I’ve used my small metal shed for about two and a half years, I believe, and the only time it ever got a rat was when I absently left the door open. (that time, it got a rat in minutes and I had to empty the damned thing to chase it out.) So I use it for long-term seasonal storage, as well as storage of vulnerable sacks of dog food. I call it the mouseproof shed.
That is, I called it that.
Yesterday morning I pulled out the big black plastic bag containing my bed’s winter comforter. I need the comforter in the dark of winter because of course I can’t heat the cabin at night. By the wee hours it gets cold in here. So I’ve got a stack of wool blankets, and then over all goes the comforter. It’s not especially warm of itself, but it makes a good capper for all those blankets.
Anyway, as I said yesterday morning I hauled it out of the shed, pulled it out of the plastic bag where it has spent the past six months, and stuffed it into the hamper in which I shuttle laundry up and down the loft ladder. Thought no more about it until the evening when I straightened out the bedclothes, pulled the comforter out of the hamper, and discovered how extensively it had been chewed and pissed upon by some no-doubt very comfortable rodent.
Then while turning it over and spitting vile curses, I heard something clunk to the floor. Sounded like a dropped pencil.
It was a very dead – indeed mummified – field mouse. Not an unusual sight in the desert, though I’d be lying if I suggested I welcome it among my bedclothes.
Sigh. I grumbled and stuffed the befouled comforter down the ladder hole for disposition in the morning. Picked up the long-deceased mouse and tossed it in the trash can.
And I used my multitool pliers to do that last thing, because as I laid down for sleep I couldn’t help lying there and wondering, ‘What did that mouse die of?” Seemed to me it had found the Fountains of Paradise. A very quiet place to nest, utterly free of predators. 200 pounds of lovely crunchy dog food, with no one to dispute ownership. All the nesting material any mouse could use in a century. But it just crawled into that bag, apparently lived for a short time, and died.
In the light of day I see problems with my theory. Maybe it got in and couldn’t get out. Maybe it died of dehydration – it gets hot in a metal shed, in the desert. That seems more likely than the thoughts going through my head last night.
The thoughts going through my head last night were positively Zeldaesque. I remembered the extensive prairie dog town that used to be between me and the little town nearest where I live. They ruined a huge, empty flat plain with their burrows. Then they got plague and died. All of them, in their thousands. Seriously – black plague, to which rodents are susceptible. And which they can spread – to guess which species. You could ask 14th century Europeans about that, except they’re all dead, too.
More likely it was dehydration. I like that thought much better. 😉
Did the tourist thing out near the Badlands and stopped to admire a prairie dog town. Which had a big sign warning me to stay the hell away because of the plague or something equally trivial. Yow.
“Patient Zero in the Zombie Apocalypse has been identified as “Joel”. Nah.
Oh Joel, one step ahead, two steps back. The field mouse possibly ate some of the comforter stuffing and died of it. I know how angry these guys can make one since this past spring I found how they love to eat outdoor chair covers. On the plus side the furry little rodent could have been still alive when you crawled into bed. Now wouldn’t that have been exciting?
So if the mouse died of dehydration because it couldn’t exit your shed, perhaps it got in through an open door and your shed really is mouse proof?
Ben – yeah, that’s the current hypothesis. That’s the only damage I’ve found in there since setting it up and closing up every hole that admitted light. Except for the one time a rat got in the dog food, but that time I left the door open. So I’m thinking the mouse got in through the door, then couldn’t get out and died from thirst and/or the heat. But it had time to ruin my winter comforter.
Mmmmmm, and now the question is – how to decontaminate and disinfect The Lair, your other bedding, you, your clothes., the shed and everything in it. You seriously aren’t sleeping on/under your other bedding? Oh say you aren’t.
If you die from plague your fellow gulchers will have to burn The Lair and everything in it. Sigh.
And if you didn’t skirt The Lair, how many mice and rats are living under it now, releasing who knows what diseases, fleas and mites into the air, to be wafted upward into your living space.
Hope you’ve read up on the early symptoms of plagues and other rodent carried diseases. Be sure to let us know if you have any of those symptoms. You aren’t going to like it if you get a rodent carried disease (seek medical help immediately), and neither are we.
Remember ZtZ’s Words for a happy, healthy life: 1) Assume the rats and mice are all around you, and implement consistent plans to kill them all; 2) rat poison and bleach are your friends.
Dang, dude, way to make Joel an insomniac. My take is that if Joel ain’t dead yet, he probably won’t shuffle off this mortal coil from plague. Maybe from sleep deprivation,,, Mice and rats ARE all around us; they just need to stay the hell out of Joel’s bedding.
Seriously, Joel, the county health dept/extension agent/whatever might have useful info on deconning your comforter.
Mama Liberty probably knows but I seem to remember from Microbiology 40 years ago that there are antibiotics that are effective against plague.
Forget the plague. Hanta virus is what you ought to be be ‘feared of. After all, the plague is spread by fleas. Which aren’t found on mummified mice.
There are antibiotics that can be used for plague infections but they are not 100% effective and depend on the patient’s general health, early treatment and multiple supportive measures for the infected person. Even with antibiotic treatment people die from plague. Joel would need to get diagnosis and hospital care as soon as he shows symptoms
Hantavirus is spread through the feces and urine of rodents. It is about 50% fatal because the only known treatment is supportive measures for the patient. Hantaviruses can become airborne and infect people when inhaled. Hantavirus related symptoms can take as long as a month to develop, by which time many people will have forgotten about their exposure and a delay in treatment after the symptoms appear is a factor in fatalities.
Joel’s possible exposure is particularly unfortunate at this time of year because plague and hantavirus symptoms pretty much mimic flu. Any fever, chills, stomach upsets, vomiting, headaches, nausea and especially respiratory difficulties are cause for concern.
My biggest concern at this time is possible contamination of Joel’s bedding, clothing and The Lair. Spray and liquid bleach solutions (hopefully available at the local dollar store) can be helpful in clean up as long as the materials used for cleaning aren’t touched and are disposed of properly, and dry sweeping – which can cause airborne particles – isn’t part of the clean up.
Any infected fleas/flea eggs on the mouse could have survived long after it died and may still be in the comforter.
But I am not a doctor or health care professional and don’t play one on TV. I do live and occasionally work and visit where there are rats and mice that can and do spread disease. Given Joel’s remote location and limited access to medical care all rodents are cause for concern IMHO, so infection prevention is the best action. I routinely encourage him to kill every rodent he can, not touch the bodies, and dispose of them in some kind of sealed bag or container.
Take care of yourself, Joel.
You need a cat. I’m not saying you want one… Lord knows nobody sane wants a cat. It’s just that they’re built for killing rodents. You’ll trade fewer rodents for a scratched up door jam. Fair trade.
Mentally prepare for the desert (or your dogs) to eat a few mousers before you get a smart one. I try to stagger new cat acquisitions in balance with nature’s victories over the cats. I can never predict when the owls or eagles will snag a good cat so it’s an inexact thing.
Cats won’t mess with the chickens because a healthy adult chicken will kick a cat’s ass (thought cats eat chicks). Cats have drawbacks but you won’t get hanta virus or bubonic plague from one.
AC: So, cats don’t get hanta or plague? I’m just thinking Fluffy the Rodent Killer could merely be an intermediate vector twixt Mr Rat and Joel.
I gave up on cats even though I’ve had a couple of good mousers. Trouble is, they want to bring their catches inside with them. So my house goes from containing no rodents to being a constant vector for dead and dying ones. And they’ve never made a noticeable dent in the rodent population. Also, it feeds the owls and (possibly) coyotes.
Maybe a birdhouse for Owls then? They like to eat rodents, and they wouldn’t come into the Lair.