Another Maus!!

I arrived home this lunchtime, from having been in Kempen this morning where I run an English conversation class, to find another "maus"! And no I haven't spelt it wrong, I have deliberately spelt it the German way, though it is pronounced the same, to differentiate between the real type and the one I found decorating my front door jam!

I laughed quite a lot when I saw it. It is a sure sign that I have some really good neighbours and I will now have to think of something to do to them in return.

In case you were wondering, my real mice problem seems to have resolved itself. My landlord sent some builders to remove the marble window ledge under which the mice had a run and to fill in the two holes they had created in the outside walls. Since then I have flooded the window box and have not seen any mice again, nor did I drown any, least ways I do not think so.

These mice are the good kind and I shall leave him where he is. I think though he needs a name, all suggestions but not "Jerry" would be welcome.

Life is......................

Life is breakfast in the sun.

Life is................

Life is apple pie and cream on my loggia!

New Teddy!

Yesterday a new Teddy was born! I made him myself! :-) My English conversation class gave the kit to make him to me last term. Suggested Names on a postcard...........

More Mice

When I came home from watching the "Iron Lady" with my two English conversation groups I found I had caught two more mice. That makes 10 in all! My grandson and I, Christopher Thomas aged 3, took these to the same place in the woods where I let the other one free. They did not seem to want to leave the safety of the trap. The family all agreed that they looked really sweet and that perhaps I should keep them in a cage as house pets! I thought not.

What still I cannot get to grips with is that they all live in my window box, although they have dug a hole through the wall, so they can get into my flat, which they only occasionally do. All my captures have been in the window box! 

I am thinking now of flooding the window box once the holes have been filled in.

More Mice than Men

My mice problem has not been solved yet! I discovered that the mice have a nest more or less directly under the alabaster vase  which I have made into a lamp, and above the radiator inside the window ledge. The entrance is from the window box in the left corner as seen. Inside there is a small gap between the marble facing and the brickwork through which the mice could come, but the droppings do. Additionally the mice have an underground nest in the window box! I placed all my traps therefore outside in the window box. Three in all, two death traps and one live trap.

In this picture you can see that I caught two mice the other day, one in the death trap and one in the live trap. The bait I used was mainly Nutella. The dead mouse's tail is nicely visible in the left of the picture.

This lucky little chap I took to show Christopher Thomas my 3 year old grandson and then we both took it and set it free in the woods near where we saw some rabbits, so he would not be alone!

This evening I have caught another mouse in one of my death traps, and there are clearly more out there. When I trapped the first two I got my landlord to come and see and so he is now arranging for all the holes to be filled in.

The big question still remains, how and why did the mice climb up to the fourth floor window box? Once the holes in the masonry are plugged will I have to dig up the window box to get rid of the rest of them?

I'd be grateful for all advice received.

Since writing this this morning I have discovered a dead mouse on my balcony!! Surely this can't go on?

Number six! How many more are out there? It was caught this evening 3 March in my window box on the 4th floor???? 

Today 6 March. Number 7! I think I need a cat.

Just discovered number 8 was caught by the trap I set up right outside the hole they have dug in my window box. I seem to be doing quite well without a cat now.