I’m not sure it’s really anything so grand as kindness, but I cannot kill a mouse. Though I could probably have a mouse killed on my behalf, no problem. Where are the vermin mafia? Can I hire someone who will slip a trap in my kitchen, catch the squeaker, and whisk him away without me seeing any difference except dropping-free shelves and intact pasta bags?

In lieu of that service, I am going freestyle and pretending it is my Buddhish tendencies and not my squeamishness that’s keeping me from mouse murder. Last night I dove in, putting all my grains and beans and legumes in sealed jars and cleaning deep crevices, not realizing how much the beast had made himself (for some reason I’ve assigned it a gender) at home. Once there was no more gnawed open organic spelt fusilli for him to munch, I waited. And squeaking began; I swear he was mad at me (“Where’s my Trader Joe’s wild rice, lady?”). But then: silence. Not so much as a crunch or a cru or a cr all night long.

So will he go away if there’s no food? Not sure. But just in case, I’m going to try my downstairs neighbor’s suggestion of dampening some cotton balls with peppermint oil and setting them out strategically. I also need to get some steel wool to stuff any holes I find in my planned investigation.

Any other thoughts for kindly relocating the critter? I came across these vegan mousetraps, but I have a feeling this guy is way too street-smart for a kind mousetrap–those things seem to be for total sucker mice. But would love any other suggestions!

[Image via: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%9C%D1%8B%D1%88%D1%8C_2.jpg]