Friday, September 22, 2023

Of mice and stags

Section:

In his first column as our rural affairs correspondent, Charles Mitford Cust tells of the stags rutting near his Devon home and discovers a remedy that sends mice on their merry way

 

Down here in deepest Devon, the red deer rut has started and the majestic sight of the powerful stags proudly displaying their magnificent new antlers, freshly out of velvet, is an everyday occurrence on the hill opposite my house. At night my sleep is disturbed by their roaring, the primeval challenge to rivals for the possession of the beautiful young hinds in the locality. No political correctness in the deer world, the biggest and strongest stags get all the girls, and the wimpy nerds go without.

 

However, it is not the roar of the stags which has been disturbing my sleep for the last few weeks but rather creatures from the other end of the animal kingdom, at least in terms of size, which have moved into my loft since the early autumn has brought its customary evening chill, namely mice.

 

A red stag in bracken

 

Mice can be a serious problem in any house. They have a penchant for eating their way through electrical cable amongst other things and if left alone, breed prodigiously and become a real health hazard. Unfortunately my mice are old hands at avoiding any conventional methods of reducing their numbers. I have tried every type of trap that has ever been invented and every sort of bait, cheese, chocolate, peanut butter, the lot. I also have tried every type of poisoned bait, but they simply laugh at my efforts.

 

In frustration, I splashed out on the most expensive mouse trap ever designed which consists of a labyrinth of tunnels leading to an electric execution chamber which supposedly fries the mouse in a millisecond with a high voltage shock. Despite the manufacturers claim that this is the most effective mouse killing device ever devised by man, my  ‘uber mice‘ merely regarded it as an amusing challenge as they ate their way through the hard plastic wall of the execution chamber and helped themselves to the peanut butter whilst managing to stay clear of the 1000 volt electrodes.

 

In despair, I turned to Google in my search for ancient remedies, as clearly the latest technology wasn’t working, and I found a most unlikely solution, peppermint oil. It turns out that the one thing mice really cannot stand is the smell of peppermint. It seems that your average mouse would rather face being dropped into a house full of cats whose senile owner has accidently got on a plane to Australia and left them starving than find themselves within a mile of a single drop of pure peppermint oil.

 

Just the scent of this wonderful smelling liquid, was enough to send my mice packing. In fact when I went up into the loft with the intention of placing a few drops in half a dozen upturned bottle tops, I actually saw mice scurrying from their hiding places within a single second of unscrewing the lid. That was proof enough for me.

 

Follow Charles Mitford Cust on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/mitfordcust

 

Now my loft is perfumed with the sweet scent of peppermint rather than mouse droppings and the only noise at night is the roar of the stags, but they are music to my ears and finest lullaby nature can provide.

The Steeple Times
The Steeple Times
We research and background check our articles. If you believe we have made and error in some detail please get in touch, we seek always to write the truth and stand against a press owned by a self selected few. Please help us, we will accept all your likes, subscriptions and anonymous suport. The Editor and his team at the Steeple Times.

2 COMMENTS

  1. I appreciate this highly useful information. Mr Bone will be despatched to purchase some peppermint oil this very afternoon. I will let you know how we get on, Mr Mitford Cust. Thank you.

    • Thank you, please be sure to buy 100% pure essence of Peppermint oil with no impure additives. Most chemists like Boots stock it. It is surprisingly expensive, over £20 for a small bottle, but that should last at least a year if you re-apply once a month to some upturned bottle tops wherever mice are troubling you.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

£1 per week Supports The Steeple Times

Help journalism to remain honest & independent. You can make a difference to the world today.

3,573FansLike
2,068FollowersFollow
16,694FollowersFollow
4,962SubscribersSubscribe

Subscribe For DAILY NEWS

Please subscribe, like and share this unique site, it helps us tremendously. The Steeple Times in return will send you an email at noon each and everyday, that we sincerely hope you will enjoy & look forward to seeing in your inbox.

AD
Advertisement

Trending Now

‘Comeback King’ Kevin Spacey – Actor Seeks To “Leave The Nonsense Behind”

As Kevin Spacey’s eccentric ‘friend’ Geoffrey Mark claims the “exonerated” actor will now “leave the nonsense behind” and begin his comeback, we remind of his friendships with ‘curious sorts’ including Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Harvey Weinstein.

Summer Silly Season Stories 2023 – ‘The Steeple Times’ Is Back

Matthew Steeples highlights the stories he’s been following during the ‘silly season’ summer of 2023 – amongst them matters Ghislaine Maxwell and Rudy Giuliani and podcasts about ‘true crime’ as a genre.

Most Popular Articles

The Phil & Matt Show

Phillip Schofield filmed smoking shisha with his alleged ex-lover Matt McGreevy (and pictured in bed thereafter); another image shows the pair together in photograph...

SchofieldLite

‘Politicalite’ suggest Phillip Schofield orchestrated his ‘mass coming out’ after a former ‘This Morning’ runner had gone to the press about a supposed relationship...

Was Mucky Minx Meghan Markle A ‘Yacht Girl’ For ‘Randy Andy’?

As author Kirby Sommers suggests that the then Meghan Markle likely spent time with Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein before she met Prince Harry, we again highlight the mucky, murkiness and mendacious manner of this alleged “yacht girl.”

Meddling Meghan Markle Expose – Attwood, Hopkins & Steeples

Expose interview with Matthew Steeples by Shaun Attwood and Jennifer Hopkins about the former Meghan Markle watched over 73,000 times in 16 hours since it aired; Steeples condemns hapless Prince Harry and his meddling menace wife.

Justice for James Scurlock

Power of social media proven after senseless killing of James Scurlock in Omaha, Nebraska allegedly by a controversial bar owner named Jake Gardner who has been photographed with Donald Trump.

Ampika Pickston

Oldham born divorcee and former glamour model Ampika Pickston describes herself as “feisty, fun loving and warm hearted”. Now based in Hale Barns, Cheshire...

Most Liked...

Messing About in Boats

Thameside cottage where ‘Lewis’ was filmed for sale; it is just the perfect place for ‘messing about in boats’ Two episodes of the Inspector...

No. 1, The Thames – Kent Gun Tower For Sale For...

No. 1, The Thames – Kent Gun Tower For Sale For Sum 92% Lower Than In 2020
Derelict gun tower on the Kent coast for sale for just £150,000 after it failed to sell previously for £1.9 million.

Nasty NestSeekers

Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in Sag Harbor during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.

Branding Henley’s Wallaby Killer

Russell Brand Bear dog wallaby killer
Russell Brand should be condemned not congratulated after his rabid dog killed a wallaby in the scene of weird animalistic happenings, Henley-on-Thames.

Iqbal Latif: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

20 questions with businessman Iqbal Latif   The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force? Unlearning the old and relearning the new.   “Don't get even,...