Fears
The gorgeous Kelly has shared her fear of spiders. I hate mice. And rats. Well wild rats coz I <3 Daisy and Pikelet who live in the most stunning mansion in the living room. Oh and we have further pimped it so I need to share more of that too!
But mice! I once had to live in the house of a person who was on trial for child sex offences. It was an interesting and challenging time (My ex was doing the bloke’s job whilst he was on trial and after he was convicted carried on.) When we first arrived at the house we discovered that he kept birds. Not just a couple of budgies in a cage, but over 100 in the back yard. Doves, chooks, bantams, and all sorts of other things too! Of course we had to care for them. Now the ex hates birds. So it was my job to feed and water them. (On the mantelpiece in the lounge room hung his ribbon for ‘Champion Cock’ at a bird show. Noice!)
I didn’t mind birds that much, but the numbers in a rather small yard meant there was lots of noise and the smell was interesting! There were a few eggs, including some that laid fertilised eggs which hatched and then the little ones died. You get that. But feeding them was a challenge. They would come for you and want seed NOW! So I was anxious heading out to feed them. Then one of the first days I was there I put the small tin into the sack of feed and got the fright of my life when I basically pulled out a tin of mice, some of which ran up my arm. I screamed. Somehow the birds got fed.
We soon discovered there was a mouse plague. This was in the South Australian mallee and plagues were not unheard of. So we set traps in the kitchen. Each night we would get at least 2 mice, often more. They love peanut butter I discovered. Then one night when I was there alone I head a trap go off. Then I heard a tapping noise. I didn’t think much of it until I went into the kitchen to find a mouse that was only half trapped by a mouse trap. There was no way I was going to set it free, but I didn’t want to see it suffer either. So after hyperventilating for a few minutes I decided to drown it. I grabbed a bucket and went back to the kitchen, but the offending mouse was gone. Now I was sure it had a broken leg or two at least, and I am not sure how it got away, but I slept in fear that this mouse would come back for me.
After that I was always afraid of emptying the mouse traps and whenever I saw one I screamed. I still do. Up here I have seen wild rats which scare the bejebus out of me, but I am getting better after having Daisy and Pikelet. When MIML™ told me on our first date that he kept rats as pets, I tried to keep a shocked look off my face and didn’t know what to say. The first time I visited his place and he introduced me I was glad I wasn’t wearing the white outfit I wore on our first date as I almost shat myself when he got Pikelet out of her cage and handed her to me. Of course I didn’t really speak up- I told him I was scared of mice and didn’t like wild rats, but Pikelet was cool! She nuzzled under my arm and liked being stroked. Then she sat on my shoulder and I found out that she and Daisy are rather cool!
Not sure how I would go with pet mice though!
October 6th, 2008 at 3:24 am
Oh the Mallee is notorious for it’s mouse plagues! I’ve seen news footage where the ground is almost alive with them! We had a lot of mouse trouble in one of our houses in Victoria, we lived behind a creek and had to deal with plagues, nothing too bad but sometimes we’d catch one or two a night in traps. We too had wild rats, luckily we’d only see them outside, and dead when the cats brought them home.
As you know I had pet rats, like you I’ve had a fear of rats and mice but wanted to get passed that by handling a rat at the pet shop, I was amazed on my second visit that my favourite came straight to me, almost like he recognised my scent. He came home with me that day and was the most amazing pet ever. I’ve since worked through the fear but still don’t like the wild alternatives.