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[sofrigginsweet]

there's a mouse in the kitchen, so i've had to choose between murdering an innocent animal who never did anything to me and the health and safety of my family. would a good buddhist who knew what they were doing kill a mouse to protect their family

Comments

[tyrell]

Yep, try a "humane mouse trap" that contains, but doesn't kill or injure them. Then look around for holes they could have used to get in and block them up with lots of wire wool :)

[mayavada]

I have no qualms about killing a mouse in my home. It may be wrong - but they are nasty, germ ridden, disease-carrying little blighters....

So yeah :)

[fiddledragon]

Yeah, definitely use a humane trap. Release it at least a mile from your house so that it can't find its way back, and make sure you get all the mice if there's more than one. Also, most animals dislike mint, hot pepper, and other spicy oils. If you can put that down where they've been (as well as stopping up any obvious cracks in your baseboards), those mice won't want to come back and you'll be less likely to get another infestation. That trick also works for ants. Ants also dislike vinegar, which is a good cleaning agent anyway.

[kwanboa]

I wouldn't count on the mint. I have a pet rat who LOVES him some York peppermint patty.

Chili pepper and vinegar, definitely. Put the pepper on the floor as well so they get it on their feet, then a surprise when they try to clean themselves.

But yeah, everyone said what I would have...humane trap, then figure out where he got in. Killing mice solves nothing in the long run.

[djonma]

"I wouldn't count on the mint. I have a pet rat who LOVES him some York peppermint patty."

There are always exceptions to the norm. There are cats who will eat chocolate for example, even though it's toxic to cats as a whole. Some can just do it and really like it as a result. It's odd.

[kwanboa]

Letting your cat or dog eat chocolate falls under harmful behaviour, because not only does the poor animal hurt, you severely inconvenience those of us who work at your local vet clinic, because we must toss everything aside to pump charcoal down your pet's stomach and hold a plastic bag in front of it begging it to puke.

I never count on anything with rodents, I have owned too many ^.~ Even too much chili pepper will result in mice who really like to come in during Mexican Night.

[djonma]

There are many ways to get rid of 'pests' in the house

[fiddledragon]

Another thing about live traps that I forgot to mention -- you might want to get ones intended for rats instead of mice. The mouse ones are often too small to catch larger mice, but unless you find a really huge rat one, a mouse will be heavy enough to trigger it. Crushed peanuts are often a good bait -- they won't go bad, and it's better for the mice than peanut butter. I had some pet rats who *loved* peanuts, but peanut butter would stick to the roof of their mouth and they'd look so pathetic trying to get it off!