Mouse hunt #1, originally uploaded by mcentellas.

I was reading in Washington Post’s Sleuth’s column about a massive surge in the rat population on Capitol Hill as a result of Eastern Market burning down thus causing a rat exodus of massive proportions. Well, it got me thinking about my own little problem in Petworth. Thank God it is not a rat problem but the rat’s slightly less ugly cousin the mouse. I’ve heard, as a result of our close proximity to the Old Soldier’s Home, many houses are afflicted with this plague. I had been in denial for quite a while.

A quick side note. When I lived in an apartment in Cleveland Park, right next to the zoo, I was once visited by a four legged creature. I woke up one night hearing a terrible rustling. It was so loud that it woke me from a dead sleep. When my eyes could finally focus I realized it was a “baby squirrel”. Or at least that is what I told my girlfriend at the time. In fact it was a rat. So I did what any insane person would do. I got dressed in my finest track suit, put on winter gloves and grabbed a huge pot from the kitchen and pursued the vermin. As you can surely guess I had gained a new roomate for the rest of my time in that apartment.

So you can imagine how upset I was at discovering a mouse. I didn’t shriek, fortunately, I simply jumped up on my couch with a golf club ready to attack the intruder. Again, I was unsuccessful. So I laid out a bunch of traps and probably caught about three or four. But damn, these mice get smart. I had continued to see droppings but I couldn’t catch anymore. So what did I do? Fortunately I did not attempt a track suit and cooking pot redux. I called a trapper who charged me about 300 bucks to tell me that they were coming from outside. Gee, thanks.

Now I should mention here that I am a dog person. But, I was pushed to my limit and I adopted a cat from the rescue league. Long story, less long, I haven’t seen any more mice. That it is I haven’t seen anymore mice dead or alive. But I did gain a nice pet. It is almost worth getting made fun of mercilessly by my friends.

So am I the only one who has/had mice? Maybe we can form a support group.