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Old 01-26-2013, 02:10 PM
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Default I got an unwanted surprise today.

After a lot of years living in the city, I now live in a small town right next door to an Amish farm. It is bitterly cold here and this morning when I opened my dryer I saw what I thought was one of the cats toys and reached in to toss it out and proceeded to freak out. It was a tiny little mouse of the real kind. He was dead, apparently he had come in through the dryer vent and chewed a hole in my lint trap to get into the dryer itself. I am thinking the wire may have killed him. I feel kinda bad for the little thing but certainly don't want mice in my house.

Is this a normal thing? I have never seen any critters in the house, but I have seen a mole or two in the yard. I have two cats and three little killer dogs, so most things that venture into the yard, don't get out alive, but I am wondering if I should be worried about this happening again. Now that there is a hole in the lint trap, anything could just get into the dryer. The thought is freaking me out again.
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Old 01-26-2013, 02:17 PM
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I live in the suburbs but we had a big park behind our house and would get mice.
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Old 01-26-2013, 02:24 PM
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Ewwww!

We live the suburbs, too, on an acre lot and we used to get mice in the house occasionally during the winder. I think the cat and dog have helped stop that, plus we closed up several holes where they were coming in. The dryer vent on the outside of our house has flaps on it that stay closed when the dryer isn't running. That probably helps, too.

You definitely want to replace your lint trap - having one that doesn't work is a fire hazard!
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Old 01-26-2013, 02:35 PM
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Lorie, we live in town & had like four mice last winter. It was gross- first time in ten years. We just put d-con & traps out. We had them gone in a week. And they haven't been back this winter. (knock on wood!!!!!)
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Old 01-26-2013, 02:45 PM
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I will have to go take a look at my dryer vent. I may have to get one like you have. I don't have any holes where they would come in at, just the dryer vent. Yeah on the lint trap, just hope I can find one easily enough. We got a chipmunk once in the city, but the cat brought it in as pleased as punch and dropped it at my feet. It took off running and so did I. Luckily the door was still open and it went outside.

Worse was a opossum on the back porch. I tried to shoo it away with a broom and it came at me. I beat that thing pretty good with that broom and it still came at me. Finally my big dog came running and chased it off. That was a scary, nasty animal. Beedy little red eye. Still shudder thinking about it.

I probably should not associate this little mouse with being in the "country" at all, but I can't help but think that the field and apple orchard next door have a lot of little critters living in them. It makes sense that they would seek out a warm place with the temperatures we've been having. I just have to make sure they don't move in here.
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Old 01-26-2013, 02:55 PM
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That's funny about the chipmunk! My cat doesn't bring anything around that's not dead first...

The craziest visitor we've had was the raccoon that tried to get into the hot tub with my husband. It was big enough to stand on it's back legs and have it's front legs even with the top of the tub. He wasn't too happy about that!
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Old 01-26-2013, 03:07 PM
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We live in the country in an underground house. We get mice in the ceiling sometimes during these cold snaps like we have now but some d-con seems to eliminate the problem. Haven't had any yet this winter (knocks wood). Our dryer vent has one of those flaps that stays closed as well. Not to mention, given it's location it would be hard for a mouse to get into it. But before we got the flap thing (Ace Hardware) we had a bird build a nest in it!
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Old 01-26-2013, 03:09 PM
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LOL, I can't imagine he was. I would have been flying out of that hot tub. I love animals, but am okay to keep the wild ones at a distance. When I worked in Elkhart at the hub/drum/wheel factory, we had racoons come right into the building. It totally freaked me out. One time it was a Mama and three babies. Eventually the mother was killed in the parking lot and people took home the babies. I thought that was nuts, but at least they had a home. Couple of the guys who took them said they made great pets. For me, I will stick with a dog and cat.
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Old 01-26-2013, 03:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stacey42 View Post
We live in the country in an underground house. We get mice in the ceiling sometimes during these cold snaps like we have now but some d-con seems to eliminate the problem. Haven't had any yet this winter (knocks wood). Our dryer vent has one of those flaps that stays closed as well. Not to mention, given it's location it would be hard for a mouse to get into it. But before we got the flap thing (Ace Hardware) we had a bird build a nest in it!
I would love to see photos of your house!
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Old 01-26-2013, 03:10 PM
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Oh, you guys are freaking me out! I just moved to the suburbs, right on the edge of town, like literally 2 houses away from the edge and with a huge park across the street. Now I'm all freaked out that it could happen.
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Old 01-26-2013, 03:12 PM
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It will be okay Mari. Just make sure you have all the holes covered up and get a cat! LOL
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Old 01-26-2013, 03:27 PM
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Years ago, in one of the first places DH and I rented together, we had a wood burning stove. I woke up one morning and heard this noise inside the stove. I was a little freaked out, but determined to be brave so I carefully opened the stove. Out flew a bird! It had gotten down the chimney flue and got stuck in the stove. It was in there hopping around among the ash (thank goodness we were going through a warm spell and hadn't had the stove on for a few days). It freaked me out to see that bird fly right at my head though. I woke up DH and he got it out of the house for me.

Years later we lived in a house that was a huge money pit and big construction problem. The back half of the house didn't have ceilings at all (or walls, or flooring, just plywood on the floors. The front (finished) part of the house had a small attic. Apparently we had squirrels in the attic and they discovered they could come through to the unfinished part of the house and roam around. We were always finding something back there. We went on a trip and came home to find several dead squirrels in the house. The cats apparently decided they made good play things. We also had several birds get inside that house.

The last house we rented had a mice issue. Oh my gosh! It was awful. They just appeared suddenly one day and we could hear them scratching in the walls and between the upstairs and downstairs. One day the cat was acting funny so I tracked her down and there she sat with a mouse in her mouth. She let it go when she saw me and it took off like lightening. Then the chase was on to see who would catch it first, the cat or me. The cat won. I finally ushered her with her 'prize' in her mouth outdoors. Over the next two weeks or so, we caught probably 20 mice. Some of them were teeny tiny babies. Those I would just turn a can upside down over and scoop them up. I took them and let them loose outside (far from the house). There was no need to kill them, I just didn't want them in the house. We did find several dead ones though too.

This house we've had a couple of visitors. We have moles in the yard, or did when we first moved in, I haven't noticed any lately. We kept waking up to dead moles on our front porch. It freaked me out because before I realized they were moles, I had no idea WHAT they were. We found a dead mouse by our hot water heater which is in the kitchen. That was kind of odd. Then one night we're sitting here an I see something scurry by. DH looks up at me and said "was that what I think?". I told him I thought so. He started moving stuff and there was this big furry mouse. It looked like someone's pet mouse from a pet store. It was obviously well fed, had soft, fluffy hair and wasn't afraid of us at all. DH caught it (it basically crawled up in his hand!) and took it outside and let it loose in the woods across the street from our house. We haven't seen another and not sure how that one got in here, but it shocked us as it really seemed like a pet or something. None the less, without knowing for sure, it isn't living here!
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Old 01-26-2013, 03:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stacey42 View Post
We live in the country in an underground house. We get mice in the ceiling sometimes during these cold snaps like we have now but some d-con seems to eliminate the problem. Haven't had any yet this winter (knocks wood). Our dryer vent has one of those flaps that stays closed as well. Not to mention, given it's location it would be hard for a mouse to get into it. But before we got the flap thing (Ace Hardware) we had a bird build a nest in it!
Yes, I will need to see pictures, too.

I feel your mouse induced ickiness. When we lived in New Orleans, I grabbed my canvas teacher bag one morning on my way to school and found that a rat had gnawed a hole through the bag to get to the STILL WRAPPED IN CELLOPHANE box of Valentines chocolates that was in it. It ate through the wrapper & the box and the chocolates. I called my husband and demanded a hotel room that we couldn't afford, lol. We laid out sticky mats and came home to find them covered in rat hair...but no rat. It. Was. So. Disgusting. They finally found it and disposed of it, but I never felt safe in that apartment again, lol.
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Old 01-26-2013, 03:49 PM
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We had a bird fly up, nest, and die in our dryer vent when we were in our apartment. Back then I only needed to do laundry once a week, so by the time I was doing it the smell was horrible. You're lucky you caught it right away!
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Old 01-26-2013, 04:11 PM
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Eeesh! I know I am going to the hardware store today and I am going to leave a cat in the laundry room until I get back, just in case.
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Old 01-26-2013, 04:29 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Loriebug66 View Post
It will be okay Mari. Just make sure you have all the holes covered up and get a cat! LOL
We are considering getting a cat actually. lol This might push me toward it earlier then I thought.
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Old 01-26-2013, 04:30 PM
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Lorie...you might have more than a random one or two when it comes to harvest season... they tend to get pushed out of all the fields then
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Old 01-26-2013, 05:08 PM
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Not want I wanted to hear. But this is the first one I have seen come into the house in over six years and to be honest, I can wait six more to see another. Really, I can.
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Old 01-26-2013, 05:10 PM
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We are considering getting a cat actually. lol This might push me toward it earlier then I thought.
Go for it! So many of them need good homes and love. I am sure you and your son will be great "parents" to a kitty who will adore you both.
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Old 01-26-2013, 05:19 PM
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We've never had mice in our house but I know it does happen. I'm assuming that it was trying to get in from the cold, and what better place than through a warm dryer vent! We have a great guard on the outside part of our dryer that is specifically made to keep little guys from trying to crawl in.. so maybe that's why we've never had one come inside?
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Old 01-26-2013, 05:40 PM
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When we lived in an apartment complex, our place was painted and they left the flap cover thing off the outside and I could see that eventually a bird had built a nest at the opening. After bothering the office for weeks (possibly months - it took all winter I believe) they finally came and fixed it.

When we moved a while later, we were taking out the dryer to give back to them, and stuck in the back of the dryer - where the air blows out into a hose and then out that opening - was a dead bird. I don't think it was there long, because it never smelled - but then I think of the birds nest and I have no clue .... but omg ewe! Thank goodness it wasn't our dryer (it was there's that we rented).
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Old 01-26-2013, 06:50 PM
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LOL - I had the same thing happen several years ago! I didn't realize that the flap thingys on the outside dryer vent had broken and it was big enough for a mouse to get in and he did the same thing in chewing a hole right through the hose thingy and lint trap!

I live in a bedroom community of our city but it is very country and I have lots of critters running around outside - bobcats, deer, squirrels, mice, moles, skunks, raccoon and so on. It's interesting sometimes

When we used to live on the lake up until a couple years ago we even had moose that would walk right by our windows and also bear.
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Old 01-26-2013, 06:51 PM
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Thanks for the link Rachel. I am off to get one of those as long as the "mesh" is small enough. This little guy was only about as long as my thumb and very tiny.

I definitely do not want to find another dead critter in the dryer. I actually feel bad about that little guy dying in there, he was only trying to get warm to survive, but I sure don't want one living in my house and I don't know that I could put out a trap for one. Best thing is to do what I need to keep them outside.
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