This Is Too Much. No, Seriously.
Just now, I was outside, trying to figure out why my puppy was barking at a window well. He's destroyed most of the window well covers --sigh. This one has a huge hole in it but he was just barking at it.
So, I shut him back inside and went to take a look.
Look at that!!!
What IS that??
Look, here's a better picture of one of them.
Are they mice? If they ARE mice, do they have to be that cute?
Okay, I did a little research (love Google) and I think this might be a Woodland Vole.
Which is just TERRIBLE NEWS.
First of all, I don't know if I've already mentioned this but we have this infestation of ladybugs in our master bathroom. I think they came in when we brought the plants in for the long winter.
Y'all. I have been losing sleep over those dumb lady bugs: Do they have enough to eat? How do I get them back outside? What if my bubble bath is toxic to lady bugs? What is the life expectancy of a lady bug, anyway? What if I accidentally squash one? Now that they are in my bathroom, I feel very responsible for them!
And now this! Now VOLES!
And it gets worse! It turns out that this species of the Vole is MONOGAMOUS. How can I possible exterminate rodents that share my core values??
Plus, okay, even if I don't off the little suckers, how am I going to keep the cats away from them? Our cats wear bells but they are sneaky, sneaky buggers. And the puppy...he's already proven to destroy window-well covers and they're NOT EVEN ALIVE.
Of course, they may NOT be voles--I didn't see any tails on the little guys.
(Back to Wikipedia. Much clicking.)
Oh, okay, they're SHREWS.
I think.
(And, in some version of life being stranger than fiction, they appear to be misplaced SOUTHERN Short-tailed Shrews. Normally not found in the North.)
(Just letting that sink in for a second.)
(Is it just me or does anyone else think it's strange that a misplaced Southerner shows up in the yard of another misplaced Southerner?)
(Of course, the SHREW is venomous.)
(Just, you know...sayin'. Just thinking that certain misplaced Southerners are better equipped than others.)
So, for those of you keeping score at home, now I have a master bathroom infested with ladybugs, two misplaced Southern, venomous shrews (who may or may not share my core values) living in my window wells AND I need to go out and buy all new window well covers to keep my pets OUT of the window wells.
This could happen to you, too, right? Maybe it already has?
Right. That's what I thought.
So, I shut him back inside and went to take a look.
Look at that!!!
What IS that??
Look, here's a better picture of one of them.
Are they mice? If they ARE mice, do they have to be that cute?
Okay, I did a little research (love Google) and I think this might be a Woodland Vole.
Which is just TERRIBLE NEWS.
First of all, I don't know if I've already mentioned this but we have this infestation of ladybugs in our master bathroom. I think they came in when we brought the plants in for the long winter.
Y'all. I have been losing sleep over those dumb lady bugs: Do they have enough to eat? How do I get them back outside? What if my bubble bath is toxic to lady bugs? What is the life expectancy of a lady bug, anyway? What if I accidentally squash one? Now that they are in my bathroom, I feel very responsible for them!
And now this! Now VOLES!
And it gets worse! It turns out that this species of the Vole is MONOGAMOUS. How can I possible exterminate rodents that share my core values??
Plus, okay, even if I don't off the little suckers, how am I going to keep the cats away from them? Our cats wear bells but they are sneaky, sneaky buggers. And the puppy...he's already proven to destroy window-well covers and they're NOT EVEN ALIVE.
Of course, they may NOT be voles--I didn't see any tails on the little guys.
(Back to Wikipedia. Much clicking.)
I think.
(And, in some version of life being stranger than fiction, they appear to be misplaced SOUTHERN Short-tailed Shrews. Normally not found in the North.)
(Just letting that sink in for a second.)
(Is it just me or does anyone else think it's strange that a misplaced Southerner shows up in the yard of another misplaced Southerner?)
(Of course, the SHREW is venomous.)
(Just, you know...sayin'. Just thinking that certain misplaced Southerners are better equipped than others.)
So, for those of you keeping score at home, now I have a master bathroom infested with ladybugs, two misplaced Southern, venomous shrews (who may or may not share my core values) living in my window wells AND I need to go out and buy all new window well covers to keep my pets OUT of the window wells.
This could happen to you, too, right? Maybe it already has?
Right. That's what I thought.
Comments
we have voles up here and they are so dumb they drown in rain puddles...
I know nothing about voles and shrews, although my friend did find a dead star nosed mole in her yard. Google that one. Yuck!!!!!
Bethany
In your bathroom.
As for the voles. Get some live traps (Walmart or something like that), and trap the buggers and set them loose ELSEWHERE. Far away. THEY BITE AND ARE NOT VERY FRIENDLY. While their bite is likely not venomous, they are pretty painful, and they have sharp teeth and carry all sorts of the same sort of diseases (including black plague)--best to remove them QUICKLY.
And don't let your animals find them--this means taking them somewhere wooded and letting them find a new home...at least 5 miles or more away.
Shop vac those suckers out of there. It's not worth it.
Call animal control for the vole/shrew/rodent thing honey. If they are venomous, I sure don't want you or the dogs are cats getting a hold of them.
The shrews aren't poisonous to people. Just small things like earthworms, etc. --maybe even mice. I do want to keep my cats away from them because nothing ruins a good granola, earthy, live-and-let-live Mama moment like having to pick up the carcasses of all the tiny rodents my (well-fed) cats kill.
Why yes, Hypocrisy R Us!
Then what!!!????
You're never gonna sleep again, are you.
And let's not talk about the uncleanliness of rodent excrement in your foodstuffs, okay?
Wildlife belongs outside. Everyone's better off that way!
We recently had some sort of pantry moth infestation. Nothing like snacking from an open container of raisins and glancing in (while chewing) to see white grub-like larvae in amongst the fruit...
Sorry, I just had to share that. I can't eat raisins at all now.
Do the ladybugs automatically migrate outside as it warms up? I'm guessing they do. I'd google it to be sure, though.
http://www.ladybuglady.com/infestation.htm
I can tell you how to identify the furry critters with certainty. Separate them, and ask each one about the other. If you hear either of them say, "Well, bless her heart, that tramp," you definitely have Southern shrews.
Oh, yeah, and I look after ladybugs too.
This is why I love reading your blog. Just have to say.
Years ago we had mice in the kitchen cupboards, the little bastards. Luckily I knew they were totally annoying before I saw one, since he could have come from his day job in Disney movies, he was so cute. Argh! There's a whole story about the night I thought the cat would help me Deal With The Mouse Situation...
Yet.
And I LOVED DK's method of determining if they're Southern Shrews. I would have just listened to hear if they squeak with a drawl.
I lived in NY for a couple years when I was a kid and I remember coming across one of those mole/vole/shrew critters. My mom and I both thought it was so cute that we tried to keep it for a pet in a terrarium. Poor thing died and I still feel bad about that too!
ps. What the heck are window wells??? (Says the girl from southern CA...)
As for the shrews - /sigh. I have a friend who made her husband drive around for an hour or so (to disoriente the skunk) so it wouldn't come back "home".
Yes. Skunk. (And he did it. Or said he did them off and slunk away to a favorite place for an adult beverage to wait the proper amount of time.)
Sarah