not-so-hidden mickeys

mickeys - they're everywhere. i don't know if the philippines (or our home, on a more local scale) is that unsanitary for mickeys of all sizes to actually live and literally mingle with people. they run around the house like little kids at play. good thing they don't destroy our things here at home... maybe they're just after food.

the most severe case i've heard was from my cousin: she was sleeping in her room (she lives in pasay, not in our house, thank goodness) and a big mickey bit her lip! on other times, it bit her daughter's nose! how severe could that sound! my goodness! and they actually saw the big mickey run away! i bet with a big evil grin on her face! syet.

it's not like we don't do anything to stunt the rising number of mickeys. here are some of the desperate and not-so-desperate moves we've tried so far:

wooden cage trap - way back my lolo's days, i remember he used to make these wooden trap boxes with tin doors. mickey goes inside the vault, eats the food (container = takip ng chizwiz), and the door shuts when the thread that holds the door loosens up. once trapped, we (make that my lolo) get a sack of some sort and carefully open the door to transfer mickey from the trap to the sack. after this, hampas-hambalos galore. poor mickey. if it doesn't kill him, i don't know what else will. i remember many years ago when it was hampas-hambalos time for a certain mickey, my lolo was all poised to transfer him and i was all poised too to witness the execution. sack positioned, door opens, and mickey escapes! i wailed and jumped wildly and one fatal jump killed poor mickey. asintado ang talon ko. syet na-trauma ako nun. i just killed a mickey.

classic mouse trap - we also resorted to these nifty wooden mouse traps. the ones with deadly metal that you have to pull back. a spring releases the metal thingy once motion is detected in any way. the drawback is, once a mickey dies on a trap, the others seem to somehow sense that a brother mickey lost his life on this thing and that this tool is not something that they should toy with... and the whole purpose of trapping mickeys is defeated. some even say that when you pour boiling water, the scent of death is removed... i say it's all too much hassle (or tamad lang ako).

fly trap - oh! this, i think, is an effective trap. the paper thingy with super sticky substance that traps baby mickeys - of course you have to lure them with food. sometimes a single trap could get around 3 baby mickeys. the only thing is... it's such a horrible sight to see (and hear) a baby mickey struggle to get out... with all the hair sticking to the glue, it's just so yucky and morbid. there was a time we forgot we had a trap and when we remembered, the mickey was all skeleton and decayed. yuck. and at other times, big momma mickey types get trapped but they bring the trap along and it's all gone. stupid momma mickey, running around with a fly trap on her belly.

rat poision - dora or racumin are the popular brands. no sweat - just put some on a piece of paper, mickey devours on the so-called feast and dies shortly. the drawback is, if they don't make it to the light, they die in the darnest corners of the house... the ones you can't see... and they would rot and smell like hell for days or weeks and would turn your tummy upside down. plus, they also sense at certain times that this is not food stuff and they ignore it just the same. there was a time when a big momma mickey is all dazed and is ready to accept her death. she came out and was just still. we didn't want to hampas her for she might run and hide and smell so we just covered her with this pail until she died. the disposal was the hardest thing to do. just imagine how you will get that creature into a plastic bag...

pet a kitty - a neighbor gave us a baby kitty some time ago. on the first day, we were brainwashing the kitty, "grow up to be strong and sturdy, little kitty... and go get 'em all, kitty!". and she was nodding like crazy like, "yeah, momma! i'm gonna get 'em all!". the next morning, kitty was missing with blood trails on the floor. we concluded that a big momma mickey, strong and sturdy and mighty, got our baby girl. poor kitty, we loved her for a day. she was our only hope. and she was ambushed by a mickey. how ironic. ugh.

claygo - clean as you go. we leave the house spic and span, thanks to cecil. counters wiped, floor all shiny and new, table-tops wiped clean, all food items kept out of mickey's reach. wa epek. they're like "heya! i'm here! watchadoin?" and run around the house like crazy! stupid pests.

to hell with mickeys... to hell with you all. hehe may galit.