Rodents

We has them. And they are not all as cute as the one above. The chipmunks stay outside, but the mice, attracted by the leftover seeds from the now-removed bird feeder, have learned how to climb in under the air conditioning pipe into the house, then walk along the top of the foundation wall inside, and then back under the kitchen to find people food. The larger kitchen was an addition to the original house, so the basement doesn't extend back under the kitchen--it's just a narrow space underneath the floorboards, about 50cm high, with a small-rock-and-plastic-sheeting floor. I know this because I took my camera, set it on flash, and stuck my arm in wherever I could wiggle it in around the pipes. The photos look like something from a James Cameron remote camera, but they are useful for seeing not only the mice, but the wiring and piping down there. It looks like soon all the Ikea drawer cabinets,shown here:

(which we have dubbed the Fukken cabinets because of how they are set on their tracks) will have to be pulled out and replaced with cupboards with floor access, so we can reach where the mice are hanging out more easily. As it is, we trapped 2 last night on glue traps, caught one in a spring trap, and Stripey Cat brought us the last one around 3:30 AM, so we gave her a treat. The grey cat has two eyes again, so he no longer looks like a pirate on coke, and he also had a mouse for breakfast this morning, on the white carpet under the dining room table.

Below is the plastic piece, that once removed, allows you to slide off an Ikea drawer, if you need to go after mice (or a lost placemat, which was jamming the drawers by the breakfast table).If you google "removing ikea drawers", Ikea itself has an online pdf showing (in theory) how they are removed. You will need a screwdriver and an xacto to trim the plastic piece in front so you can get the plastic tab back in