By Angus Ross

Wee, sleekit, cowrin’, tim’rous beastie,
Why do tha try to spoil our feastie?
We hae puddings, meat and toppings
All tha leaves is bluidy droppings !
(Wi’ apologies tae Robbie Burns)

THE OHCC clubhouse, like many cottages, has wild visitors — most of whom stay outside. Mice, however, come into the club and clean up remaining food particles, leaving in return small droppings on the counter, in drawers, and anywhere they wander. It`s almost impossible to keep them out — a mouse needs only a tiny gap to squeeze through and they can climb vertical surfaces quite easily. Although they come into the clubhouse throughout the year, the worst time for them is towards the fall when they are looking for both a food supply to stash away for the winter and a sheltered place to stay. There are serious health issues associated with mouse droppings:

• Hantavirus. This deadly virus is carried by certain strains of mice, especially deer mice. People get the infection by breathing dust contaminated with mouse droppings. If you have to clean an area that’s been infested with mice, DON’T sweep it up in a big cloud of dust. Instead, put on latex gloves, wet the area with detergent or diluted bleach, wipe with damp towels, and then throw out the towels into a double garbage bag.
• Lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM). This is a virus spread by the common house mouse. The virus can infect the linings of the brain and spinal cord. It’s a serious disease, although many people get only mild infections. Mice shed the virus in their urine, saliva, and feces. People get infected by eating contaminated food or by inhaling aerosolized mouse urine or feces. LCM has two phases. The first lasts about a week and begins with fever, loss of appetite, head and muscle aches, nausea, and/or vomiting. There may be other symptoms as well. The second phase happens just as the first one gets better. It may begin with symptoms of meningitis: fever, headache, and stiff neck. It may also begin with symptoms of encephalitis: sleepiness, confusion, and movement problems. There’s no cure, but most people recover completely with supportive treatment. However, some people are left with permanent nerve or brain damage. About 1% of people with LCM die.

Nice, eh? What can we do to prevent anyone becoming sick? Trapping and killing the mice is possible but the little buggers breed quite quickly ! A family of six mice can multiply into a family of 60 in three months. They reach sexual maturity at about four weeks of age, so it’s easy to understand how a mouse population can quickly grow out-of-hand, not tomention the fact that they breed year-round. The staggering birth rate is kept under control naturally by predators in the outdoors, but owls, hawks, cats and other hunters are absent from OHCC. The sole natural factor limiting the mouse population in the clubhouse is the limitation of resources such as food. As the average house mouse lives for a year, that means an astounding number of mice can call OHCC home over the course of 365 days.

• A single female produces between five to ten litters each year.
• Each litter consists of five to six young that are able to reproduce after approximately 30 days.
• Mice produce a great number of young, but have a high mortality rate.

The lifespan of a house mouse is approximately 1 year. So — what do we do? The best way of ensuring no mice is to make certain they have no food, which means cleaning up after Tuesday Night Feasts or after club members bring their own food down. Spray anti-bacterial liquid (we supply Lysol spray) on the surfaces and wipe them down with paper towels. Take garbage out and leave no scraps inside the club. Make sure that utensils, pots, etc. are washed clean and, where possible, put away in closed containers.

If there are mouse droppings, spray and leave for ten minutes then, using rubber gloves, wipe with anti-bacterial liquid and throw the paper towels in the garbage. DO NOT BRUSH OR VACUUM!

As far as we know, no-one has become sick from the mouse droppings but the infestation got worse in 2010, and we don’t want to risk our members in 2011. Let’s aim for:

Wee, sleekit, cowrin’, tim’rous beastie,
We’ll nae give thee a feastie
We’ll leave nae food for thee and thine
We’ll have thee oot in record time!

Mouse Musings

Wood engraving : Thomas Bewick

Steel engraving : Ryall after Naismith