Sparky was spooked by a chipmunk.

I never moved Sparky’s food bowl, and I still like to leave the patio door open so Sparky can wander out when I’m having coffee on the deck.  Another chipmunk ran into the house.  Or the same one, I don’t know.

Chipmunks are cute and active in the wild.  When a chipmunk comes in through an open door, it has no way to get out.  It’s trapped.  This isn’t going to end well.  The only way to get rid of a chipmunk is to leave the door open.  The chipmunk isn’t necessarily eager to leave.

Since they are small and skittish, you have to be quiet and still, and hope the chipmunk goes out the door to get the bait.  If you don’t see the chipmunk leave, you don’t know if has gone until it scampers around.

After the second chipmunk episode, I ordered this trap from Amazon.  Two for twenty bucks.  It’s really nice.  It’s a clever design and looks like it came from the future.

Sparky has the knowing about mouse traps, so leaves them alone if they are hard to reach.  Baited with peanut butter, he might try his luck if he’s really hungry.  With this trap, he can’t get to the prize.

A bigger worry is mouse poison.  Mice go in the barn.  Prior to Sparky’s association, I’d throw a few mouse poison blocks in the barn. 

“Mice are people too.  Leave them alone, and they will leave you alone.”

Cut it out.  Come see me when mice have gnawed on your beehive frames, shit all over the place, and you’ve got Hantavirus.

On second thought, don’t.  No need to see your hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.  Better you find palliative care, and leave me out of it.

I can put a poison block in one of these traps, and Sparky can’t get to it.  Mouse goes in, eats the fatal bait, and dies in the box.