a new way to trap the nasty unwanted spiders. Something that won't harm any larger animals in the process.
Kasey
Thanks for an excellent post. I hope you don't mind but I shared it as a reminder that if we have to kill an animal, no matter how small, we should do it as humanely as possible. No animal should have to suffer unduly.
ReplyDeleteFurrin, Please share away.
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