Mouse Tail

Some of you may have heard about the infestation of mice in my room.
One of the first nights at Strathcona (when the rain stopped pounding on the roof, and I could actually hear things at night) I was falling asleep to the blissful evening silence, when all of a sudden there was a scritch, and there was a scratch, and then more and more.
I knew the sound well, since as a 16 and 17-year-old CIT I had lived in the old retired Lodge at camp, known as the Homestead. It was filled to the beams with mice, and I would wake up to their noise every morning, in the wall behind my head.
As I lay there listening to Timothy Tittlemouse prance around my ceiling I told myself I had lived with this before, and I could do it again. Just ignore it. Just pretend its not there. Go to sleep....
it didn't work. I was awake for hours.
And the next night. And the next.
As it grew warmer and drier every day, the number grew. I could hear hoards of them partying overhead.
It had to stop.
I think Mice are Rather Nice, as long as they are in the outdoors where they belong, and as long as they don't interuppt my sleep!
If you know me at all, you know nothing...nothing....comes between me and my sleep.
I asked the maintenance guy for some mousetraps, and assembled them eagerly. Then realized I had not brought up any bait. But was too tired to go all the way back down the hill to get some.
I decided to sit on my bed and read instead.
Then I heard the scurrying. I pricked my ears. The light was on. The mice had never revealed themselves in the light. I was safe. I thought.
Suddenly the small, furry menace darted across the bedroom floor. I could hardly believe my eyes. The nerve! His place is in the darkness, not in broad lightbulb light! How dare he show his impudent whiskered face! I wished I had baited the trap.
Then there was a loud, death-proclaiming SNAP!!!

The following image is highly disturbing and somewhat graphic.

The faint of heart should not go on.

The stupid little creature had gotten himself killed by a baitless trap. I sat frozen in horror and disbelief for a good 5 minutes, not even kidding.
I do like mice if they don't intrude on my living quarters, and I had never outright killed one before. I felt kind of bad.

Nevertheless, his body was tossed into the bushes, and the traps were reset.
The first couple of nights were peaceful and quiet. Then the partying began again.
We have since caught 9 mice in traps with no bait! Once we caught 2 in one night.
This past week there has been a particularly stubborn mouse, who partied louder than any of his predecessors and refused to be caught. I actually heard him last night creep down from the ceiling. He must have tiptoed around the trap because I heard him in my closet, and then scurried back to the ceiling. I was so grossed out, and swore he would meet his demise.

Today after work I tore some crumbs from a chocolate cake, intending to bait the traps. Surely even this mouse could not resist chocolate cake.

I entered my room, eagerly anticipating a night of silence. I baited the first trap, and went to bait the second...

and then I saw.
#9 was caught, deep in the shadows of my closet floor.

I reached in to dispose of the body...

...only to shriek bloody murder and drop it a second later, as a multitude of large black ants fell away from the corpse.

Are you ready for some gory details? Because I felt like vomiting after witnessing this.
His tail and..."nether regions"....were completely eaten away, as was one hind leg. Just gone.
Sick, sick, SIIIIICKKKKK!!!

I had no choice but to pick it up and throw it away outside, and the disgusting little carrions had fled by the time I returned.

I only hope that hardcore partier, casualty #9, taught a valuable lesson to all those other mice out there, and we can live in peace (and quiet) from now on.

I would prefer not to have to deal with anymore half-eaten dead bodies.

EWWWWWWW........!