I realized the invasion had begun when I decided to attend the high school football game in Wheaton a couple weeks ago.

It was a very cold evening, so I decided to go in search of my winter boots that I had purchased a couple years ago.

Barely broken in with nary a scuff mark on the black part of the boot and camouflaged material near the top. They were beauties!

They were packed in a plastic container and stored in our garage.

In no time I had located the container but noticed as I hoisted it up on a sawhorse that a portion of the plastic cover had a gaping crack in it.

Removing the plastic cover I immediately discovered my shiny, almost new winter boots laying on the very top of the blanket- filled container.

But something didn’t look right! The shoe- laces had been shredded and each boot was filled to the brim with cotton-like material!

“Deer mice,” I screamed as I recognized their handiwork! “You better n0t have wrecked my boots!” Holding a boot upside down I pounded on it and a couple of fat, hairless, pink skinned baby deer mice plopped onto the garage floor.

For fear you are reading this blog to a small child I will skip the next details. Just understand the two little fellas had a short life span. 🙁

I was still fuming as I pulled nest material out of my once prestigious winter boots.

The second boot was even fuller then the first.

Turning it upside down I continued the pounding process when suddenly there was a big plop as something quite large fell out of the boot.

Looking down at the ground I viewed a huge deer mouse mother with a dozen babies clinging to her and heading straight at me.

I did a little dance trying to escape her charge fearing she and the whole crew would make a dash up my pant leg!

Momma mouse scooted between my legs and headed for the open garage door, quickly disappearing into my garage clutter. 🙁

As fall arrives deer mice are known to enter buildings in groups and gather piles of seeds and spend a comfy winter indoors.

Since my birdfeeder is located just outside the garage door the food pile was easily gathered. Sunflower seeds and kernels of corn supplied a winter long smorgasbord.

But things kept getting worse! Several days earlier I had purchased a twenty-five- pound bag of sunflower seeds. I was busy when I came home and left the bag in our new car.

After the deer mouse with a dozen piggy-back riders nearly charged up my pant leg I remembered the bag of sunflower seeds in the car.

I opened the back hatch of our car and stared in disbelief as I discovered deer mice had eaten a hole in the sunflower bag.

Sunflower seeds were scattered over the floor. Some were cracked open and eaten while piles of uneaten seeds also littered the car’s floor.

“I believe trapping season has just begun,” I muttered.

Now for 42 years I have tried to impress upon young minds the necessity of respecting all of life.

There is only one exception, when that deer mouse life has taken up residence in our car and our garage!

Off to the local hardware store I go to check up on the newest mouse removing equipment.

There are a great variety of mouse traps available in today’s mouse trap market I discovered.

The old-fashioned mouse trap with the wooden base and the hair triggered settings that often went off accidentally as I would set it in position was the first trap I viewed.

Because of past bruised fingers from the accidental snapping of that style I decided to continue shopping.

There was the trap with a sticky surface where the mouse was permanently stuck to the trap. That seemed too barbaric plus I would be the one that would have to end its life.

The clerk pointed out a metal trap to be used if one wanted to release the critter after capture. It didn’t take me long to nix that idea either!

And then I saw it! ‘The Better Mouse Trap’ it was called. It was made of plastic and resembled a giant shark emerging from the ocean once it was set. The peanut butter was placed on the shark’s tongue. (Do sharks even have a tongue?)

To set the trap you simply had to add peanut butter and press the back to open its jaws with no danger of amputating a finger. 🙂

I bought four traps and hustled home to start my deer mouse trap line.

The new trap has proved to be very successful and I’m hoping I can be a spokesperson for some television advertisement.

Two mice were quickly removed from the car which made me smile. The three remaining traps scattered around the garage need to be emptied quite often.

So, the invasion has been slowed for now.

But keep those traps baited and set because remember that fat deer mouse and her dozen piggybacking offspring are still at large.

Now I’m going to head for the garage and check the trap line. 🙂

Until next time.