Monday, March 31, 2014

The Worm Bin Must Go

EDITED:  I wrote this when I was very upset, and after going to bed, I had a different point of view.  Still, I am leaving it up just to show that even a compost enthusiast can get creeped out  by keeping worms inside the house.

We've been out of town for a week (and the pets have been boarded for 9 days), and we returned to a disturbing discovery: mice.

Late in 2013, we had a minor mice infestation after losing both of our beloved cats (one got lost and one died due to illness).  My husband killed around 6 mice with snap traps.  A few weeks went by where we didn't see any.  We then adopted a cat, and not just any cat.  We chose a large (15 pound) male cat with all of his claws.  The rescue where he had been living for 3 years (he is about 4 years old) kept him partly in a garage and partly outside.  Therefore, his hunting instincts are probably intact.

Anyway, we didn't get him to kill mice for us.  We mostly got him because we love cats, but we also hoped that his catly smell would serve as a deterrent to any rodents who might want to take up residence in our home in the future.  We have not seen any mice or evidence of them in several weeks, although one night I heard a rustling sound that made me suspicious.

Anyway, there were at least two mice waiting for us when we returned home from our vacation this evening.  My husband has killed one and injured another with snap traps.  I am assuming they were new mice because they seemed so shocked by our presence and didn't seem to know where to hide from humans.

Our recent infestation was caused by having a couple of old bags of cat food and no cats.  All cat and dog food has been sealed in canisters.  I took out the trash before we left.  We have been very strict about not letting the children take food upstairs (although some candy has been illicitly consumed up there), and the dog eats all downstairs crumbs.  Still, something is attracting these creatures.  Part of it is probably scent trails from the mice that came before, but I read that mice can eat worms and also be attracted to the smell of decay.  

That means it is time to say goodbye to my indoor worm bin.  As soon as I get up tomorrow, I will be dumping its contents into my regular compost.  I'm afraid I'm not a committed enough worm farmer to run the risk that this is contributing to our rodent problem.  I was very careful about not putting scraps in there that would be attractive to rodents (I never, ever put anything fatty or greasy in there), but if the worms themselves are attractive, then I can't consider keeping them.

I haven't seen any real evidence that the worm bin is attracting mice.  The mice seem to mostly prefer the upstairs, and the bin is downstairs.  Because I can't rule out the possibility, however, I'm not going to take the risk. 

In addition to getting rid of the worm bin, I am going to be cleaning out every closet this week and doing everything possible to declutter and make this place less hospitable to mice. My husband will have to inspect the house for mouse openings and possibly set traps in the attic.  I'll be picking up the cat and dog tomorrow morning--I would give anything to have our cat to sleep with tonight--I'm not sure how I'll even fall asleep.

EDITED:  I wrote this when I was very upset, and after going to bed, I had a different point of view.  Still, I am leaving it up just to show that even a compost enthusiast can get creeped out  by keeping worms inside the house. 

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