All Rats are Mice, but not all Mice are Rats

We have captured two mice this week, and after examining their tails with some precision, I have to agree with Bananna that they are rats. Lil segmented pieced tails like one of those cattails (the plant, not the cat tail). We had purchased a live mouse trap, and it did nothing for 2 weeks except give the little things a free dinner each night. We were tired of poop everywhere, tired of the dog going crazy everytime it heard the Pit er Pat, so we went back to the store to get some kill traps.

We looked at them, though, and could not bring ourselves to do it. By this point, enough rage had built up inside of me that I really thought I could kill'em all, but when it came to the sight of those death traps, and the clean-up that would be required, we had to say no. So we bought a bigger live trap instead, for like 30 dollars, big enough to catch chipmunks and small squirrels. Big enough indeed, since the first day we set it we caught two. We know there is at least a third, and now I check the trap even more obsessive-compulsively than my email. I like not killing things, California.