Of Mice and Men (and Snakes)

The last couple of nights have been very interesting for my roommate, Adam, and me.

We like to pride ourselves on keeping the house clean. Me being an eligible bachelor and him being whatever it is that he is, we keep our space clean to make sure we put off a good vibe to visitors of all varieties. So when we found out we had mice we were pretty shocked to say the least.

It started last Thursday when we were hanging around watching TV. I noticed my dog Sassy acting strange and I then noticed a mouse on the floor in front of her. She has a history of eating mice and a much more graphic history (in my head) of throwing them up. So we caught it and tossed it outside. No big deal, problem solved.

A couple of days later my Adam noticed another mouse running under the same couch I was on.

Great.

We got up our courage to deal with a tiny mouse and when we pulled the couch away from the wall, it was a sight. Apparently the mice had been going into my dogs food bowl and taking it under the couch, starting their own little gypsy camp.

So we cleaned it all up, went to the store and got a plethora of traps and mouse deterrents and waged our war on the vermin. The Great Mouse War of '16.

We only saw two and that is what we have caught up until yesterday,  with no additional sightings of the mice. Mission accomplished.

But last night I got quite the shock as I got up to use he bathroom around 1:30. As I turned the corner, THERE WAS NO SHIT A SNAKE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HALLWAY.

Now I'm pretty outdoor savvy, hunting and fishing and what not, so I have ran across snakes before in the wild, sticking to the mindset "Don't screw with it and it won't screw with you". But when it is in my house, it's an entirely different story altogether. So I did what any reasonably confident person would do and ran back to my room, jumped on my bed and called Adam to come downstairs.

Now two fun facts about my roommate. He goes to bed pretty early and sleeps really hard, and he is deathly terrified of snakes. I was fairly certain he was not going to enjoy this phone call.

We got together and after him talking me into an alternative solution than shooting it (blowing holes in the floors and the walls in the process) we set our new plan into action, he would watch while I stepped on it.

It was quick and painless for all parties involved, and after figuring out what to do with the snake  afterwards, it was over. Needless to say, however, it wasn't easy going back to sleep, much less walking around without shoes on.

Now looking back the snake was harmless, but me not being a herpetologist and constantly being in a state of sleep deprivation, I was certain that snake was going to bite me and I was going to die.

I have come to the conclusion that the snake was probably hunting mice, the same ones that had come invaded my house in the previous couple of days.

If this is the case I would try to avoid getting mice in the house, especially as the colder months come along

• Don't leaving any food out (and dog food)
• Seal any gaps in walls and floor boards ( this comes in handy)
• Use preventative traps in areas like the garage where mice would get into first

This was definitely an experience for me. After killing a scorpion in the house a couple weeks ago. and now this, I'm hoping my luck will change and cool animals will start appearing, like a chinchilla or maybe a dolphin. Dare to dream.