Ferdinand the Mouse

Lets go back to the beginning of our adventures with Ferdinand:

One night, I was laying in bed in my quiet, dark apartment. I started to hear a scratching noise behind my dresser. I got up, flipped on the lights, and just stared at my dresser, trying to figure out if I had really heard it, or if it was part of my dream or something. All of a sudden, I heard it, but I couldn't tell if it was behind or inside the dresser. So what did I decide to do in my drowsy state? I kicked my dresser, thinking that somehow that would answer my question. It went quiet for a little bit, and then, as I watched, a little mouse poked his head out from behind it. I know it's just a little mouse, but it freaked me out and grossed me out. Luckily he was just as scared of me as I was of him (which I'm aware makes me a wuss).

I informed Casey of the new addition to the apartment and he suggested I get some poison or a trap. I got a trap but it was some "high tech" kind that traps them without killing them. Well... it didn't work. By this point, I started finding mouse poop in the most annoying places. How was he getting into those places?! I didn't understand. Another frustration was that I could not figure out where he came from! So I put my detective hat on. I heard noises behind the dresser, but when the dresser was ripped apart and drawers were emptied, he was nowhere to be found, which lead me to believe he was in the wall. I went in to the kitchen and looked under the kitchen sink and sure enough, there is a hole in the wall where the plumbing comes in, but it didn't get patched up around it. My theory is that the mouse was getting into the garage and climbing up through the wall into the apartment.

The "high tech" trap wasn't working. There was cheese AND peanut butter and he wanted nothing to do with it. I just kept picturing the mouse from Ratatouille. One with a very distinguished pallet. I hoped that was not the case, because my next move... was rat poison. I was hesitant to use it, because you never know where they'll end up dying. So, I bought the poison and put it under the sink, knowing he would find it there. As the days progressed, I saw the pile of rat poison grow smaller and smaller until one day it was gone. But there was not mouse. Was he a magical mouse who could withstand poison?

One day, Casey and I were sitting on the couch and at the same time, we saw the mouse run across the floor, over behind the stove and fridge. I believe Casey's words as he ran to the kitchen were, "Ferdinand is gonna die!" We blocked off the area, grabbed a broom moved everything else out of the way. He had nowhere to go. We pulled out the stove... and he wasn't there, so we KNEW he was behind the fridge. But when we pulled out the fridge... he was gone! This just furtherd my thoughts on him being a magical mouse. We stood there for a minute, quite bummed we'd been outsmarted by a mouse. How was he even still alive?!

Over the next couple of days, we stared finding little mouse poop pellets that were pure rat poison. It didn't make sense! But then one day, I was Ferdinand mosey his little way across the kitchen floor. He was moving quite slow and didn't seem to be trying to be sneaky like usual. I knew his time was running short. Now if only he would conveniently die in the middle of the floor! Alas, this was not the case.

When Casey and I got back from our honeymoon, I was SURE my birth control wasn't working. Before we got married, my brother-in-law Ryan made sure we were aware that it was only 98% effective, and we should be careful, because we just might be that unlucky 2%. I started to freak myself. I kept smelling these weird smells that Casey couldn't seem to ever smell... it was a sure sign I was pregnant... right?! Probably not, but I was almost convinced it was.

Finally, Saturday, I woke up and came out of the bedroom and the smell was so bad. I was determined to track it down to figure out where it was coming from. I narrowed it down and decided he had probably crawled up into the underneath part of the stove where it was warm, and had died. When Casey got home that afternoon, I pointed it out, and he could finally smell it. I wasn't crazy! Sunday, when we got home from church, Casey did some checking around of his own. His detective skills surpass my own. He was able to track it to the back of the fridge. There was a little hole, and when he stuck his nose down by it, apparently the smell was pretty rank. He got inside and what did he find?! Ferdinand. Dead. Super gross and smelly with all sorts of really gross stuff happening down there. I tied a scarf around Casey's face, and sprayed some perfume on it, and when it would lose it's smell, he'd have me spray some more on. I would hand him tools and towels and throw things away. He did the hard part though, which I am eternally grateful because I would have, without a doubt, thrown up. It would have been a disaster. What a guy I have!

So, friends, Ferdinand is no more. The apartment has been thoroughly deep cleaned and I finally feel like I can be home without feeling icky. I've never felt so yucky in an apartment before! I'm glad it's over. The next project is to cover the whole in the wall so this will never happen again.

Farewell Ferdinand. You will not be missed.