I walked into the local hardware store this weekend and bumped into my pal Harvey, our snowplow guy. Harvey is presently having a mouse problem and was looking for mousetraps. One summer, early in our construction process, perhaps 2007, we had a major mouse problem up here in the GWN. At the time we were living in a camper trailer and there were plenty of access holes for little critters. Jasper went nuts, because she could hear them scampering around in the duct work. I killed at least sixty mice that summer, mostly in the kitchen. There’s nothing like pouring some corn flakes into a bowl and having a dead mouse drop out. Puts you right off cereal. I hope Harvey’s weekend purchase is not an early warning for Mouse-aggeddon - Season Two. I’ll say this, mouse trap technology has come a long way since those crappy hard-to-set wooden ones. I only had one trap but I was a mouse killing machine. We’ve only had one mouse since we moved in to the new house, but it’s amazing what one little mouse can do. Somehow this thing got into our furnace duct work and ended up blocking the condensation vent pipe, eventually destroying the fan motor and costing us a lot of money.
Speaking of pesky rodents, the other day, I put in my order for a Yard Sentinel, an electronic pest control device which emit’s an adjustable high frequency sound apparently bothersome to pests. I can adjust the frequency it emits based on the pest we are targeting. I am told it will not bother Jasper, but I think it probably will. From the same company I also bought a device which plugs into a wall socket and then uses the wiring in the house to emit a similar onerous high frequency. That particular device is advertised as a bug repellant as well. Wouldn’t that be something? Reviews are mixed on these ultrasonic pest control devices, but two people, including the squirrel consultant we hired said they had some success with them. My friend Doug from Chicago said it was the only thing that worked for him. At this point I’m willing to try anything and we are going to attack this squirrel problem from several different directions. One of the problems with our house is that we don’t have an attic, only a 12” airspace under the roof deck. About half that space is filled in with spray foam insulation, which of course the squirrels dig out for their nests. It‘s proving tough to get the buggers out once they‘re in. On second thought, perhaps the flame thrower is a good idea.
In the news, beloved Royals Will and Kate have been married a year, and still no baby. George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer accused of the unjustified shooting Trayvon Martin, is out on $150,000 bail, and whatever it cost him for the flak vest. He and Casey Anthony should get a room together at the Grey Bar Hilton; that might be the only place they’ll be safe. Who needs a trial, we’ll just judge everyone in the court of public opinion.
Today is tax deadline day in Canada, perhaps it’s time I start thinking about filing my return, I only have a few hours left.
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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