One of our cats corners a mouse that's begging for it's life...

[ContentWriter]

Not when Alpo is on the job--he always gets his mouse!

Luckily I managed to get a shot of this.
I couldn't bear to stick around to watch afterward.


Mouse vs. Alpo

[GraphicBass]

That's an interesting standoff. Sorry the mouse didn't make it. He looked very gutsy!

In our house, the various captures (mice, chipmunks, bunnies, snakes) are mostly departed when they're brought indoors as trophies.  I rarely get a chance to make a save.

gary

[ContentWriter]

I rarely get a chance to make a save.

Yeah, I understand what you mean there.

I'd rather have been able to just put it back outside where it belongs.
That's what I do with bugs instead of squashing them.

I hate traps & poisons. It's better to just let nature and instinct handle
what they're designed for. Mice carry diseases and they're too fast to
catch (same with flies).

So, there's not too much angst going on in my conscience

When it comes to spiders, I welcome them unless it's dangerous like
a Brown Recluse or Black Widow. There's never a problem with roaches
when you leave the spiders alone!

As for ticks, they're so prolific here that it's pointless take a lighter to
them; that would be a full-time job! We just pull them off and flick them
off the porch.

The neighbors say to treat the yard with Diazinon. Poison my kids as well
as the environment? No way! Besides, imagine what it would cost to cover
close to 3 acres every couple of months  


~Karen

[GraphicBass]

My wife hates spiders with a passion. But we get those big green and yellow orb spider in August (they spin large "orb" webs that are very pretty in the morning). Jackie (wife) like those because the catch bugs and eat them. Very efficient at it, they are. And, if you touch their web, they bounce their legs and the web to ensnare whatever touched the web. Very cool to watch several webs bouncing!

Roaches here, too. The cats all go on roach hunts during the night for the ones that come in the house.

I won't treat the yard because I don't want to poison the cats.

Not much of a tick problem here, unless you are hiking without proper clothing. We're not exactly the "outdoors" now as we were in our younger days.

g

[Donald]

Guess the cat had a good lunch...

Donald

[ASUService]

Our cat is a mouser for sure too. I understand the hazards and nature having it's own plan but I sure hate it when I find the "leftovers".

We had a mouse family move in over the winter. So far I have been able to capture two of them alive and relocate them to the field across the way but our cat got to one before I did. I don't think relocating is going to do a lot of good because they have started construction of a bank over there. The noise will drive the rodents back over to the neighborhood.

Idaho is the darnedest place ... no roaches!!! The few I have heard about are in the smaller towns that have a large migrant worker population. I have no clue why we don't have them ... just thankful we don't. I was raised in southwest Ohio and worked for a realty company cleaning out rentals in the early 70's. Let me tell ya' ... the hippies sure took the live and let live thing to the hilt. I think some of the rentals were actually roach breeding farms. 

During my military time I was stationed in the desert area of central Cali ... gained a whole new respect for spiders and scorpions!!!! Since that time I have traveled the great western U.S. deserts a lot. Those darn spiders and scorpions do hide REALLY well!

[valpubs]

Bizarrely cockroaches actually make good pets for children - particularly the big ones such as the Madagascar Hissing Roach - 2-4 inches long and very robust (can live up to 5 years).

Takes all sorts I guess

[promomxr]

We were having a huge rat problem in our downstairs area under the house... stilt home. The rats were HUGE and were about the size of large cats. They were multipling at a rate out of control... that is until I released Ratsor under the house. It was a 5 foot long red rat snake and I called him Ratsor because he was about to become a real sore for those rats! LOL I had caught him in the field across from my house and introduced him to breakfast, lunch and dinner. Wasn't long and the rats were gone -  and no problem since. In fact, Ratsor must of invited his friends over for a party because I found shedded snake skins all over the place as well as numerous sightings of rat snakes both red and yellow in the yard. Needless to say we haven't had a rat problem for years! I spot Ratsor now and then and is one of the largest red ratsnakes I have ever seen going on at least 7+ feet now. I know it's him as he had a scar on his back near his head that looked like a "V".