Of Mice, Moles, and Men (Ladies Too!) Tell Us About YOUR Animal Encounters -- Pets, Pests, And Everything In-Between!

Hey Everyone,

A few of us have been sharing "mouse stories" over in The Cheesiest Thread in the World, so a forum-wide discussion about people's own experiences with animals -- wanted or not -- sounds fascinat

* What animals stories do YOU have to share?

* Cherished memories with pets? The Christmas when you surprised your kids with a new puppy or kitten?

* Wars with non-human pests that were trying to take over your territory? (I can clearly remember living with a yard on which I was afraid to walk, because my parents had to set out so many mole traps -- all to catch one very sneaky mole.)

* Hunting stories about both the tragedies (the one that got away!) and triumphs?

In the next few posts, I'm going to copy and paste a few of my own stories from the other thread.

We've heard some hair-raising stories about demon rats and mice condominiums in other threads -- now we want to hear about yours!

(Written in The Cheesiest Thread in the World.)

I'm fortunate to have only had suspicion/proof of a mouse's presence once. I agonized over which type of traps to buy. I didn't really want to have to face a tiny little body smashed into a wooden plank by its neck. But I was also too traumatized by catching it live and letting it go, only so it could continue to cause its rodent ruckus.

I dutifully settled on plain old-fashioned traps, baited them with peanut butter (not because I consider cheese to be the equivalent of solid gold like @Tazzo , but because I reasoned that peanut butter took effort, coaxing the victim to stay in place rather than pulling a snatch'n'go.

I even tied the traps to the cupboard doors with string, having read too many horror stories of mice running off with traps, hiding in some place not meant for humans to find, then causing a stench that could never be fully removed after passing on to that great mouse maze in the sky.

I even recruited a friend to come over and dispose of the trap whenever the furry little perp was caught.

But wouldn't you know it!

I totally underestimated that mouse, as I found the trap COMPLETELY LICKED CLEAN of peanut butter -- but with NOT SO MUCH as even a slight snap of the trap. It was otherwise totally intact. ARGH!!!

Since this was under the sink and there was some space around the pipe and the floorboard, I promptly sealed up any such spaces with duct tape, in both the kitchen and the bathroom.

I never saw evidence of a mouse again, but seeing as the one I was battling wits with was so darn clever, I'm kind of glad I never actually met it face to face.

(Also written in The Cheesiest Thread in the World.)

In one of my "basic" behavioral psychology classes, we each were assigned a white lab rat with red eyes and a body that was about 2/3 the length of my forearm, with a long pink tail that hung off my wrist.

I was MORTIFIED the first day of class. The instructor was like, "Ok, go get your rat," and I FROZE.

I called the little guy Squeak because I must have squeezed him a little too hard out of sheer anxiety, and the poor little thing let out a few squeaks to save his life.

After that, I brought in a pair of rubber gloves -- I was the only student to do so; yes, I'm a big chicken -- but at least I found it bearable.

And I must have loosened up my grip, because I never heard Squeak squeak again in my presence.

@Tazzo asked some questions about this:

The class was mandatory for my undergrad degree, which was Behavioral Psychology. At the graduate level, they use pigeons.

In this class, you worked with a rat in a Skinner Box (named after the guy who came up with it):




I am seeing horrifying pictures of Skinner boxes on the internet with electrified shock floors -- PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR BOXES DID NOT HAVE THIS, and the rats were NOT shocked or harmed in any way.

The purpose is to learn about the effect of reinforcement and how it shapes behavior. The rats are water-deprived for 24 hours (which has been claimed does not hurt them), and you have control of an outside lever that sends a dipper through the box with a drink of water (box designs vary, this was similar but not exact to the ones we used.)

The rat eventually learns that if it does certain things, it will get a drink of water. At the end of the class, you have to show that you have reinforced your rat into doing a string of something like 5 behaviors before getting a drink of water.

For instance, my demonstration was something like Squeak having to wait for the ring of a bell, pull a chain, turn in a circle, wait for a light to come on, then press a lever in the box -- and then he got his drink of water.

Everyone asked me how I got him to turn in a circle. I had noticed in our sessions, Squeak would just do this naturally, and I started giving him drinks of water. Pretty soon, the poor little guy was twirling himself dizzy trying to get those drinks! This is the exact same thing they do at SeaWorld -- all the leaps, jumps, and twirls are natural behaviors that have been shaped through reinforcement.

Why bother studying this?

A very simple case study was of a young girl who had a persistent cough with no known medical origin or solution. It was eventually found that the cough was bringing her a plethora of attention from everyone around her. Once this was under control and the excessive attention stopped, so did the coughing.

This was just a very basic case of basic principles -- but you can see how and why science is trying to apply this to human behaviors.

This guy was begging for food at the marina in Cabo San Lucas

I live on the edge of the country and I'm very critter friendly. Tbh I'd live like Grizzly Adams, if I could.
I won't go into all my stories or we'd be here for a while, so I'll mention what really sticks out in my mind. I've spotted 7 different types of snakes in the yard. Several years ago I spotted one I had never seen before. I did some research and found that it's a Graham's crayfish snake. That makes sense, as there is an underground network of crayfish in my yard.

Once in a great while, a snake finds its way inside. Btw, I'd like to mention that all the snakeys in my yard have been harmless.
I've had one get caught up in the air conditioner and I've found one coiled up in the back of the cabinet, etc. But, the one that really sticks out to me is the one that found it's way inside the day before my mother passed away. I was sitting on my bed on my laptop. I heard stuff falling off the shelf. I thought maybe I hadn't put something back on the shelf properly and it fell. I didn't think much of it until more stuff started falling. I looked over and it was a long black rat snake climbing up the shelf next to where I was sitting. It moved around the stuff on the top of the shelf and stuck its head toward me and looked at me with the creepiest look I've ever seen. I can't get that look out of my head. I don't mind snakes and all the ones around here are beneficial, but I just felt very unsettled at the look it was giving me. I jumped up and went outside. I had my dad inspect and he claimed it got back out. The next day, my mother died. She was terrified of snakes. The day after she died, the snake reappeared. It was up on the fridge this time. It was looking down at me. Its eyes had a different look. We looked at each other. I didn't feel unsettled about it this time. I just let it stay there. It disappeared and I didn't see it again.

I have often wondered what animals can see that we cannot.

As a kid, I remember reading a book about a group of teen investigators who solved crimes and mysteries, and at least some or all of them were ghosts (so they could go places that were inaccessible to the living, or move about unseen.) At least, unseen to other humans. In one story, their presence is almost given away -- by a family pet. It's explained that (in this author's world at least,) some animals have the ability to see ghosts.

I often wonder what Sparky or Muffin is REALLY seeing when they growl or hiss, and we tell them, "Hush! There's nothing there." Maybe there actually is.

I can't define what ghosts and spirits are, but I do believe they exist. The witch of Endor brought up at least something that resembled Samuel for King Saul (1 Samuel 28,) and when Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection, they thought He was a ghost.

Jesus told them, "Look at my hands and feet and know that it is I myself. Touch me and see, for a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you can see I have." (Luke 24:39)

I personally think if ghosts didn't exist at all, Jesus would have just told them so. But maybe that's just me.

Balaam's donkey (Numbers 22) was able to see the angel of the Lord when he could not, and saved his life because of it -- even though he beat the poor animal and treated her harshly.

I love reptiles -- though preferably behind plexiglass -- but the Reptile House is always my favorite part of any animal exhibit.

However, when you described that unsettling look in that snakes eyes -- I got prickles up and down my spine.

I don't know what it could see, or what it knew -- or what was possessing it -- but I'm just glad you are safe, CarriePie.

And I'm so very sorry about your mother. 😔

Thank you!

Yes, it was a very strange occurrence. I'm not one to easily become unsettled. I've been swimming in the creek with snakes, I've been to fishing holes where I was surrounded by snakes, etc. So, it's not like I'm easily terrified by them, it was just the look that it gave me that was very....well, very unusual. My best friend and I talked about it later and the subject of "harbinger of death" came up.

Anyway, I also like reptiles. I think they are incredibly neat. My cousins would find legless lizards out in the country. Those were always fascinating!
I do prefer the snakes stay out of my living space lol. I haven't had one get inside in a while...or if one did, I was oblivious to it. I think my resident masked bandits have been keeping them away 🦝

Y'know it's interesting that I've never thought about that before.

I never considered Samuel's ghost as proof positive, because I have no idea what it was that showed up. And even if it was the spirit of Samuel, it only showed up and went away, not hung around haunting a building or anything.

But the fact that Jesus said he was not a ghost, and cited as proof the contrast between himself and what ghosts are like... That's a pretty good point.

I may have to put Ghostbusters on my speed dial.

As for my experience with wild animals, I only have one. Once upon a time a raccoon got stuck in my trash can. It was empty so there was no way for him to climb out.

I decided to make him unhappy so he would not come back. I wanted him to give my house a zero star Yelp review. So I poured dawn dishwashing liquid all over him, then poked at him with a stick. When I turned him out he split faster than any raccoon I have ever seen before, and I never saw him again.

You wouldn't, by any chance, deter a bad date with these same tactics, would you?!

Or a matchmaker...

Matchmakers get flamethrowers. No exceptions. Nobody gets off easy.

I've never been on a date, so I've never been on a bad date. But I'm guessing a bad date would get pity. But not my phone number.

Yes, I picked up on this one detail in that Bible story when I was very young, and have remembered it ever since.

Maybe it's because I lived through the era of 1-900- "Dial Miss Cleo (Cleo Knows the Truth! Call Now!)" ads everywhere on TV. It must have sparked a discussion in school about ghosts, spirits, and what was on "the other side" that was so forbidden, mediums and witches who sought them were to be put to death.

I didn't view whatever the witch of Endor brought up as proof of ghosts per se, but whatever she brought up apparently had the ability to at least impersonate Samuel, as the Bible says that when the witch said she "saw an old man wearing a robe," and Saul "immediately knew it was Samuel." (1 Samuel 28:15)

However, there were two distinct times when the disciples thought Jesus was a ghost.

Matthew 14:26-31 mentions that when the disciples first saw Jesus walking on the water toward their boat, they also thought He was a ghost.

Jesus is Truth. He never failed to correct or reprimand any false beliefs they had. And while the Bible doesn't specifically say that He told them whether or not ghosts exist, the fact that he differentiated Himself from them, to me, was acknowledging their existence.

I would have expected that if ghosts did not exist, He wouldn't have gone through the trouble of distinguishing Himself compared to them. He told them specifically what he had but ghosts do not (flesh and blood.) Why make that distinction if the comparison was against something that doesn't exist?

I would have thought He would have said something like, "Why would you believe in such superstitions, oh ye of little faith?" And the fact that we are forbidden to even try to figure out "what's out there" in the spirit realm tells me that SOMETHING exists -- and I have NO interest in meeting ANY of it.

I can't say what it is or how to define these things we are not to seek out, but it seems to me that Jesus acknowledged their existence.

Again, that's just me, and I could be very wrong.

I had saved up some money so I could afford to take a brother and two friends on a backpacking trip. My brother had been backpacking, my two friends had not. We arrived at the campground in Sequoia Nat'l Park from where we would find the trailhead the next day. One of the friends insisted on keeping his backpack near his sleeping bag. It wasn't cloudy so we were sleeping under the stars. In the middle of the night I woke up with 3 individuals on top of me. They were pointing at a bear who was having his/her way with that backpack. I got up, pulled my pants on and put on my boots and proceeded to shoosh the bear away. I got increasingly aggressive as there was no way I was gonna let that bear stop our backpack trip. The bear finally started fleeing, but took the whole backpack with it. I ran after the bear making all kinds of noise. The bear finally dropped the loot after about a third of a mile, all except for one meal four 4 that it had possession of, and skedaddled. I brought back the almost full backpack and we put it in the vehicle... The two friends were afraid to start the backpacking trip after that but I didn't give them a choice.

I had a mouse or rat living in one of my past apartments for months, in the walls. I could hear it scurry, especially in the vents. Once, I knocked on the wall and it made a high pitch response. The maintenance guy said he sat in my apartment for awhile while I was at work, and he did not hear anything. He later put two traps in the vent anyway, which I observed. Later I heard scurrying and a big snap in the vent. The building manager and the maintenance guy then came, but they only saw one empty trap. Since they saw no mouse, they said there is no mouse. {The mouse or rat ran off with the other trap, but the maintenance guy forgot he placed two traps.} After awhile I stopped hearing the scurrying. I guess it passed away. However, during these months I was uneasy with an animal in the walls, afraid it would come into my apartment. The worse part was that the maintenance guy, building manager and my landlord did not believe that I had a mouse/rat problem in the walls.

i was walking to a friend's house once back in 1976 & i saw what i would call a mutant freak spider. this thing was about 5"s x 3"s in size. around here, middle of New York State, there isn't anything close to that size. so i looked at it for a while then crushed it. it splattered quite far!

It was late and I was sitting at my counter eating a quick snack and heard something from my stove, I saw a little head of a field mouse poke up between the grates and it was gone again. I screamed and shouted some profanity I'm not proud of.

I set out 1 mouse trap with peanut butter. 1st night.... nothing caught. I was losing my mind, worried it was going to crawl on myself or kids while sleeping. Set out 2 more traps..... nothing happened. Finally turned off lights and bam! Caught it a few min after turning off the lights.

This is pretty typical for us (live by woods) but that was the smartest mouse I've dealt with. Usually I catch them the 1st hour of traps but this one stayed behind the stove and didn't move. We use to have an outdoor cat and inside hound that would track or take care of them for us. Being surprised by it is the really scary part. So I need another hound. 🤣

We did get a mole before and it was hoarding dog food in my husband's boots! So I scooped it up in the boot and put outside. Moles are really cute and mostly blind. They're not as smart as mice in my opinion but they're easy to just move them without harming them. I actually do feel bad killing the mice, but they're in my domain. They carry diseases as well.

Garfield:
I heard that mice carry disease.

Mouse:
Do you believe everything you hear?

Garfield:
Yup.

Mouse:
I heard that if you swing a dead cat around your head at the stroke of midnight by the light of a full moon, it will bring you good luck.

Garfield:
Touche.