Every once in while, there is a dead mouse on my driveway. Just laying there like it had a heart attack or something.
Now, we have had 3 mouse-in-the-house situations in the past. One was at least seven years ago, when DH swore he saw something run up the side of the bookcase and the next morning it was dead on the carpet (another heart attack? I swear, my cat is way too old and fat to have killed it!). But the last two were more recent, both live ones discovered in the family room or kitchen. Being animal lovers, we caught them each time under a bowl and took them far away from the house. We once had the back half of a mouse on our doormat, but we think a neighborhood cat we've befriended left it as a gift.
Now, on occasion, my cat seems waaayyyy too interested in sniffing around the media cabinet, which is against an outside wall of the aforementioned family room. Plus I have occasionally heard what sounds like a scrabbling kind of noise from behind the wall that leads to our deck. There is a downspout out there and we have occasionally kicked it and seen what we thought was a chipmunk run out, plus there is a chipmunk tunnel under the brick walkway outside in that area. There are no droppings or other eveidence of mice in my house - in fact, we had a gingerbread house sitting out for two weeks with no signs of nibbling-in-the-night.
But why do mice keep dropping dead on my driveway? The driveway leads to the garage which leads to my family room, BTW.
Now, we have had 3 mouse-in-the-house situations in the past. One was at least seven years ago, when DH swore he saw something run up the side of the bookcase and the next morning it was dead on the carpet (another heart attack? I swear, my cat is way too old and fat to have killed it!). But the last two were more recent, both live ones discovered in the family room or kitchen. Being animal lovers, we caught them each time under a bowl and took them far away from the house. We once had the back half of a mouse on our doormat, but we think a neighborhood cat we've befriended left it as a gift.
Now, on occasion, my cat seems waaayyyy too interested in sniffing around the media cabinet, which is against an outside wall of the aforementioned family room. Plus I have occasionally heard what sounds like a scrabbling kind of noise from behind the wall that leads to our deck. There is a downspout out there and we have occasionally kicked it and seen what we thought was a chipmunk run out, plus there is a chipmunk tunnel under the brick walkway outside in that area. There are no droppings or other eveidence of mice in my house - in fact, we had a gingerbread house sitting out for two weeks with no signs of nibbling-in-the-night.
But why do mice keep dropping dead on my driveway? The driveway leads to the garage which leads to my family room, BTW.
Assuming you don't have mouse poison laying around, maybe there is something else they can get to--antifreeze, posionous plants, ect.? I guess be thankful they don't want to hang out in your house too long. I would still check the perimeter of your house for small holes or cracks. They only need about a quarter of an inch. Do you have a basement? Lots of times that is where mice enter. Best of luck!
