Some people think mice are cute. Maybe in pictures they are, but the ones who sneak around at night and chew on things and poop everywhere they go aren't so much. Besides, ours up here are possibly carriers of the fatal hantavirus, and sometimes they chew on electrical wiring, so we don't think in terms of cute, it is a war.

A few years ago I read about putting dryer sheets around to repel rodents like mice, so I tried that, but so far it hasn't made any difference. The latest thing I'm trying is peppermint. Supposedly putting cotton balls scented with peppermint oil near where mice come into the house keeps them away.

When I cleaned out the drawer under my oven I found some evidence that mice had been in there, so put a peppermint lifesaver in each corner of the drawer, and so far it doesn't look like the mice have been spending any time in there.

The other day I cleaned out the small dresser where my tablecloths are stored and put peppermint lifesavers in the four corners of each drawer. I had a couple extra still in the foil so I just threw the whole thing in the bottom drawer for good measure. The next day I was looking for something, opened that bottom drawer, and I'll be darned, that mouse had gotten in there and chewed off all the foil: there were foil shreds surrounding those two lifesavers.

(Actually, it might be spelled Lifesavors, but since I'm not capitalizing it, I figure I can spell it however I want.)

Last night we were watching a movie and a noise came from the kitchen, waking up the cat, who went over to check it out, and then stayed on alert, but eventually went back to bed.

This morning we found a peppermint lifesaver with chew marks on it lying on the floor in there, and Sylvester - Sir Napsalot (better known as Buddy the Cat), who signed on here to catch mice, didn't stick around to see if the mouse made an appearance. I picked it up and dropped it back to see if it sounded like what we heard last night and it did, meaning last night when the whole family was in the next room, Marty Mouse was getting that lifesaver out of the bottom dresser drawer and carrying it off to his happy place, but for whatever reason dropped it.

Now this morning Napsalot is sleeping like the dead and the lifesaver is still on the kitchen floor in front of the sink. I'm leaving it there to see if Marty Mouse comes back to get it, and maybe the cat will catch him this time.

My big concern, though, is that I thought those lifesavers were doing some good, but now Marty seems to have acquired a taste for them, so I have to wonder if the ones I have put around will start attracting him, as if he needed encouragement. I know there are products containing dried fox urine that are supposed to help, but I'm not sure I'd want them spread around inside the house.