This is topic Mouse in the house - a duct tape question in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by Armoth (Member # 4752) on :
 
Dear friends,

I am in my first year in law school, the work is piling up, and the Jewish holidays are in full force, knocking off 4 weekends (Saturday/Sunday) in a row, (continuing for the next two weekends).

My life was rough before, but now - I have a mouse in my apartment. My desk is right next to my radiator - the radiator cover is kinda loose. The mouse came out, said hello, and when I said: "Oh my God. That is a mouse." - it nodded, and ran back from whence it came.

I since flipped the radiator cover upside down so that the grated part (hard to describe...) that is designed to let out heat is on the bottom of the floor. For those of you worried that heat can't get out now, the top still has a giant gaping hole. Let's hope I do not play host to spider-mouse.

So now, my radiator cover functions as a little mouse jail. My roommate informed me that the mouse could likely get in between the bars (by the way, the mouse was sooooo itty bitty, it was adorable), So here's the deal: I ducttaped the bottom half of the bars shut.

Is this a fire hazard? The duct tape is not on the radiator, but it is a couple of inches away - should I be worried about heat and flammability?

Thanks much
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
I don't know the answer to your question.

I do suspect that the mouse will still get out pretty easily. He's flexible, and he can climb and jump.

He's a guest for Succos!
 

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Posted by Dobbie (Member # 3881) on :
 
You can even use this as a little mouse sukkah.
http://www.mousedepot.com/
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
That is NOT kosher schach.
 

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Posted by Armoth (Member # 4752) on :
 
Jump and Climb?!?!

They're UNSTOPPABLE!!!!

I think i'll get one of those mouse Sukkahs.
 

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Posted by AchillesHeel (Member # 11736) on :
 
You think climbing and jumping is all they can do? go rent the movie Willard, they can even inspire a rendition of Micheal Jacksons "Ben"

By my experience your average duct tape is not flammable unless set ablaze on purpose, and even then its not the greatest incendiary compound out there. But if your really that worried and want a mouse prison of tape, Im sure you can get fire-proof duct tape, but a glue board and some peanut butter can lure even the most unlikely animal.
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Armoth:
Jump and Climb?!?!

They're UNSTOPPABLE!!!!

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Pretty much.

Also, where there is one, there may be more.

quote:

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Originally posted by Armoth:
I think i'll get one of those mouse Sukkahs.

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I'd go with the cheaper standard mousetrap.
 

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Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
 
Don't get a glue trap unless you are prepared to kill the mouse yourself.
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
I'd say, don't get a glue trap, period. IMO, they are a tza'ar ba'alei chayim issue. I meant the kind that quickly snap their little necks.
 

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Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
 
I would agree (now that I have looked that up). I used one without thinking it through and it was horrible. I had to whack the poor crying frightened thing over the head with a big spoon while I was sobbing how sorry I was.

It was at least ten years ago and I still feel bad about it.
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
Sorry. That was for Armoth's benefit.

I wasn't even the one who whacked it, and in my case it's been over 15 years, and I still get ill thinking about it. But it's actually less the method of killing and more the fact that they get stuck for hours until you find them.
 

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Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
 
I figured.
 

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Posted by Armoth (Member # 4752) on :
 
Yeesh. Why can't my duct-tape prison just work?!
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
Der mensch tracht und der Aibishter lacht.
 

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Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
 
A mouse can get through any hole larger than a US 5cent coin. Basicly if you can fit the first knuckle joint of an index finger through a hole, a mouse can squeeze through it.

Cut a piece of 3/8ths-inch/1centimetre mesh steel hardware cloth to match the exterior edge of the radiator cover (ie large enough to overlap the hole that the cover fits over), then glue it to the cover. You might want to use a couple or three layers just to make sure that any mouse will give up before chewing through the mesh.
Do not use copper, aluminum, fiberglass, or similar meshes. A mouse can-and-will easily chew through them.
Use steel mesh only; the heavier the gauge, the better.

If you don't have the tools to cut steel wire to shape, it's best to buy the hardware cloth from the small neighborhood store. They usually will let you borrow the tools that they use for that purpose.
Make sure you bring the radiator cover with you into the store. The reason they have those tools to lend is cuz they use them on a regular basis; so it ain't likely that they're gonna let you take them back to your place.

Mice and rats are smart. Traps and bait poisons usually work only a couple of times before mice and rats figure out that it's best to avoid them.
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
So around their third life or so?
 

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Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
 
You joke, but when there's an entire breed of mice out there with huge, thick necks evolved to better eat your peanut butter, you can bet I'm giving them your address.
 

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Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
 
All the above beats the suggestion I would have given: get a mongoose.
 

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Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Nighthawk:
All the above beats the suggestion I would have given: get a mongoose.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Armoth:
I'm thinking of moving into my sukkah permanently.

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Well, one of the lessons of Succos is that we don't REALLY own anything, including our homes. The mouse is just helping.

Also, on the East Coast, permanently moving into one's succah is far less feasible than out here.
 

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