Autumn guests

Last night, about 11 P.M., my cats informed me that we had a guest. He was welcome by the cats, as a toy. He was unwelcome by me. My cats chased our guest around the house, on and off all night. He was smart enough to elude capture and find small places to safely hang out. At 8 A.M., I saw him run under the sofa bed in my office, cat close behind. I was not amused.

Field mice are everywhere. When the weather turns cool, they go looking for indoor feeding places. This year, they found my place.

Now advice for home owners and future home owners:

1. Field mice, squirrels, birds, bees and other critters live around your house. If you invite them in, they will come. According to my inspector friend, mice need a space about a thick as a dime to get in. Squirrels chew wood to get in, so trim branches back so they don’t hang out on your roof (the squirrels and the branches.) Birds will nest in any niche they can find, so block them. Bees will hive in your eaves, inside or out.
2. Homebuyers: your “pest” inspection contingency covers “wood boring pests” which are termites, carpenter ants, powder-post beetles, wood wasps, and many, more rare variety of insects that nest in or eat wood. Most inspectors will tell you if there are signs of warm-blooded pests, but your contingency is about the insects.
3. Your contingency does not cover cockroaches, either.

The good news is that they have built a better mouse trap! I got something that has no poison or springs to hurt my cats, but should catch the little guy.

The other good news is that my cats kept the critter busy all night, so he never got into my pantry.