Mission: Kill Mouse {The Finale}

I was starting to think I was imagining this whole thing. I would go out to the van and there would be a few wisps of insulation on the floorboard under the steering wheel and would know that it wasn't there before but I would begin to think maybe I was just imagining it. Maybe it was there before and I just hadn't noticed it. Or there would be a few more bristles out of my snow brush and lying on the floor... surely I just over looked that when I vacuumed last time. And then I would find what looked like a mouse dropping on the floor mat but it had to just be small pebbles!

And then it happened. Real proof. My worst fear was realized. I found out that one of the men at church is a mechanic and I asked him on a Wednesday night to take my car for a test drive because we are having some problems with shaking in the back end. I stayed at the church for a meeting and he drove it around. Later when I was discussing the problems with him he informs me that as he was driving down one of the dark neighborhood streets he noticed that something was crawling toward him along the dashboard! It freaked him out so bad that he had to stop the car and get out! He said that it ran across the dashboard and down the side of the dash to the floorboard and then under my seat! The whole time he's telling me this I'm shouting at him, "SHUT-UP!!!!" I couldn't believe it! I asked him, "did you know that I have a mouse in my car?!!!" I really thought that he was yanking my chain! He said that it was only an inch or two long (GREAT! BABIES!) and he thought it was a big bug or water roach. But, it was dark and he couldn't be sure.

I was really going to have to get proactive at this point! The next morning I went out to the van with Geoff's beater stick in hand and opened all of the doors. My plan was to just beat the heck out of the inside until I scared it out. But then I saw this:

One of the resident cats!! Plan B!! I picked him up and stuck him in the van! I thought surely he would smell the mouse and then get after him!!! Uh. Not so much. He tooled around for about 30 seconds and then moseyed right out to take a nap in the parking lot! Stupid cat.

So, back to Plan A. I actually set up my camera to take video of Plan A. Thing is, I captured some good footage but I forgot it was on and I went back in the house to check on the kids and left it running for like 15 minutes!! So, this is an edited version to protect you all from boredom! You should turn up the volume on your speakers a little bit so you can make out my mutterings!

HA HA HA HE HE HE HO HO HO! I just couldn't help myself!

Did plan A work? Uh. Not so much.

Enter: A New Mouse Trap

My new sweet friend, Chrissy, brought one of these contraptions over to my house because she claimed that it worked really well for them in Ohio when they were capturing chipmunks or something.

At this point I was willing to try anything. I couldn't even drive the van at night I was so afraid!

We (Chrissy and I) baited it with a small amount of peanut butter (per instructions), lifted the 'doors' on either side, and placed it in the van.

Did it work? Uh. Not so much.

The little bugger ate the peanut butter and didn't get trapped! Here's the proof:

Clean as a whistle!

My absolute last resort was poison. As afraid of this guy as I was, I REALLY didn't want his decomposing body stinking up my van and us having to slash all of the seats to find it!

So, I decided to try this first:

Those of you who really know me, know that I can be a total cheapskate! This beast was $4.12! I DID NOT want to buy it! But, I had to do something. Plus, I liked the idea of not really seeing the death and destruction. I bought it, baited it, set it and placed it in the van and THIS is what I found the next morning:

DEADER THAN A DOORNAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gloria Hallelujah! Worth every penny of that $4.12!!!!!!

I captured this great moment on video, just for you....

I sound a little bit like Gollum-from Lord of the Rings!

I'm so freaking glad this mess is over!!