When I visited my great aunt’s house in South Carolina this spring, she pointed out a little cast iron mouse perched on a bit of trim. “Did you see my mouse? You know, you have to have a mouse in your house!”
I had never heard of having a mouse in the house, but apparently, it is a thing. When I shared a tour of my great aunt’s house (you can see it HERE) and shared her mouse, several blog readers shared they have the same tradition. They’ll make a bit of a game of it and move the mouse around for their grandkids or anyone else who wants to play along to find.
I actually did an internet search on it and only came up with old tales of superstition about death upon the dwellers if a mouse eats their clothes and nonsense like that. I didn’t find anything useful about the tradition of having a mouse in your house.
Anyway, on our first full day in our new house, I received my first piece of mail and it was a package from my aunt. It was the best, most thoughtful housewarming gift. First, she sent me a print of The Porcupine, which I share in THIS POST. I cannot wait to frame it and hang it on the wall. Second, she sent a German glass cucumber ornament, which has a whole other story behind it. Lastly, she sent me a little cast iron mouse for our house.
Isn’t he so cute? It was just so thoughtful and kind of her. I put him on the shelves in our family room, where I’m sticking random decorative pieces until the floors are done.
But, this isn’t just a post about a sweet gift from my aunt. The story doesn’t end there, unfortunately. Things got a bit more exciting last week when I was unpacking boxes and moving things around to get ready for the wood floors to be put in three rooms. It started with a few moments when I thought I caught something moving out of the corner of my eye or a little fuzzy thing that I dismissed as one of Sebastian’s paws. Well, you can see where this is going… I finally saw, clear as day, a little mouse scurry across my dining room floor before he dodged under a wire shelf holding art supplies.
I let out the normal gasp that was a mix of startle, horror, and offense at the idea a rodent was in our living space. Jeff was spending a few days in Maine on a camping trip with a friend, so I notified him of the situation, but I then called my dad. Because that’s who you call when there is a mouse in your house. He happened to be on his way to our house, anyway, so he picked up a couple of humane traps. More importantly, my dad brings confidence and calm energy.
I kept working on unpacking and eventually spotted the furry invader again as it scurried behind a stack of French laundry baskets. I called Calvin in for help, grabbed a broom (naturally), and we tried to trap the mouse. We didn’t have a clear plan, but I had eyes on the mouse and I wanted to keep it that way. I grabbed wood panels (for painting) and made a fence around the pile of things where the mouse was. The plan worked really well until my dad and Marshall got home and, in the commotion, the mouse made a break for it and slipped under the hutch in the kitchen.
So, I barricaded it in.
Nailed it.
I mean, clearly, no mouse will ever be able to thwart that well-crafted design. I felt a bit like the old, French woman from Ratatouille, a bit manic and unhinged, irrational.
Sebastian was useless. Mice aren’t worth his time and he was more interested in my odd behavior. What I needed were our cats! Violet and Esmé would’ve at least tried to help. We set up the traps with chunks of cheddar cheese and did our best to go about our day. It was hard not to watch every step and get the creepy crawlies. Of course, I called a pest control company right away and they’ll be out on Monday to do an inspection, set some traps, and take care of other pest control treatments (to take care of spiders, stink bugs, and such.)
As a side note, the house was vacant when we viewed it and we didn’t see any evidence of rodent activity in any of the inspections. I think this one snuck in through an open door, which would make sense. The doors have been open more than usual as we’ve been moving things in and taking boxes out. Naturally, the concern is where did the mouse go? I keep opening a cupboard and expecting to find it nibbling on a crumb or digging in a bin of flour, but the traps are empty and the mouse has not been spotted again. I’m just thinking positive thoughts about that.
This event has also brought the movie MouseHunt to mind, which is a slapstick-silly moving, but it’s really funny. Christopher Walken kills me. I’m imagining myself picking up a tiny turd with tweezers…
I mean, you just have to laugh about it.
Let’s just hope that the only mouse in my house from now on is the thoughtful cast iron gift my aunt gave me.
This week, I’ll share more about the goings-on in the house last week including washing wallpaper glue off of every inch of our bedroom walls.
I purchased a small cast iron mouse at a local garden shop thinking it was something fun to have. I put my bag and the mouse down on the table to go grab my plants from the car. I was busy outside for awhile and when I walked into the kitchen I almost jumped out of my skin seeing a mouse on my table! I’m sure your cast iron mouse will be an interesting conversation piece. Hopefully the real mouse found a new home.
A mouse definitely causes me to exhibit unhinged irrational behavoir, yet I adore Beatrice Potter stories and all the sweet mice dressed up !
What a great story.
I collect tiny little mice. Hand made ones.
And…………one time I saw a mouse go in a small hall closet. I never opened that door again. When I moved, I left whatever was in it there.
We had a similar issue. I believe it worked it’s way into boxes we had in storage until we moved into our new home. Eventually the traps and peanut butter did the job.
Peanut butter instead of cheese. ?
I was also going to say peanut butter! I’ve had success with using it more than once. I think using cheese to attract mice to traps is an old wife’s tale.
LOVE the mouse from your aunt. Wondering if the cucumber ornament is the German pickle-in-the-Christmas-tree tradition.
Yes, that’s the tradition!
I have the pickle every year we place it in the tree & whoever finds it first gets an extra gift I also love giving them as Christmas gifts!
Pecan with peanut butter will work for bait every time.
Funny story and I hope by now you got your unwanted furry guest officially trapped. Peanutbutter works the best. ?
I was going to say the same thing, it most likely was in a box Marian had stored. It happened to me, too.
Yes, your cats would have enjoyed the entertainment!
I have two of this little metal mice. I arrange them in my charcuterie board around the cheese when entertaining. Guests get a chuckle out of them.
Oh boy, what excitement. The cold weather probably bringing them in too. That and food in the house. Where is your cat?
Will your cats be coming home?
Peanut butter instead of cheese. ?
Marian – I just need to tell you, I think that picture of the barricade is the absolute best! Thank you for sharing! lol
I would be living with your parents! Petrified of everything….
We spent many years living in rural Connecticut, moving there from suburban NJ. Upon finding mice, I mentioned to several people and their answers were all the same. “Yes, we all have mice.” So I calmed down and set about trapping them. Well, once mouse turned into 18, the number that I trapped myself the first winter. That spring we replaced the ancient garage doors and the following winter, just 8. They are not hard to trap, it’s knowing where they come in and paying attention to the signs of their existence. Mice continued to come into our house for the 12 years we lived there and I continued to trap them. Using a pest control company was not an option due to budget. So we loved to Ohio, and yes, there are mice here as well. Well, I’d had my fill of trapping and called pest control. Well, guess what? You need to call them every year. All the things they suggest to keep them out doesn’t keep them out. So this year I will again set my own traps. Peanut butter, not cheese, is the best bait.
I have a porcelain mouse that my grandchildren love because it reminds them of Reepicheep from Narnia !
Every fall I’d get mice coming in from the cold. An exterminator told me they can get through a dime sized hole so when changing the summer decor to Fall, I always put the traps out as well.
Your stories brought back move in memories from 32 years ago. I saw a furry little black creature scurry across the dining room floor. I screamed! Dave was able to confine it and remove it from the house but for months, I was on the lookout for his friends.
I’m wondering if the mouse snuck in via one of your boxes that were in storage? It’s quite possible – especially if there was no evidence of rodents during the inspections. However, as the nights get colder the mice find ways into even the most pristinely clean homes. He was probably just as scared as you!
If you have one, you have two. And yes, peanut butter not cheese.
Yes, my mom said that, too. We’ll change out the cheese for peanut butter!
This is the time of year when most people will begin seeing mice and critters as the weather is getting cooler and they are trying to find warmer surroundings. We usually always get one or two in our garage, so my hubby sets up a few traps. Cant wait to see the new floors!
I burst into laughter when I saw your barricade!!! I was working and a newlywed when we had a mouse infestation. I was so upset that my boss called me into his office and asked me, “What’s the problem?” thinking marital issues. As I cried, I wailed out “We havvvvvvve “MICE”!!! He just looked at me in stunned silence, said “WHAT?” and after I repeated myself, he just shook his head, ordered an extermination company into my little home and took care of it. I was so grateful. Yes, I do understand!!!
The weather has turned cold here and it probably just wanted a warm place to sleep. I do love the thoughtful gifts from your aunt – I can’t wait to hear how Violet and Ismay react to the little cast iron mouse. The vision of you tiptoeing around the house with a pair of tweezers made me giggle out loud 🙂
UGH! Just the thought makes me weak-kneed! I hope your mouse either makes its way back out, or you catch it asap. For sure peanut butter is the best lure. You only need a teeny weeny bit of it though, just enough on there that they can’t easily lick it off.
Last year we got a mouse in our CAR, of all things, and I had been driving around with that mouse IN THERE WITH ME without knowing it. The mouse made a big fluffy nest inside of a kleenex box we had in the car. My husband, the mouse hunter, caught it the first night by putting a trap on the passenger side floor, laced with peanut butter, of course! I had lots of people tell me their mouse-in-car horror stories after I recounted my story to them.
It is that time of year when mice will start moving in. We live in a rural area and will always have a mouse or two throughout the fall and/or winter. No matter how tight you think your house is, they can find the smallest hole. I think I would rather have the cast iron mouse. I hate setting the traps.
Peanut butter or pepperoni – it needs to smell to attract them and the pepperoni makes them have to work a little harder to get it. And put the traps near corners and edges, because that’s how they move. Colder weather makes them want to come inside!
Yes, peanut butter, or chocolate instead of cheese.
Try peanut butter in the trap. Also lavender and peppermint essential oils on cotton balls are repelling to mice
We have mice for the first time ever in 13 years sneaking into our lake house in Vermont during the night. It’s getting cold, poor things. My sisters are experienced mouse trappers. They suggested a conventional spring trap (most inexpensive). Spread a very light layer of Nutella on the base of the trap, not a glob because they are very sneaky and know how to bite off of the glob and not spring the trap. They LOVE chocolate (who doesn’t!). Also a tiny spread of peanut butter with a chocolate chip works. After doing this, go under your house and behind kitchen appliances with a can of spray foam that hardens after it is sprayed. Fill in any and every hole that is around a pipe if possible so they can’t get in from outside. Also the “plug in” mouse deterrent sonar things were also recommended by my neighbors! Good luck. And remember, things could be worse…..my daughter and family had mice getting under the hood and inside of their car and eating through the wiring. Now that’s a challenge with two toddlers who munch on Goldfish while in their car seats!
The thought of “a mouse scurrying under the wire shelf holding art supplies” is a cute little picture. I can see the paint brushes in his hand and some of your other things. I see a book coming…..
Oh Mary, I love it & hope Marian will write a book! Her writing is so good & she is blessed with a keen sense of humor – it would make for a wonderful children’s book!
That barricade is quite the creative endeavor! Artist at work. ?Definitely not your normal artwork. I actually have a little metal mouse like yours and he moves from place to place in our home. Fun!
Hoping your little living critter and any friends he might have choose to party elsewhere SOON!
We had mice in our garage once and I was told that they do not like peppermint so I put peppermint oil on cotton balls and placed them on our workbench. It worked. Did not see any more evidence of them hanging out. Just keep the balls where Sebastian and the kitties can’t get to them.
PS. Bless your Dad!
I hope the mouse has found a new home that is not yours! I have a very sweet pottery sugar bowl with two mice sitting on the lid as part of the handle. I bought it in Cornwall, England, in a town called Mousehole (pronounced mow-zel). I love it.
I keep mice away with strong smelling essential oils, like tea tree, peppermint, etc. I soak cotton balls and then put in basement, garage, around doorways. It will drive mice out if they’ve already taken up residence and keep out the ones considering moving in.
I had cats that would bring mice indoors to play with … the best way of catching them was with a vacuum cleaner hose pipe poked ito which ever crevice they ran to hid in. They are drawn to black holes. Once it was inside it was easy to carry it outside to run out the tube. Or I used a wellington boot once. xx
Mice aren’t the sharpest animals in the rodent kingdom. Once they are cornered, they seem to think that if they don’t move, no one can see them. I have caught mice by dropping an open cardboard box on top of them. Carefully slide a piece of cardboard under the box and take them away from the house for release. I’ll have to try the vacuum pipe. Clever.
Occasionally, we have had a bat fly into the house. Now THAT freaks me out . . .
Last summer, we moved into a new-to-us home in Colorado. On the second day there, we found a rattlesnake in the garage *faints* In Colorado, snakes are considered “nongame wildlife” and cannot be killed unless there is a direct threat, so we had to call a snake handler. After some time, he ended up finding not one, but two *faints again* and casually mentioned that if we had snakes in the house, we most assuredly also had mice. *ready to leave Colorado* The pest control people use a mouse bait that you can buy from Tractor Supply or similar farm store. It is supposed to make them thirsty so they leave the house in search of water.
DCon is a bait which makes the mice thirsty; in fact, it dries them out. When you find them, they are completely emaciated. Two bad things: it must be a slow and agonizing death, and anything that will eat that mouse will then also ingest the poison. Simple traps which kill the mice instantly are best. Glue traps are inhumane.
oh myyyy, we had a little fam. of mice once, in the house, AND GET THIS, I found the MOTHER on our bed, ewwwwwwwwww, once I spotted her, she plopped off the side of the bed and ran to her babies,… it took a cat, our grown son, my husband to get her and the children, THANK GOODNESS, I was traumatized, and no one slept in that room for 2 years. no joke!!!! Since then, we’ve had maybe 2? odd times, (I made my hubs block ALL HOLES, all baseboard cracks, etc etc.) but!
He/men are not as concerned w. mice in the house,
So here’s what I did, I announced the mouse family shannanigans TO THE WHOLE FAM. at THANKSGIVIING DINNER what we had happen, ….heheh, he plugged those holes so fast after we got home….
p.s. OTHERS then said yes they had mice on the bed once too, LOTS of mice stories came out. but still EWWWW
so we are not alone, lol,…..heheh….( PLUS the mice make sure of that too.)
p.s.s. BACON on a trap with p. butter on the bacon.
is a SURE THING most times for us. and make sure your traps SPRING. are not duds! 😉
My daughter had one in her car. eek! That rascal dodged every trap that she set after eating the “treats” she used to bait the traps. This went on for days, but finally it was caught in one of the traps and the mouse, alas, is no longer whinnying with us. (Credit to Dylan Thomas, “A Child’s Christmas in Wales”)
Where can I purchase a metal.mouse?
I’ve got all my mice with a tiny bit of peanut butter. Where you put the trap is inputs to. About 2 inches away from the skirting board in a traffic area.
Where are those two precious kitties of yours? They would have a hay day playing/trapping the little critter! Otherwise, I agree with all the comments above!
When you ‘house’ one mouse, you have 2! True ‘dat. Peanut butter instead of cheese-another mousse-truth! These people know their stuff! I am IN South Carolina and can attest to those statements, as well as the Southern oddity of “having to have a mouse in your house”-as your Great Aunt said. My daughter bought a darling “door mouse” and he keeps her bedroom door open and adds precious charm-it is cast iron and has the piece that goes under the door on the back. Adorable. Equally adorable though surprising is the visualization of an Actual Mouse! It is quick and stunning–and funny and slightly icky at once. Poor Mouse- and I have had Beatrix Potter read to me from ages ago and consider her to be one of the world’s great women! She created the Land Trust in the Lakes District of England, having purchased thousands of acres in her lifetime, all due to her God-given talent and her spirit of creativity and love of imagination, story-telling, drawing and painting and her sheer determination aided by the man she loved who helped her publish, who died before they could marry and the man she did eventually marry whom she had known as a young girl from that area where she took refuge and bought her “cunning little cottage” and proceeded to go where Peter Rabbit had seemingly led her.
Back to mice! Love Mousehunt-just fun 🙂 ! The critters-yep, I’m from S.C.- don’t seem to have actual bones in their little bodies as they can come in through the tiniest and most obscure of openings. I had to be after one after I had moved also! And of course, there were two. I indulged with a bit of brownies and vanilla ice-cream in bed-you know,! Moving!–and didn’t even have the energy to take the bowl back to the kitchen so I put it in a safe place, turned out the bedside lamp and settled in. Yes, there was a tiny bit left. I always feel as though if I leave something, even one bite, on my plate, I am somehow helping my self control, lol! In a moment- I heard something and yes, it was the defiant little mouse- and I mean defiant! It did not but blink when I turned on the lamp!! It had the temerity to sit there, looking all cute and mouse-like, eating a bit of ice cream covered brownie! I just watched it-I mean, I knew it was there before and had ‘been after it’ but this thing was So Nervy’! Honestly, I can see it in my mind’s eye right now and this was a number of years ago! I love your attempt to create the barrier-and your apt description. Funny. And, yes, the Father is always the one to call and he brings with him those capabilities along with the right tools for whatever the job might be! I had to call my Dad(dy) one year early in the morning as a snake was after the baby birds I was apparently providing a wonderful home for them t grow up in on my covered front porch- and again, this was just after a move! My new baby and I manned the inside-I had a plastic baseball bat and a badminton racket while Dad, up from the breakfast table, trousers on top of his pjs and correct tools in town, took care of business from the outside of the door the snake decided to try to wriggle under! Let’s just say that Dad prevailed and he knew the snake would come right back after the birds, so he did have to dispatch it- as it were- and this was a man who didn’t want to even kill spiders! but what a tale- and now you have one for the ages, to be grateful for now and remember in your mind’s eye and heart forever-Dad has been gone for some years now, having lived to a ripe old age. It was his family that read Peter Rabbit to us ALL- ensconced in “our” beach house in his native Florida. But I did share a cottage with them on Isle of Palms before! I tell this story with a feeling of deep love and appreciation for all things family, Southern or not, and all things creative and with the gratitude that a child, having been read to with great gusto and just the right intonations and fervor, retains. And this old girl retained a lot. When I was working in my daughter’s elementary schools and reading to them, I was able to hold their rapt attention by reading in the same manner as my Grandmother Spencer read to my Dad (and to my sister and me) and Dad read to us, I read to mine and then…on it goes. Paint the mouse! You “owe” it that much- and who knows, Beatrix may send a smile your way, too! Warmly, Terri from the South.
I have an old banjo leaning against a cupboard, last week I hear a sound and look to see a mouse running up the banjo, so I grabbed a trap,grocery bag and peanut butter…cause this gal isn’t touching anything with a critter in it….next morning mouse.trap and bag and out to the trash..One less mouse in Maine..
Looking forward to watching your makeovers..
EWWW!! I just watched the movie clip, and jumped when he popped that mouse turd in his mouth 😛
Reminded me of Chip Gaines and the crazy disgusting things he’d pop in his mouth during a walk-through with their clients, LOL
Just came upon your blog a few months ago, Marian, and look forward to your daily emails…:D
I have electric traps from Victor that are very humane and work very well. I bait with pnut butter.
Christopher Walken steals the show in Mouse Hunt!! We’ve had our share of mice over the years. It gives me the creeps, too!
Gasp! Slight calcium deficiency? 😎
We had a terrible problem with mice the last few years we lived in our house. For future reference – cheese isn’t a particularly enticing treat for mice. Peanut butter works great – and my son had particularly good luck with a donut.
Having always lived on a farm, mice are just a part of life. Cats take care of them – one reason they are so indispensable. However, there is sometimes the odd one that escapes detection. In those cases, my mother would catch them in little containers and walk out into the woods to release them. My dad would tease her and say the mouse probably beat her back to the house but we wouldn’t find one again for a long time. I loved the Brambley Hedge stories growing up (still do) and loved to imagine all the wonderful homes the mice had out in our woods. An infestation would not be a good thing but the odd mouse here and there is just part of living in this wonderful world in which we all have a role to play. I have a little wooden mouse that sits on a shelf in my kitchen hutch. So far, the cats leave that one alone. 🙂 Love your little iron mouse. Hope he brings lots of joy in your new home.
Mice are not my favorites of little critters. Bad experience when I was pregnant with my first son. My Rottie Oz use to bring them to me in his mouth and drop them at my feet. Never could get use to that little treat. Marion, I do say, I loved the barricade.
We once lived in an old house and yes we had mice. We finally redid our kitchen and found out where they were coming in and plugged up the holes where the house had settled. We enjoyed a mouse free home for awhile until someone left the door open and one snuck in. It ran over my daughter’s foot first and she screamed. I had just got done telling her that it was not a big deal when it ran over my foot and I screamed as well. We had a good laugh about it. We managed to trap it and again no more mice. Hopefully you are able to trap yours or it’s moved out. No fun having a little furry unwelcome visitor in your house. But I am sure when your cats return they will be very helpful in that area.
Once upon a time, I was in my kitchen at the table, cutting out a pattern. I thought I saw someting out of the corner of my eye, but dismissed that. Then a few minutes later, there was the nose and 2 beady eyes, peeking at me from under the overn. Of course I did the smart thing and jumped up on a kitchen chair. Next, I went running to my neighbors house in a total panic because there was baby mouse under my oven. Eventually, the neighbor came to re rescue with a trap. It was just a baby!! I thought why are we huge human beings afraid of a tiny rodent with a tail?? I DON’T KNOW!!!
But that night, when I went to bed I made sure the door was closed tight and put my slippers on top of the bed so I wouldn’t have to worry about putting them on in the mornig with a mouse in them… 🙂 🙂 🙂
But, I know how you feel, Marian!!!!
I lived in an old house that would get the occasional seasonal mouse. Without fail, the first thing they would ALWAYS go for was chocolate, like kisses or M&Ms. If there was chocolate in the house, they would find it and bypass absolutely everything else.
Good luck with the wee critter.
Also, that tiny mouse that your aunt sent you is adorable! I Iove it!
In the case of the German ornament, the cucumber is actually a Pickle?
If you value the other ornaments on your tree, I would suggest leaving the Christmas Pickle tradition to your German friends?
Well, maybe your boys aren’t as Competitive as ours?
I haven’t laughed this hard in a while. I’ve never seen that movie, so when Walken popped the turd in his mouth, I was crying-laughing for a few minutes, then I called my son, and we both were cracking up. Personally, I have two outdoor cats, one is 12 and the other is 10 years old, and let me tell you, they more than earn their keep by being the most ferocious mouse hunters ever. They not only do mouse hunting duty in my property, but I have 3 neighbors that have seen them in their yards “playing” with the critters. If you think mice are disgusting, don’t even let me get started on rats. They (the cats) also “play” with those, too. I have a computer room with French doors, that looks out onto a lanai area, so sometimes if they bring their little friends to play with, we get front row seats for the show. Cats are the most amazing hunters, but they can also be very cruel, and even if they just had their meals, they still hunt and kill vermin. I sometimes almost feel sorry for the mice…
One fall, my then five year old daughter came around the corner on her way into the kitchen just as a mouse was venturing out of the kitchen. I was behind my daughter and saw the entire incident with my own eyes. They saw each other at the same moment. My daughter began an extremely high-pitched scream which sent the mouse into a full blown seizure that ended in it falling over dead. I kid you not. I have never seen anything like it before or since. It was the only time I came even remotely close to feeling sorry for a mouse that was in my house. My dear girl kept screaming and the poor mouse kept shaking. Wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it.
The worst mouse we ever got in the house was one who was a broad as she was long – we were fixing to have a houseful of baby mice. Oh, my!
My dog used to growl at them when they would come into my apartment in Dallas a long time ago. The complex backed up to a big field of sunflowers which was beautiful, but the critters that came with it did not amuse me. I set some traps with peanut butter and got two or three. The dog went nuts when the trap would spring! I think they must have passed the word about my dog, though, because they ran like crazy when he growled. And then I didn’t see any more.
You obviously know very little of mice….you could build the Great Wall of China and you’d never keep them out/in! And yes, peanut butter works every time! As far as humane traps go…where would you release it? I assume you’ve heard “I’ll be back”? If, in fact, it came in from outdoors, there WILL be more so brace yourself. Hopefully, it came in with your stored boxes/furniture and it will be the only one….she said while laughing her hiney off!
We had mice in our garage when we moved in two years ago. I live with my daughter and her family now. She got some plug-ins for the sockets in the garage that send out a signal that is supposed to keep them away. They appear to be working.
Hi. Please don’t let the pest control people use glue traps!
Now I need to get an iron mouse to see the reactions from my own cats
Hmmmmmm…Is this dwelling in the country at all? If so, pest control will control very little for a very little while. Perhaps they can give you a few thoughts on DIY “pest” control. It just what you get with what you get…though I do believe all this has been said in previous posts.
Oh yeah every year in NH it is that time for mince to find a happy home for the winter. Everyone is correct from figuring out where they come in to the peanutbutter bit. I have a brass mouse with a long tail that slants upwards. I use the tail as a ring holder.
We live in a 100 + year old house that has lots of mice-sized openings despite 40 years of trying to block every access. My husband abhors dead things so I have to capture and dispose of all critters, which does not bother me at all except for the fact that I startle very easily. I can handle anything except being startled…I had a broken foot 2 years ago (just like you, Marian!) and was couch-ridden for months. There was a particular mouse who would come into the dining room and taunt me because there was no way I could reach him in time. It was every night for a month until I was mobile enough to set traps.
In an another incident, a mouse meandered into our living space and I grabbed the closest weapon I could find, an empty coke bottle. This proved very ineffective as my husband and daughter dissolved into laughter as I tried to bean that mouse with such a small diameter. I got the broom and swept him into a corner where I could keep him cornered. My daughter got out my college-text Bible and proceeded to drop in on the mouse, killing him quite thoroughly, much to my dismay. She didn’t use the plastic covered dictionary or thesaurus, she used my 35 year old Bible. I don’t think I will ever open it up again with those memories in me.
Do not use sticky traps as they are very ineffective. Try to find the outside entrances the mice use and place traps around that area. We finally found a good pest control service and it is worth it.