# Flaming mouse burns down house ...



## OldLumberKid (Dec 8, 2012)

Given the location — New Mexico — and the serious problem in the southwest with the deadly and incurable rodent-born hantavirus, I'll make no judgment, but this is a warning, I guess, to keep the door closed if you have a bonfire outside.

Otherwise, the mouse was probably simply going back to the nest in the house. Terrible situation for sure.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4593682.stm


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## begreen (Dec 8, 2012)

Sounds like the house was Hanta'ed.


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## dougand3 (Dec 8, 2012)

There's a moral here...

Iffin you find in yo lovely house,
A nest made by a sneaky mouse,
Don't try flames for rodent termination,
Or you'll need trucks from the fire station.


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## BrotherBart (Dec 8, 2012)

Michelle the Wood Pile Panther would have nailed that sucker in a heartbeat.


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## billb3 (Dec 8, 2012)

Is that really from January 2006 ?


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## OldLumberKid (Dec 9, 2012)

Guess BBC ran out of current stories.
They r on a gummint budget u know.


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## OldLumberKid (Dec 9, 2012)

BrotherBart said:


> Michelle the Wood Pile Panther would have nailed that sucker in a heartbeat.
> 
> View attachment 84359


 
See you learn something about woodpile equipment here, everyday.
This could be the factor that puts me over the edge to adding a cat to the quiver.

I like black ones with white feet and noses, known as "moggies," (also matches the dog.)
This one looks ready to smack down the lumber:







dougand3 said:


> There's a moral here...
> 
> Iffin you find in yo lovely house,
> A nest made by a sneaky mouse,
> ...


LOL, thread quickly taking a literary turn.


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## suprz (Dec 9, 2012)

This is the "Verminator". She patrols the yard .....and everything in it....


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## nate379 (Dec 9, 2012)

Article doesn't load...?

Anyhow flaming mouse = flaming cat = flaming dog???


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## Realstone (Dec 9, 2012)

begreen said:


> Sounds like the house was Hanta'ed.


OWWW!
Get thee to a punnery


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## mfglickman (Dec 9, 2012)

BrotherBart said:


> Michelle the Wood Pile Panther would have nailed that sucker in a heartbeat.
> 
> View attachment 84359


 
I would like to borrow Michelle for a few months in my house...all the mousies she can eat, I hear the little buggers in the attic crawl space and they EAT THE CAT'S FOOD - and the cat seems not to care.


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## BrotherBart (Dec 9, 2012)

mfglickman said:


> I would like to borrow Michelle for a few months in my house...all the mousies she can eat, I hear the little buggers in the attic crawl space and they EAT THE CAT'S FOOD - and the cat seems not to care.


 
She is irritated that she has wiped them out of the house and the yard too. For a while she would troop through the woods every morning to wipe'em out under the guy behind us' deck. Got that cleaned out too and now she is miserable. Mousing is something their momma has to teach them or they will just lay down beside a mouse and sleep. That is why they bring mice to ya as a "present". Momma brought mice to them.


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## Realstone (Dec 9, 2012)

mfglickman said:


> I would like to borrow Michelle for a few months in my house...all the mousies she can eat, I hear the little buggers in the attic crawl space and they EAT THE CAT'S FOOD - and the cat seems not to care.


Try withholding the food.  Twoferone


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## fossil (Dec 9, 2012)

It has since been determined that the mouse involved in this incident was a Tibetan activist, and fed up with the man's sympathies toward the Chinese.  It's always the socio-political rodents of which one must be particularly wary.  Don't ever give them an opportunity by lighting them on fire...something that's ordinarily quite difficult for them to do to themselves.


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## Doug Morford (Dec 10, 2012)

I was on a fire once in the Nevada desert where torched rabbits running out of the flames became the primary cause of fire crossing the line.  It looked pretty weird when night fell.


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## jdp1152 (Dec 11, 2012)

mfglickman said:


> I would like to borrow Michelle for a few months in my house...all the mousies she can eat, I hear the little buggers in the attic crawl space and they EAT THE CAT'S FOOD - and the cat seems not to care.


 
Warfarin blocks.  Lay em out when the temp gets below 50 and you won't have to worry about it for 6 months.  Then do some googling on exclusion methods and work on a permanent solution from there.  They breed up to 10x a year so you'll have to kill the ones you've got now and then exclude.  I've used everything at previous homes for mice and munks...snaps, glue, rat zapper, and warfarin.  Warfarin is the only thing that was very effective with existing infestation.  Find somewhere for your cat to stay for a week or so first.  Don't want it eating a poisoned mouse....and they'll definitely come out of hiding to find water before they dehydrate and  die.

Moved into a house that was a year empty and bordering on woods and field.  Mice, red squirrels, and chipmunks had infiltrated the place...heck, an elderly gent owned the place before and from what the real estate lady said, might have been a hoarder.  Definitely neglectful of the property.  I gutted the basement after month of being here and was absolutely disgusted with what I found.  The tree rats and munks were taken care of via pellet gun and the mice were done in with poison.  I'm hopeful that my exclusion methods will remedy the situation when I put new siding and stone veneer on the place next year.  Not an advocate of poisoning for the long term, but mice share significant gene homology with humans and are absolutely vectors for disease and ridding your home of infestation is critical before preventative/safer practices.

Had a free energy assessment from the power company.  The thermal camera revealed entire panels of insulation that were destroyed by mice nesting.  Kill them ASAP.


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## jeff_t (Dec 11, 2012)

Doug Morford said:


> I was on a fire once in the Nevada desert where torched rabbits running out of the flames became the primary cause of fire crossing the line.  It looked pretty weird when night fell.



Seen plenty of smoking raccoons waddling out of burning buildings.


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## bag of hammers (Dec 11, 2012)

jdp1152 said:


> Had a free energy assessment from the power company. The thermal camera revealed entire panels of insulation that were destroyed by mice nesting. Kill them ASAP.


 
Amen.  I hate to harm a critter, but I am not a big fan of tearing my house apart, or watching it get wrecked by these destructive little buggers.  The damage can be amazing. 

My 2c on exclusion -  don't assume any opening is "too small" for re-infiltration.  I had to tear apart the vaulted ceiling in my original cabin (luckily it was still only vapor barrier at the time) and throw away over 50% of the insulation.  The mice were coming in thru an opening in a metal ridge vent seam (where 2 pieces butt together) up at the peak of the roof.  I thought I had it all sealed up / bolted down pretty good but any opportunity they find it and they're in.  In case anyone is interested, I added "hardware cloth" (galvanized fine screen) between rafters (up under the ridge) before replacing the insulation (and also ran the same mesh along the ridge in the newer addition before nailing down the ridge vent).  Air flow without critters.  So far so good. I keep this stuff around and use it anywhere I need vents / airflow.   I went so far as to go into the crawl space on a bright sunny day, no lights on, and look for any sign of light coming in.  Sealed it up tight.  Same in the attic. 

Also keep in mind that some critters love to chew on things like electrical.  The result being catastrophic.  Whatever you have to do, get rid of them and keep them out.  Be a fanatic about this. 

BTW - the black and white pup in my pic (now much larger) is a great fan of patrolling the wood piles.  I have no idea why - it's kinda funny, but small critters beware...


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## gmule (Dec 11, 2012)

Sounds like karma to me. 
Burning alive would be incredibly painful no matter what species is on fire. 
If you are going to kill something do it quickly and do it mercifully.


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## bag of hammers (Dec 11, 2012)

gmule said:


> Sounds like karma to me.
> Burning alive would be incredibly painful no matter what species is on fire.
> If you are going to kill something do it quickly and do it mercifully.


 
As the OP stated, its a "terrible situation for sure" - from different perspectives. This creature probably trying to get back to / protect the nest (the family?) and suffering greatly. What was "necessary" in this case? Was this just home defense, or cruelty? Why this man decided he needed to burn the thing alive is unknown.

I think I sometimes sound like a monster on this topic. I "hate" mice. But on the flip side, I've used plastic pails / cardboard boxes to trap bats when they get in (more than once) and release them out in the yard. I'll capture that annoying moth flitting around the kitchen light in my hat and toss it out the door. I even toss spiders outside in a paper towel (my wife thinks I'm nuts). In all cases it would be a lot less pain in the butt to just whack / squish them. As much as I "hate" mice (the damage they do), I hate killing anything. I hit a field mouse nest deep in a sand pile with a shovel once - didn't even know it was there - mother and babies. No joy in that event. I would be happy to rid my place of any rodents without harming a hair, but I'm not the Pied Piper. Not trying to be a smart a$$ - I believe you make a very valid and compassionate point. Exclusion is the long term solution, an existing infiltration has to be remedied, sometimes drastic measures are required. But cruelty is not acceptable.

Mice nesting in my house? They gotta go. I've busted my butt sealing things up but I will still have traps in the attic, crawlspace etc in case they get in. I can't afford the damage anymore. They don't go in the fire, but they gotta go.


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## Danno77 (Dec 11, 2012)

we may never know the true story.
http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/mousefire.asp


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## bag of hammers (Dec 11, 2012)

good catch Danno77.  an old story, questionable origin / facts, but still stirs up some interesting discussions...


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## mfglickman (Dec 11, 2012)

Guys? I love the exclusion idea but my house is nearly 300 years old. As in, dry laid foundations, dirt floor crawlspaces, and very much post and beam (no balloon) construction. We are also in a rural locale backing up to hundreds of acres of conservation land.

My goal is to kill the ones that get into the crawls and attics with baits (and maybe cats if I can get good ones) and keep them out of the living/finished areas as much as possible. I am very aware that they can eat wiring and pretty much everything else. 

So kill them it is.


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## bag of hammers (Dec 11, 2012)

mfglickman said:


> Guys? I love the exclusion idea but my house is nearly 300 years old. As in, dry laid foundations, dirt floor crawlspaces, and very much post and beam (no balloon) construction. We are also in a rural locale backing up to hundreds of acres of conservation land.
> 
> My goal is to kill the ones that get into the crawls and attics with baits (and maybe cats if I can get good ones) and keep them out of the living/finished areas as much as possible. I am very aware that they can eat wiring and pretty much everything else.
> 
> So kill them it is.


 
Sorry 'bout that - pretty easy to figure how to do things in / to someone else's house - much like spending someone else's $$$.  Mice aside, I think you just described a place I would love to get my hands on. Wow - 300 years old - that sounds very cool. Is there a way to focus on / seal up the living spaces - that would be a great part of the battle won. Dirt floor in the crawl would be a real challenge. Sounds like you have a big scope and limited options. Maybe you can adopt a couple of barn cats? Good luck with the critters...


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## gmule (Dec 11, 2012)

Sorry if I am coming across as one of those Peta folks. I know some critters need killing. I am of the mindset that it should be done quickly is all.


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## mfglickman (Dec 11, 2012)

bag of hammers said:


> Sorry 'bout that - pretty easy to figure how to do things in / to someone else's house - much like spending someone else's $$$.  Mice aside, I think you just described a place I would love to get my hands on. Wow - 300 years old - that sounds very cool. Is there a way to focus on / seal up the living spaces - that would be a great part of the battle won. Dirt floor in the crawl would be a real challenge. Sounds like you have a big scope and limited options. Maybe you can adopt a couple of barn cats? Good luck with the critters...



No worries. I actually like an org called Farm Sanctuary so I don't relish killing them either. I'm ok with them outside but not in my house.


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## bag of hammers (Dec 11, 2012)

Over reading the "fiery gates of hell" thread just now, picturing a red 200 lb cloven-hooved mouse waiting for certain wood burners to "cross over"...


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## Realstone (Dec 12, 2012)

bag of hammers said:


> My 2c on exclusion - don't assume any opening is "too small" for re-infiltration.


I'd like to enter my 2c on this.  The brick weeping vents (those small slits in the brick joints just above the foundation) are big enough for a mouse to enter, but don't fill them, they are necessary for ventilation and maintaining a dry cavity behind the brick.  If they are hollow, there are plastic brick vents available or in a pinch, use pieces of coroplast or plastic dish scrubbers to fill.


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## bag of hammers (Dec 12, 2012)

Realstone said:


> I'd like to enter my 2c on this. The brick weeping vents (those small slits in the brick joints just above the foundation) are big enough for a mouse to enter, but don't fill them, they are necessary for ventilation and maintaining a dry cavity behind the brick. If they are hollow, there are plastic brick vents available or in a pinch, use pieces of coroplast or plastic dish scrubbers to fill.


 
Great point.  Anything that needs airflow / vent is important to maintain.


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## ohlongarm (Dec 12, 2012)

OldLumberKid said:


> Given the location — New Mexico — and the serious problem in the southwest with the deadly and incurable rodent-born hantavirus, I'll make no judgment, but this is a warning, I guess, to keep the door closed if you have a bonfire outside.
> 
> Otherwise, the mouse was probably simply going back to the nest in the house. Terrible situation for sure.
> 
> ...


 There's more humane ways to kill mice than throwing them in a fire,not against killing animals but do it in as humane way as possible,seems like the mouse gods got their revenge.


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## firefighterjake (Dec 12, 2012)

ohlongarm said:


> There's more humane ways to kill mice than throwing them in a fire,not against killing animals but do it in as humane way as possible,seems like the mouse gods got their revenge.


 
Ditto. I like to lure them in and give them a last meal of peanut butter . . . before the metal snap comes down and breaks their neck in a split second . . . this is how I would like to go . . . reaching for a fork-full of medium rare prime rib with au jus . . . and then SNAP!


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## Realstone (Dec 12, 2012)

firefighterjake said:


> Ditto. I like to lure them in and give them a last meal of peanut butter . . . before the metal snap comes down and breaks their neck in a split second . . . this is how I would like to go . . . reaching for a fork-full of medium rare prime rib with au jus . . . and then SNAP!


Some of those mice are pretty clever. I have to be quite creative & meticulous in applying the peanut butter to the bait lever as some of our mice can lick it clean without setting it off.
Wonder if they are that smart?


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## jdp1152 (Dec 12, 2012)

That should never happen. Bend the metal pin or file it down a tad. Also use chunky peanut butter and squeeze it down into the pad. They'll put more pressure on the pad to get the nuts loose. Buddy of mine actually puts peanut butter in some cut up pantyhose and ties it on there.


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## Realstone (Dec 12, 2012)

jdp1152 said:


> Also use chunky peanut butter and squeeze it down into the pad.


That's my usual method that works. I even pack it under the pad and into the rolled part. I'll have to try your first suggestion as well but it seems that it would make the hair trigger even more sensitive.


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## jdp1152 (Dec 12, 2012)

Definitely makes it very sensitive. I use tongs to put the trap down lightly and away from my fingers


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## Heatsource (Dec 12, 2012)

Realstone said:


> I'd like to enter my 2c on this. The brick weeping vents (those small slits in the brick joints just above the foundation) are big enough for a mouse to enter, but don't fill them, they are necessary for ventilation and maintaining a dry cavity behind the brick. If they are hollow, there are plastic brick vents available or in a pinch, use pieces of coroplast or plastic dish scrubbers to fill.


 
I recently did a RE inspection, the homeowner/seller had filled all the air gaps for his wall shield with foam- to keep mice out!


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## OldLumberKid (Dec 15, 2012)

ohlongarm said:


> There's more humane ways to kill mice than throwing them in a fire,not against killing animals but do it in as humane way as possible,seems like the mouse gods got their revenge.


 

In my OP, I think I basically intimated, I would try to just report and not pass judgment, especially given the incurable and horrific deadliness of Hantavirus there, but I will admit that I had the same thoughts you did. Then I thought, well, confronted by a potentially lifethreatening situation, I don't know how I'd have dealt with it. But that story, I guess, says beware on many fronts.




> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002358/
> Hantavirus is carried by rodents, especially deer mice. The virus is found in their urine and feces, but it does not make the animal sick.
> It is believed that humans can get sick with this virus if they come in contact with contaminated dust from mice nests or droppings. You may come in contact with such dust when cleaning homes, sheds, or other enclosed areas that have been empty for a long time.
> There is no effective treatment for hantavirus infection involving the lungs.
> ...


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## OldLumberKid (Dec 15, 2012)

suprz said:


> This is the "Verminator". She patrols the yard .....and everything in it....


 
Liking da cat, because my 75# dog will not even notice anything below squirrel size.
He might even need reading glasses to even see a mouse at his age.


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## OldLumberKid (Dec 15, 2012)

jeff_t said:


> Seen plenty of smoking raccoons waddling out of burning buildings.


 
I gotta ask, what were they smoking, cigars, cigarettes, blunts, spliffs, old-fashioned rolled their own from packaged tobaccy?


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## OldLumberKid (Dec 15, 2012)

Danno77 said:


> we may never know the true story.
> http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/mousefire.asp


 
Yes, it does raise some interesting discussions.

I should have done this first, but I trusted a BBC news sidebar, thinking it was current, not to mention authentic. Apparently so did AP, and it was picked up in a nearby (for there) news outlet — the Lubbock-Avalanche Journal on Jan. 9, 2006.

http://lubbockonline.com/stories/010906/nat_010906033.shtml

Lubbock, Texas, is about 120 miles from Fort Sumner, N.M. Usually the local outlets should get good sources, but there may have been some calumny here on the part of the homeowner, according to this equally dubious source "bmoviecentral" who say Mares story changed later on.

http://www.bmoviecentral.com/bmoviecentral/blog/?p=996
But, everything sounds authentic at this point, I don't know what to believe, but  it makes interesting follow-up reading.



> http://www.bmoviecentral.com/bmoviecentral/blog/?p=996
> 
> *FORT SUMNER, N.M. — *A small town rumor that sparked world wide interest about a mouse burning down a house has been found to be untrue.After 81-year-old Chano Mares’s house burned down Saturday in Fort Sumner, news services picked up the quirky story.”Flaming Mouse Burns Down House” read the headline over an Associated Press story that appeared on TheNewMexicoChannel.com, for example. According to the initial report, Mares threw the critter in a pile of burning leaves near his home, but it ran back to the house on fire.A local firefighter said the mouse ran to just beneath a window and the flames spread up the window and throughout the house.All contents of the home were destroyed, but no one was injured.Interest in fires has been high lately. Unseasonably dry and windy conditions have charred more than 53,000 acres and destroyed 10 homes in southeastern New Mexico in recent weeks.The mouse story, however, has been doused by Mares.”It’s really humorous more than anything that a mouse burned down the house,” he told KOAT-TV. Thing is, the mouse was dead when it hit the burning leaves.Mares said he trapped and killed the critter and tossed it on the fire.The flames, he said, probably reached his house because they were driven by high winds.Capt. Jim Lyssy of the Fort Sumner Fire Department said the rumor probably got started because there was “a little too much excitement” at the time of the fire.Mares lost everything — and has no insurance — but the mouse story still makes him smile.”I started laughing, and I’ll be laughing from now on,” he said. “It’s silly.”


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## heat seeker (Dec 15, 2012)

Realstone said:


> Some of those mice are pretty clever. I have to be quite creative & meticulous in applying the peanut butter to the bait lever as some of our mice can lick it clean without setting it off.
> Wonder if they are that smart?


 
Wrap a bit of steel wool around the trigger, then mash in a bit of peanut butter. Their teeth will catch in the steel wool, pulling on the trigger.

I get good results with a Rat Zapper, but also use snap traps since I have a lot of areas to cover. This time of year we get invaded by mice.


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