Ugh, mice.
There aren’t many things out in nature that legitimately scare me. I always try to keep in mind that all things in the environment, no matter how creepy, crawly, or eerie, exist for a reason and have a job to do. With the exception of the wolf spider that traveled way too quickly in my direction last summer, bugs and creepy crawlers don’t really make my hair stand on edge. But all of that reason, understanding of nature, and love for the environment fly right out the window when it comes to mice. I am absolutely petrified of them and always have been.
The last time a mouse breached our house was last fall. It was just beginning to get really cold outside and I was sitting on the couch one night, minding my own business, when two of our three cats ran through the house and laid next to their cat bed on the floor, meowing incessantly. Confused, I walked over to the bed and lifted it up only to have a small brown field mouse dart out from under it, run over my foot (eww, eww, eww!) and into the next room, the cats following its every move. I screamed so loud that my fiance was pretty sure I was being murdered and ran to my aid. He found me on our back porch, repeating ‘a mouse. There’s a mouse. A mouse in the house. You have to get the mouse.’ I refused to go back inside until he, with the help of our three cats, had tracked it down and brought it outside.
I completely lost it, I know. This year, our furry family has grown to a five-cat household. Go ahead, mice. Just try getting in here and surviving the winter, or a night, without being found out. I dare ya.
Orkin is gearing up for mouse season with their “Mouse in a House” choose-your-own-adventure game that puts players in the shoes of a rodent looking to survive the upcoming harsh winter season. You can try your hand at staying alive in the app below. How long will mouse-you last?
I survived right to the end. I hope the mice around our rural home aren’t so swift!
Orkin uses the latest technology and unparalleled training to develop an effective treatment to get rid of any and all pests that are disturbing your home. To learn more about pest control grounded in science, or to schedule an inspection, visit Orkin.com or call 1-800-800-ORKIN.
Orkin Fleece Winter Blanket Giveaway
We want you to stay nice and warm this winter, so we’re giving one lucky reader an Orkin fleece winter blanket (4’x6′). Use it to snuggle up on the couch for a family movie night, or hide under it when a mouse breaks into your house and all you can do is hide. Share some of your own rodent horror stories for a chance to win!
This giveaway is open to US entrants ages 18+ and will end November 19 at 11:59pm ET.
This giveaway was made possible by Orkin and PartnersHub. No incentive was provided and opinions are my own.
OMG I would die if I saw a mouse in my house. Wouldn’t suprise me out in our shed.
I have freaked out seeing a mouse at my work, but I have honestly never had to deal with one at home (knock on wood).
I’ve been lucky…I have never seen a mouse in any home we’ve lived in. I’m not freaked out by them alone, but an infestation would be a different story.
I have not had a rodent infestation luckily. But I had termite infestation that required professional removal.
I have not seen any mice but I would freak out if I did!
janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com
We decided to clean our laundry room one day. Keep in mind that this was during the winter in the cold of Illinois. As we were cleaning, we moved to dryer, to find an ENTIRE nest of baby mice underneath. It was AWFUL!!
Oh, I remember oh so well that 36 years ago I came across a mouse in a closet that I was cleaning out. I had only been married for 2 years and was pregnant with my first child. My husband worked away on the riverboats for 30 days at a time. and of course, he was gone. I had grown up in a small town but this place was rural and was close to the Ohio River. When I saw it, I nearly froze and wanted to run. But, I knew if I ran, he’d still be there. Somehow, this little 19 year old pregnant gal who had never before seen a mouse, found the courage to coax him to come to me. I swear he did. It took quite a few minutes but he actually came to me and I actually picked him up and carried him outside. I didn’t want to kill him. I still believe I did that. Couldn’t do it today. But, yes, I am all for the good ole’ ORKIN MAN!
Maybe not quite a freak out but I did have a moment. They had to remodel my bathroom after a leak and they left an open hole in bathroom floor for quite a long time. I was sitting there one evening and I just knew I saw something run by. Yet I had everybody looking but nobody saw anything. It happened like that two more times. Now I’m paranoid because I am starting to think it’s all in my head. Long story short with a happy ending, we finally found the mouse and got rid of it.
My mom freaked out,until I caught the little critter
I will NEVER forget the day that I was going to go the bathroom when I saw a mouse in my toilet!!!
haven’t seen any
ewwwww mice
we live by a field and we had field mice so we got a cat well needless to say we still have to trap them olloolololol
My husband assures that we do preventive maintenance so that I wont see a rodent. We have exterminator spare on a regular basis.
YEs, I had a mouse in my laundry room when I lived in Denver. I screamed so loud I wouldn’t do laundry for days. (my laundry room was in an outside room of my house). Finally got it taken care of. Why are those cute little things so dang scary. lol
i did one time it was a big rat i jumped on top of a tabel till it left
I’ve never freaked out, but there was a mouse in our ceiling once and we put it outside
I found a mouse a work once, but not at home. I made a guy get rid of the mouse at work.
no never
We have a few mice on the farm. We just set out traps and they were gone.
I encountered a few mice at work many years ago, the owner live trapped them and let them in a rural area.
Yes , i have seen a mouse before a few because we live near the woods so they are very common around here. I We set traps and usually that gets rid of them
we live by a field and we had field mice so we got a cat well needless to say we still have to trap them olloolololol
We actually just found a mouse a few months ago. I saw it running across the floor and I screamed! Can’t stand mice – except Mickey Mouse, of course. We called the exterminator quick! It took a few days, which were very uncomfortable for me, but finally got it!
Rodents can be so nasty! Glad I’m always able to kill them when I see them!
I’m very grateful I have not had a rodent in my house since I moved here.
We had mice years ago, & set traps & caught all the little boogers! They do creep me out!
Fortunately, I haven’t seen a mouse in my house EVER!
i’ve only seen a mouse once and thank goodness for that!
I have seen a mouse scurry by but I am a guy so I don’t get scared and yes I have had infestations but I end buy professional stuff and poison them myself with rat food..
Just this halloween a mouse got into my candy and ate all the twix….
When we lived in another home several years back we had mice. We tried traps and put peanut butter on them but they were smart and somehow got away with the peanut butter leaving footprint tracks throughout the house showing they were covered in the peanut butter. Smart little things. Nasty things finally got caught.
This product looks great! I LOVE Orkin!
I live in the country so mice are a part of life. I have only seen one once though. Thank goodness!!!!
I was working on a project and a mouse walked up to me to basically say screw you. I hit him with the hammer.
I don’t mind mice–kinda like ’em, actually–but I scream like a girl if I see one in the house! No logic, but there’s something about them being where they don’t beling that creeps me out.
my dad would use the sticky traps so we’d see mice on the glue
I have never seen a mouse in my house!
I never seen a mouse in my home.
This would be a fantastic win! PLUS it gets to be VERY cold here in Illinois. 🙂
EVEN A BABY MOUSE FREAKS ME OUT!
Before we moved we had field mice come in to get warm. We finally got a cat and he caught the mice for us instead of using mouse traps.
Oh my goodness yes, all too often! I live in the basement of the house which is where the mousey stuff starts, with four cats and two dogs in the house it gets quite an adventure and exercise for the poor mice lol! They play with it and then they kill it.
No, I have gotten used to them since moving to the country.
I have not seen any yet in my house. Hopefully I will not.
no mouses here-but i always keep my house exterminated
I’ve seen one mouse and that was too many.
I felt a rat on my leg when I was sleeping. I flung my leg out hard as I switched on the light and heard him bounce off the wall. ewwww
You know (knock on wood) since ive been living on my on 30+years now I have’t had a problem with mice, those little black ants.. that’s my issue, but I have pest control come quite often!
I’ve had mice in my house, but never to the extent that I had to get professional help. I keep traps in certain areas year round. The tricky part, for me, is remembering to check them regularly.
I’ve never freaked out about a mouse.
2 kittys equal no mice
One night I was sitting on the couch watching television. I had had a couple of glasses of wine so i was relaxed. A little mouse darted out under the couch by my feet and run across the run. Well I am terrified of any kind of rodent especially a mouse. I screamed and jumped up onto the couch. My teenage daughter and son came a running I told them what happened and my daughter said you sure you haven’t drunk too much wine. We had never had a mouse in our home before. They just laugh and went back into her room to play video games. It wasn’t twenty minutes and they started screaming. Ha, Ha ! The mouse had made it into her room. I told them that will teach them to laugh at there mama.
I only had a mouse in my house once, and when i saw it i ran straight into the door lol.
We trapped a mouse outside in our attached shed. Not too big of a deal since it’s more of an outbuilding than my house, but still not great news. The REALLY great news was when I walked into my bathroom to get ready for bed and saw this teeny tiny ball of fluff. We apparently had caught Mama and now the babies were hungry and wandering and managed to find their way IN. Ugh! I was torn between horrified at the mouse and horrified that it was a baby that wasn’t going to survive either way because we had killed it’s mother. So I’m squeamish….but a softie.
I put out some rat poison for mice in my attic. They ate it, and died in the walls. My bathroom smelled like death. A few days later, I had thousands of flies coming in from the vents in the ceiling. It was awful. Next time, I’m calling Orkin.
I have to bring my porch plants inside the house during winter.I didn’t know I would be bringing a mouse in with one of them.I screamed and my dog killed it.
only when I was a girl, my grandma was walking through the kitchen I saw one before I could let her know unknowing she stepped on it–splat!
I grew up in the country where mice were abundant. I have seen mice aplenty, but usually dead because the cat got to them. When you live in the country you really need cats. I do not fear mice, but I take precautions when I spot one near the house.
I freaked out at my boyfriend’s place! We got the Orkin traps right away!
We were replacing our kitchen cabinets and were taking out the old cabinets, while doing so, we found a mouse in the very back of a cabinet – it had been dead for a while. That was pretty scary.
No, i don’t get scared of mice, probably because we have a ball python and that’s what we feed him so i am quite use to seeing a mouse!
I haven’t had a mouse because I have cats. I would scream my head of if I dud. I did have a snake once, that was a less than glamorous scream.
The last appt we lived at we had a temporary rat problem, not inside but they were on our steps about 6 feet from the door which was too close for comfort. i called management right away who quickly sent an exterminator , it turns out that the building next door had a rat problem (living in the attic) and when they ‘took care of’ their problem, they moved next door (our place) thankfully it was resolved qickly, they were huge- and fast
I had a mouse in my first apt years ago I was standing on the coffee table calling my dad to come help me.. I was so scared.. LOL Luckily my dealings with mice have been few..
Mice don’t bother me. I’ve lived in the country. Now rats yes I had rat problem in Florida with the grapefruit rats
I have seen mice in my house and freaked out but even worse was when I was in middle school I was at my locker and looked down and a mouse was sitting on my shoe. I freaked out and ran.