I’ve lived in the city for 12 years and certainly seen my share of mice. No matter how clean and conscientious you are, it’s pretty much unavoidable that one or two will cross your path.
But in the past few months it’s been more like one or two dozen. Gross, I know. And I am beyond skeeved out. Every morning my husband has to wake up early to check the traps and thoroughly clean the kitchen counters before I see anything that might put me into hysterics.
We have had our exterminator out here numerous times. We have sealed every crevice we could find, doused the property in peppermint spray, and even bought one of those sonic mouse deterrents that are probably worthless. (We do not have a cat. We are not getting a cat. I am allergic to cats. Please stop suggesting it).
So why is this year different from any other? I’ve spoken to neighbors across the city who have been experience a serious increase in rodents this season and there has not (yet) been any nearby construction to disrupt them. Then I read a few articles that tied the mild winter to an increase in the rodent population. In most years, the deep freezes will kill off part of the population. But this year the thermometer has rarely dipped below freezing.
Just another perk of global warming, right? I just finished reading The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker, a work of fiction where the days begin to grow longer causing a chain reaction effecting the whole ecosystem. Doesn’t seem too far fetched, really.
Perhaps some day the mice will rule the world?
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