Staying in Airbnbs, we’ve learned that one needs an extra bit of patience. What is great for the host might not be so great for the guests. I suppose the opposite is true as well. But what is not great for either is when an autumn mouse crashes the party, bringing friends. No. That’s never good.
Early one morning, I awoke to a tiny little crash coming from the kitchen. My mind went many places, but not to the mouse I found hanging out of the range hood, trying to pull HIS Oreo cookie inside before I came around the corner. The Oreo was almost as big as he was. That little crash I’d been hearing? It was the mouse dropping his cookie onto the range top and trying again. An infestation of the crafty kind.
We decided that was a great morning to eat breakfast at a cute little bakery in town. We’d deal with the mouse later. When we came back, we had four traps. We’d get this guy, and everything would be okay. Right?
The next morning, the cheese was gone from the two traps we’d set. And the fight was on. We set the traps again, this time a little more carefully. We also bought glue traps and strategically placed those around the kitchen.
The next morning, we discovered that two mice had paid the ultimate price. But the third? He took the glue trap with him. These South Dakota mice were true survivors.
Somehow, the thought of cooking—or even spending much time in that kitchen—lost out to eating at the Dairy Queen right around the corner. Our host was so kind and felt horrible that we were spending part of our vacation trapping mice.
But the fact of the matter is this: When you rent a house, sometimes it just might come with a mouse. Or three.
Be ready.
And maybe hide the Oreos.