Author |
Message |
Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Friday, August 22, 2008 - 12:21 pm
And does the email address end in @gmail.com? (ie "twinkie@gmail.com")?
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Friday, August 22, 2008 - 12:22 pm
(why is serate crying?)
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Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Friday, August 22, 2008 - 1:03 pm
Yes, Julie. She's crying because I said she's an oddball. But, its okay cause she knows I love her.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Friday, August 22, 2008 - 1:30 pm
Oh yeah, I called her odd too!!! (Shows what an insensitive <84> I am!!!)
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Friday, August 22, 2008 - 1:46 pm
For all those who helped with the guitar question...wanna hear a funny story? Last night we'd dropped Kota off at my sis' when we went to Caleb's school. When we got back a friend of ours was there. I'd called him last week shortly after calling my sis about the guitar because he's one of those people you never know what you might find he has, lol. I asked sis what Paul was doing there and she told me he had been storing his motorcycle in a friends garage and friend was moving so he needed somewhere else to put it and they told them to bring it to their house. She told me he'd brought me a surprise and they were sitting in the living room. Now, this is the friend who comes by my house every few weeks, borrows a stack of books, returns the last ones he had, and has been keeping his eyes open for a couple books I want to read. I walk into the house figuring he found at least one or two of them. Opened the door and all I could do was laugh. Sitting against the couch were two guitars, one accustic, one electric. Friend had told him they'd already boxed up what they wanted out of the garage and if he wanted anything he could take it so he snagged those, not knowing if I'd found one yet or not.
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Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Friday, August 22, 2008 - 1:58 pm
When it rains, it pours. LOL
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Friday, August 22, 2008 - 2:03 pm
LOL uh huh. The music teacher made a comment last night about some children's families not being able to afford guitars (before we saw the second one) and they were trying to come up with solutions for those kids, not sure if that meant moving them out of class or helping to find some somewhere or what. When I asked our friend what he planned to do with it, he said probably drop it off at good will...asked him if he minded if I found out from the teacher if they could take it. So he's going to hold onto it til I get ahold of the teacher to see if we could just give it to them. I'm not sure if they'll be able to take just one guitar since it sounded like there were a few students who couldn't afford them.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Friday, August 22, 2008 - 3:29 pm
I'm aure it would help. When I was in elementary school they had school instruments and you could try out for one. All the girls the seemed to want to play clalrinets, but they told me my teeth weren't right for that but how about the flute? I had to take a rhythm test, being able to repeat a rhythm.. so I got to use it for a few months or a year. Then it was up to my parents. Unfortunately my dad decided that I didn't practice enough. The school required half an hour a day and I did that but my dad (who won national contests in HS on flute and helped put his way through university playing flute in marching band and dance bands and on the radio) felt that it should be an hour a day so he refused. Actually pretty puzzling that he wouldn't encourage me since he and my mom were both so involved in band in school. I guess it turned out he always wished he had played piano and wanted me to go back to that. But they could at least support one kid with that guitar and maybe they can advertise for others.. they should try freecycle.org.
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Urgrace
Member
08-19-2000
| Friday, August 22, 2008 - 5:06 pm
Great story War! It will be nice if the teacher will accept the guitar for one of the unfortunate kids. I suppose they will set up a fundraiser for more? Freecycle is a great idea, too!
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Friday, August 22, 2008 - 5:21 pm
great story!!!
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Kitt
Member
09-06-2000
| Friday, August 22, 2008 - 5:52 pm
I have a question. We rent our home. It seems like some mice have decided to take up house underneath ours - you can see where they go in along the sides of the house. (I presume it's mice, but I guess it could be rats or worse.) Is it our responsibility as tenants to pay for an exterminator or is it the landlord's? If it matters, it's a nice house in a nice area and we pay a LOT of rent.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Friday, August 22, 2008 - 6:02 pm
Can't tell you that. But sometimes just the presence of a cat will get the mice to take a hike!! Even if the cat is not a good mouser--just the smell of a cat can freak mice out! ETA if I had to guess, I would think it would be the landlord's responsibility...
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Nickovtyme
Member
07-29-2004
| Friday, August 22, 2008 - 7:26 pm
It's probably going to depend on how your lease/contract was set up. Read it and see if there's a clause that refers to pests. I know when I rented an apartment it was the landlord's responsibility to take care of things like that.
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Grumpy
Member
02-08-2004
| Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 2:45 am
I believe anything to do with the property is the landlords responsibility. I am 99.9% sure. But he could say to just set traps, too, and not get an exterminator involved. I dont know what would be worse than rats though. We had mice in our garage. Just recently. And if you set the traps (Victor plastic ones or regular old fashioned kind) to where the food side is against the wall, they are more easily caught. Gives them one or two ways to go but a bit more trapped by the wall.
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Kitt
Member
09-06-2000
| Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 8:29 am
Thanks guys, we hoped it was the landlord's responsibility too, but I will double check on the lease. Our neighbour said he had a mouse in his garage (he's the one who pointed out the mouse holes to me, or I'd have never noticed them) and said he had some poison, so that might be the way to go. I don't like the idea of killing them but I don't know of any mouse-friendly way to go, particularly if they've made homes under the house, which I can't get to.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 8:42 am
get a cat! (even just borrow one for a few weeks--the mice will go!)
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-31-2000
| Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 8:50 am
It should be the landlord's responsibility. It does no good really to get rid of them if you don't also plug up the holes where they get in. More will come! Since that's a repair issue, the landlord should take care of it, but s/he may or may not.
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Grumpy
Member
02-08-2004
| Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 11:06 am
We have cats all over the house and out side and they still made up a nice comfy place to stay. I dont think having a cat works. The bad thing about poison is if they eat it then go die under your house then you will have one heck of a stink issue! But the landlord should repair the home to prevent more mice coming in. I know about not wanting to kill a mouse, we caught our first mouse across his back or side (it was dark & couldnt see) but he was still alive. So we took him over to the field & let him go. But we had 4 mice in our garage. The traps killed the next 4. And its alot easier on the heart strings to just throw away a dead mouse than to listen to them suffer. For me anyways, But I will also go out after a rainy day and save the worms from being fried by the sun.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 11:39 am
There's one poison, D-Con, that dehydrates the mice so they don't smell. Learned our lesson about using other poisons one summer when we walked in the house and had to leave cuz of the stench. I hate posions and traps, but out here if you aren't killing em, you'll be overrun. If you have a choice (no pets going after mice, no small children) the poison is the best bet. We stopped using posion a year and a half ago when I started watching my baby nephew and continue not to use it cuz of the puppy (Harvey never went after mice) and have had a lot of problems with the mice the last two summers. This one has been really bad. However, I'd rather put up with the mice than have nephew or puppy get into the poison or grab a poisoned mouse. Traps are horrible and semi-reliable....sometimes you'll catch several, other times none at all (I think they learn to avoid them!) Kar is right about plugging up the holes, but keep in mind they can also get in through the most ridiculously small spots! I've seen them squeeze under a closed door and a spot where the cable line comes in through the wall. They'll also chew through drywall so you need to keep checking for new holes. We try to lesson the chance of getting them (fat chance, lol) by putting all boxed/bagged food in containers with lids. Even the dog food has a plastic bin with lid. I think it helps too not having trash in the house, though I've never had a trash can and take everything outside to the big can as soon as possible. It's not going to stop them (they're also looking for water and some place to live) but they won't get into everything. Another warning about poison if you have pets/small kids....you can't even put it places the pets/kids won't be able to get to it cuz the mice don't die right away so they aren't just dying in walls/under the house but will drop dead in the middle of the floor.
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Kitt
Member
09-06-2000
| Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 12:31 pm
We don't have kids or pets, so poison would be ok if it has to be used, except for the risk of them dying under the house. I'm hoping they will get a professional in. I don't even know what under the house looks like, but so far there doesn't seem to be any evidence of them INside the house and I want it to stay that way! We had a cute kind of rat at one of the last houses we lived in, he (or I suppose she) had a family under the hood of my car. It was just a horrific smell, my dh had to drive it to the garage with his head out the window, it smelt so badly. Even with repeated doses of disinfectant it was probably two years before the smell completely went. Anyway, mummy mouse wasn't in the car when we had it fixed, so we put out a live trap for her, it didn't work at all, no takers, so in the end we put down poison and one day I opened the garage and she kind of hobbled out and looked back at me as if she was in agony, I felt awful. Poor thing. So this time I'm going to have to be cowardly and get someone else to fix it properly. Thanks for your help and suggestions everyone.
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 1:19 pm
You really, really don't want mice hanging around your house...it can be fatal. Hantavirus (HPS) has been recognized as a disease only recently in North America. So far, it's also fairly uncommon and the chances of becoming infected are low. However, HPS is potentially deadly and immediate intensive care is essential once symptoms appear. You can become infected by exposure to rodent droppings, and in dry climates by breathing dust contaminated with the virus. This virus is carried by rodents, especially the deer mouse. The first signs of sickness (especially fever and muscle aches) appear 1 to 5 weeks later, followed by shortness of breath and coughing. Once this phase begins, the disease progresses rapidly, necessitating hospitalization and often ventilation within 24 hours. Prevention is the best strategy, and it simply means taking some very practical steps to minimize your contact with rodents. HPS is not contagious from person to person in the United States.
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Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Saturday, August 23, 2008 - 2:05 pm
just because you don't have pets or children you should be careful with poison. If the mouse dies and is then eaten by another animal, it poisons that animal. Your landlord should take care of it though, because the house needs to be repaired as well.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, August 25, 2008 - 12:48 am
Yes.. a poisoned mouse could end up where other people's pets/children might be. I know we have lots of traps throughout our complex and they are sealed so supposedly kids and cats/dogs cannot get into them, but I sure wouldn't want a child or animal out there.
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Monday, August 25, 2008 - 8:37 am
If an animal eats a mouse that has eaten DeCon - which the animal will be ok. The animal has to have consumed a major amount of the DeCon in order for it to harm the dog/cat unless. Same with a child., tho I really don't think that a child is going to eat a mouse, dead or alive. So DeCon is pretty safe, esp if you don't have kids, as long as you don't keep it where they can get to it. My brother's white dog ate 3 1/2 boxes of DeCon when she was oh about 40lbs, still a puppy. Turned her poop turquoise, some of her fur had a slight tinge a couple of days after for a couple of days, and the vet gave her a shot of Vitamin K[I think, which ever vitamin clots blood] to help counteract, but other than that she was ok. Said she would have had to eat alot more of it for it to be deadly. So the amount of DeCon in a mouse who ate it is pretty much harmless to a cat, dog, child, whatever. One thing you do need to be aware of is standing water. DeCon dehydrates the mouse so of course it heads for water if there is any near and you can find a dead mouse floating in your pet's water dish or any water you might have outside that is low enough for the mouse to get to. That being said, I don't use DeCon. We've never had too much of a problem since we got Eddie, except him catching them and putting them on my lap. Alive. Peanut butter works better than cheese in traps.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, August 25, 2008 - 2:50 pm
Yep, they have to lick the peanut butter.
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