Mice, a reality of this life

With the joys of living in a meadow comes the wildlife that lived here first. Any time we spend more than just a day or two in any part of our national forests, a family of stowaways inevitably attempts to join our fun-parade. Although we are actually invading their homes, I can’t cut them any slack when they cross the line and invade our physical home. One thing an Airstream is not, is air-tight. The belly pan on this thing has so many places a water buffalo could slip in, let alone a tiny little field mouse… and his entire family. I have not had these problems in the van before, but that may be – in some part – that I rarely sat still for a few days in the van.

Sitting still in Stanley for three weeks, then another two weeks in near Driggs provided ample time for the cute little terrors to make their way in and set up a full fledged community. We previously had a small arsenal of mouse traps, but we bought more to make a survivalist sized arsenal! With a total of ten assault-mouse-traps (with pistol grips!), I went to work (Kerri wont touch the traps; fear of being snapped and all… I get it, I’m not giving grief) and within an hour we heard the unmistakable “click” followed by a cheer from the two humans in the trailer. Three that night, two more the next, and over the next few days another here and there.

We are not big fans of killing the wildlife, and mice are no exception. However, there is a reality in the wild, that mice die – a lot of them – constantly. I am not having any real effect on some larger ecosystem here. Even if I were to trap them “nicely” and release them with a stern warning, they’d come right back in and start chewing on the food, insulation, and wiring inside the trailer. That simply can not be tolerated.

I’m collecting the pelts. One day I will make a jacket out of them!