In queso emergency, I pray to cheesus

There's a lot of mice praying to cheesus here lately. 

Not sure what has changed from last winter to this one, but we have an influx of little critters making their way around the house.  Not just down by the washer like they usually are, but at the other end of the house. 
Where my scrapbook stuff is.
And my watercolors.

About a month ago, I went into Tanner's room (he was gone) to do something and I heard a scritch-scritch-scritch noise coming from the closet.  I opened the doors and listened.  High up on a shelf, beyond where I could reach was a cardboard box with a noise that was either in it, or right in my ceiling above it.

I called Gene into the room and he determined that the noise was coming from the box itself.  He pulled it down and took it outside.  I stood at the door and screamed my head off like a wee little girl when a mouse shot out of the box and straight at me.  He skittered under the deck, or where ever he went.

That's when I first realized, that there was a mouse (or 9) that had made their home on the west end.  Tanner's closet, littered with mouse poop and someone had a BIG party in there.  Ate a big hole in a flannel sheet to make a nest.  If I were a mouse, I'd go with a flannel sheet in there too.  His room is cold while the door is shut.

I pulled out a photo that I had mounted to take to the shop, and when I got it there I saw little chew marks on the corner.  And my craft room?
Well, I'm still pissed off about that. 

Mice seem to leave a little "trail" where they "go" and one mouse (or more) was all over the place but seemed to really enjoy my watercolor paper.  You know, the really expensive stuff.  I still haven't decided what to do about the beautiful travel journal he seemed to have hung out on for hours.  blech.

But my biggest mistake was probably throwing a granola bar in my travel bag in case I got hungry while out painting.  Licked clean.  However, I kind of chuckle knowing that they probably didn't like the nutrisystem cookie quite as well.  Ha.  Hope it made it hurt when you poop.

So now we have traps all over the place and 3 completely useless cats.  Even Boo, who would mouse when I didn't feed him fast enough.  No need now since he's in the house warm, fat and jolly.

Pretty sure that the drought caused cracks in the ground which has made an easy avenue to get under/into the house and I have decided to fight fire with poison.  I even have to put in the "attic" because I hear scritching around up there!!  I'm pretty ok with having to smell an occasional rotting mouse rather than have one crapping on my $20 per sheet of paper.

Why are mice cute when they are behind glass on a little wheel, but disgusting when you catch one chewing on your latest copy of Rangefinder?

Maybe I just answered my own question.