Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

FIL had a mouse run up his trousers once and MIL, DH et all still think it is hysterical after 45 years.

Both sides of my Dad's family used to work the threshing engines for generations, so we have ancestral knowledge of dealing with vermin; tie up yer trews.

Old skool mousetraps used to have names like The Sentry and The Little Nipper. These are the springloaded type, bit messy but effective.

There are rats around Shorbox Towers as we are in a city centre by a river. We also have foxes and occasionally muntjac deer. The bigger animals seem to come down the city centre on the green corridors formed by the cycle ways. I also had a daredevil squirrel dart under my bike wheels on a nearby road. Mum was sitting in the park in another town on Weds and one of the cheekly little beggars jumped on the bench beside her, leaned on her leg with its forepaws and looked up at her demanding grub.

mardatha

Helen I'd agree with alibobsy & annie, a referral might take forever and come to nothing, and gps sometimes don't seem to realise what real life is like re jobs and wages.
In this house it's the RV (6ft macho biker Scots male ratty virgo aka husband) who's terrified of rodents they don't bother me at all. I get traps, he baits them, I dispose of contents. I actually find pet rats and mice dead cute - and I totally love ferrets. We get the odd wee field mouse in the house every winter - last year I went to the loo at 2am and one ran over my bare foot. He was so soft and warm, reminded me they are wee fellow creatures on this earth, but you can't share your food with them eh.
We only had rats when I had hens, they were living in next doors compost heap behind the coop. We tried a few poisons but in the end it was my pal the stray ginger tom, who got rid of them for us.

Caterina

Stilt walker welcome to the thread and congratulations for your wedding!

Paidinchickens crossing fingers for your OH today, best wishes!

Meme, reading about your Christmas prep makes me glad that it is only the 4 of us and if we wished we could just have beans on toast! I hate family gatherings, perhaps because both my family and DH's are "less than harmonious" to use a very weak euphemism! But I am also a bit envious (in the best possible way) of lovely, warm, conflict-free family gatherings, I just don't know how people do it!

greenbee

VJsmum wrote: »

Best wishes Paidinchickens - will be thinking of you today.

We had a squirrel in the loft - it did chew through wiring.

You bait a squirrel trap with peanut butter - crunchy. But we had a discerning squirrel who wouldn't eat value brand!

Apparently if you do catch it you have to drive it miles and miles away or it will beat you back down the road :rotfl:

One Sunday night OH went up in the loft and was bashing and clattering about with a metal bar and cries of "come here you Bast*** could be heard by all.

In the end OH just kept breaking up its nest and in the end it got fed up and moved out.

Squirrels are vermin, so if you catch them you're not allowed to release them...
http://www.greysquirrelcontrol.co.uk/law.php

mardatha

LOL Caterina - I never had any family gatherings as I was an only one, both sets of grandparents/aunties etc lived a fair bit away, so I had this lovely mental pic of life with a big family being like "The Railway Children"...:rotfl:
We've had some truly awful family xmas days... when hubby was younger his (utter pain in the a$$) dad used to insist on the two of them going for a drink on xmas eve, getting guttered, often arguing, home very late, then a hangover on xmas day when I needed him to help and join in. I was glad sometimes to be working xmas, got more goodwill and cheer in the wards than I did at home
I'm not a lover of xmas at all, prefer new year its much more upbeat & fun.

Sunshine4

Caterina and Mardatha
Same here we just have the two of us on xmas day. We are allways invited to sisters but we always refuse, as all they do is drink and argue all day. Where as we have a very peaceful day on our own.:)

Meme30 Yours sounds lovely

[Deleted User]

Hello 12 MONTHS - Welcome aboard, I don't see there being a problem with Loo Rolls as your first stash item, I was always told start at the bottom and work your way up, it's only a new slant on that isn't it? Cheers Lyn.

Sunshine4

paidinchickens Best wishes for today Will be thinking of you both.

VJsmum

greenbee wrote: »

Squirrels are vermin, so if you catch them you're not allowed to release them...
http://www.greysquirrelcontrol.co.uk/law.php

Blimey - I didn't know that. Glad we didn't catch one then :eek:

Caterina wrote: »

But I am also a bit envious (in the best possible way) of lovely, warm, conflict-free family gatherings, I just don't know how people do it!

I am not 100% convinced they do. My friend has to have a gathering with her OH's family every christmas. THey take it in turns to host but all are expected to attend - so 1 year in 3 said friend has to cater for 8 adults and 7 children. THey barely see each other for the rest of the year and, whilst I think they have an ok time, friend and her kids bitterly resent that they don't get a choice. Kids got dragged away from toys either to tidy up for guests or to go out. Since we've had kids we spend christmas day at home - anyone is welcome but we don't leave. Tell a lie 4 years ago we had christmas in the caravan because i knew it was likely to be mum's last christmas (it was ) and I wanted to spend it with her. We had a fab time but the kids said they wanted to not do that again - unless there were similar circumstances.

We have family gatherings around christmas but not on it the day itself. This year we are having one on the 15th which SIL is hosting - makes far more sense.

Mind you, when I was little I had an aunt and uncle who ran a pub so we used to all go there some years. THey'd open up for the lunchtime session (no food in those days) and then, come 3 o'clock the whole lot of us would eat xmas dinner in the bar and play games etc. It was fab. One customer would walk in on christmas morning dressed in all his christmas presents - new jumper with alarm clock pinned on it, or socks, a couple of hats, three shirts, records pinned to his jumper - you get the picture. THe only year he didn't was the year he got a stereo:rotfl:

My marking and I are on a train to London in a mo - get far more done and I don't pay the fare (OH works for railways). Was going to stay home but I'm dolled up for outside now and it's a shame to waste it! :cool:

annie123

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

I don't see there being a problem with Loo Rolls as your first stash item, I was always told start at the bottom and work your way up,

:rotfl: Lyn is there anywhere else you should start with loo roll other than the bottom :eek: and not sure about working your way up :eek::eek: