Four Down, No more to go!

Last weekend I stopped by Goodwill & happened to find a brand new - in the box Havahart trap.  For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a live-catch animal trap.  You put some type of bait in it.... the critter goes in & ends up stepping on a little plate type thing and quick as a wink the door shuts behind it & it's stuck. 

Anyhoot, last fall I happened to see a little chipmunk (a.k.a. the 'Chippy') scooting down along the foundation of our house.  Now I have NO CLUE where this little guy/gal came from.  We live in the middle of frickin' no-where surrounded by farmland!!!  There are no woods nearby, there are no hedge woods that they could have traveled from a woods to get to our house.  If it had traveled along a phone wire like a squirrel, it would have had to go about 1/4 - 1/2 a mile on the darn thing if it came from a wooded area.  Well, I figured it had just gone someplace else or it had eaten the mouse poison we put in the cellar and died... in.. my... walls...... yuck.... It was not to be... The Lego King saw him/her this spring running across the patio.

But, just before I bought this trap a Chippy got smushed in the road... which I found ironic.  1. What are the chances we'd have a Chippy living at our house.  2.  What are the chances that THAT Chippy would get smushed in the road at our house?  .... Yeah, I know!  If we'd played them odds we'd be gazillion-aires!!!..  So really when I saw this trap I thought about NOT getting it.... but you know... when you go to Goodwill OR Big Lots, you pick it up & put it in your cart (especially if it's the last one or only one of something) because if you don't, when you decide you want it & go back down that aisle.... it's gone..... So... I puts it in my cart and wheels around with it..... thinkin' 'bouts it..... 

Then I'm thinking about what they say about mice... if you see one, you probably have more... and I'm wondering if it applies to Chippy's..... And if that theory is true, then, I'm thinking we can use this trap to catch it!  And besides, it was only $3.99 ..... OH, and the other dilemma that was going through my brain was... 'Is it going to be clutter?  Am I really going to use it or just think it'd be cool to have?'  'Cause I'm really trying to get out of the buy it 'cause ya want it mentality.  I don't need more clutter & crap....  So... as you must know already, I got it....

Well, the Lego King was so excited.  He had seen where the Chippy had taken up residence.  In a small hole in our patio!! It goes between 2 sections & the little stinker was in there.  So the Lego King kept bugging me about how to set it & what bait to use.  Finally I got fed up & said.  I'm not telling you.  YOU need to look it up on YouTube.  So, he did!  Then we discussed that maybe peanut butter on bread would be good bait.  It was!

It took three days for the non-smushed Chippy to venture into the trap & sure enough.  On Friday we caught our Chippy!!!  Yeah!  We took it about 2 miles up the road & released it in the woods up there.  Then we decided that we would re-bait it last night, you know, just in case.  When we woke up this morning... Another one!  Then while we were checking it out through the window, out of the hole pops another one!!!  They were smaller than the first one we caught, so we figured these were young ones & the first one had to be a mama or daddy.  We released that one right near where we had released the mama.  Then re-baited & caught baby number two.... After baby number two, we checked on-line to see how many babies Chippy's usually have at a time .... they can have as few as 1.... to as many as 8!!!  But the average is 3-5.  So we decided to try again.... you know... just in case..... And we kept peeking out the window to see if the trap had been tripped.  We happened to see baby #3 out & sniffing around.  The Lego King & I stood very still & watched & saw him get caught.  Boy did that boy hoot & holler.... lol  We quickly gathered that caged baby up & took him up the road to be with his mama & brothers &/or sisters.

We set & baited the trap again.... you know.... just in case....

Bye!  Love you!  Have a good day, Dear!