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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

A Warm Glow on the Upper West Side

Upper West Side
Photo by myself on the Upper West Side, around 79th Street and Broadway.

A cozy, orangey glow came from inside someone's home.

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Lunchtime conversation Monday consisted of New York war stories. My coworkers and I were comparing notes.

'Five,' said one fellow. 'They were doing construction on the building behind me.'

'Six, for me', a Lower East Side resident said. 'Six mice in two weeks. That was the worst.'

We were comparing glue traps with humane traps and the good old traditional house cat. There's even sonar available that emits frequencies that keep mice away. (I have been very lucky. Zero for me, but I did have a run-in with a gigantic water bug that gave me a heart attack).

One of my coworkers was experiencing nightly visitations from furry friends. After the lights went off, the scratching sounds began.

Lots of advice was thrown around. I suggested using a towel that has been slept on by a cat. Someone else suggested moving the stove and fridge and plugging up all crevices, no matter how tiny.

And once you catch the mouse? What do you do with it?

I will spare you the gory details.

Related posts: Rent, The Majestic Ansonia and Among Beautiful Things.

9 comments:

valeria said...

Oh! I knew there are a millions of rats in underground in NY but I didn't imagine to this extent!

dianasfaria.com said...

we had one in our wall in our hallway. it woke me up in the dead quiet in the middle of the night. the scratching seemed very loud. I lightly tapped the wall & it stopped.
I like the warm glow you've captured Kitty.

dianasfaria.com said...

PS
I don't think it was a rat.

Anonymous said...

My daughter lived, briefly, in a mouse infested building. Eventually, she purchased one of those sonic emitters and was untroubled, most of the time. She had a minor panic attack that one of her neighbours might have a hamster she was now torturing. And the emitter didn't quite reach to her front door. She call me hysterical one day to say she had come home and there was a mouse about two paces in from her front door. She had screamed and whacked it with her boot. Think large, squished bug.

Eva said...

Mice is the one thing that will literally freak me out! (Okay, add rats to that too.)

SO had a mouse in his car a few weeks ago. I made him wipe down the car inside out. (We were going on a vacation a few days later and NO WAY were I going to ride in a mouse infested car.)


I have never heard about anyone having a mouse in their car before. It's crazy.

I like your picture, Kitty. But please, don't post any pictures of mice, okay?

;-)

Ken Mac said...

pretty soon it will be so hot we'll want to dive in that water tank

Fashion Schlub said...

love your glowing windows...looks like a nice place to go home to.

we had a mouse in the house earlier this year...my daughter would call me at work in the middle of the day to say, "the mouse is dancing on its hind legs in my room!" we were putting food out for it and trying to keep the cats away. but then we found it dead in the basement :-(

Leeds daily photo said...

I love animals but a mouse im my flat is vermin and it is open season, no holds barred! Any and every resource to be used to remove said creature.
Amelie, wonderful film, did you see Un long dimanche de fiançailles?

PJ said...

The attorney's office where a friend works keeps a cat on the premises to deal with the rodent population. It's an old historic building so hard to manage crevices, etc. The cat is also a stress reliever for everyone who works there. A win/win situation I think.