OCD Action

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Parvez, thank you for the address of the poisons information. I'll look into that. Sprays don't seem to work. The only one I haven't tried is fox urine. I couldn't bring myself to buy it. Reminds me of the old woman who swallowed the fly syndrome, again!

Nicola, Thank you also for the trouble you've gone to. Sam found the same information, but although fizzy drinks sound quite innocuous I believe they would cause excruciating pain, probably worse than anticoagulant poison. I feel the plaster of paris and others would also be agonizing. I've treated animals in the past for this kind of gastric problem and they were screaming in agony.

I'm not having too much difficulty catching them, the wooden traps work well, usually. Three caught yesterday. The problem is they are still getting in and I can't take much more. I've been bawling all morning and my husband is at the end of his tether.

Parvez, a holiday sounds good in may ways, but I would still have to return to the problem eventually. Also, I think I'm too ill now. The last time my daughter and I went on a trip (three days in Amsterdam) she said she couldn't repeat it. The crazy thing is, if I was told I would never return home I don't think the contamination would bother me. As it is, sleeping in another bed and even sitting on a chair all terrify me, because I don't believe I'll ever get clean again. Having said that, this is fast becoming an experiment in contamination within my home. If I don't crack under the strain maybe it will eventually cure me?!

Thanks again for all suggestions, I really do appreciate it.

Tricia x

Sun Oct 18 2009 14:41:47 #
Wombat140
Member

Tricia, have you tried peppermint oil? This is supposed to repel mice, we try it sometimes. You put it on screwed up paper or something and wedge it in the hole where they get in. (It's not just blocking the hole that does it - if you use just paper, they eat it!) I have to say this doesn't always help, but sometimes it does. Depends how much they want to get in, I suppose. You can get peppermint oil from a health food shop, or mail order from Zipvit (http://www.zipvit.co.uk).

We've managed to stop the one in the loft waking us up. Our loft only has floorboards in one place, the rest is just rafters. So we put an old sheet over the boards to muffle the mice noises. Seems to work.

Hope you feel better soon.
Wombat140

Mon Oct 19 2009 20:58:16 #
Unregistered

Thanks for that, Wombat. Yes, in fact our house reeks of it! Obviously our mice are determined! Peppermint oil can't be as bad as fox urine, which I doubt would work either. If the smell of a cat is not a deterrent why should a fox be?!

I don't know if I said, but it crossed my mind that some kind of contraceptive would at least eliminate them eventually. I believe I have heard that some cities are doing that with pigeons. I have no idea how to find this out, however!

Glad your problem is improving. I caught two more yesterday, but while I release them intact I fear they are just laughing at me and back in before I am.

Tricia x

Tue Oct 20 2009 14:09:33 #
Unregistered

I think I am going mad. The mice were chewing in two rooms last night, couldn't believe such small creatures could make so much noise. I feel I am living a nightmare. I am shaking with fear and see mice in the corner of my eye constantly (only 5% of the time is there a mouse, but my nerves are shot). So much for exposure and living with contamination. My husband is now distraught and said it's him or the anticoagulant poison. I can't stop him using it, but despite my fear I don't think I can live with the guilt, knowing the excruciating pain being inflicted on the mice. Even supermarkets sell the stuff, so I realize there are at this moment probably millions of mice and rats dying in agony as I write this, just in Britain. What kind of society allows such evil. Most people would not even care. I can't stand any more.

Thu Oct 22 2009 13:06:29 #
jon
Member

Tricia,

I really feel for you right now and am at a loss as to what to say to you - that has'nt been said already by others. I know this will sound simplistic because I am not sitting where you are but is it possible for you to try to apply a ruthlessness to overcoming your OCD, and let your husband deal with the mice. Many many people could not put up with the mice situation you have, not to mind OCDers. My guess is that you will get over the guilt of the mice being eradicated, but the OCD will just continue to hound you if you dont deal with it.

Take Care, Jon

Thu Oct 22 2009 14:01:02 #
Unregistered

Dear Jon, I really do appreciate your message and concern. I'm not sure what is OCD any more. Is it the fear of contamination from the mice (something you rightly pointed out many non OCDers wouldn't tolerate. My husband no longer can) or is it the guilt about causing them pain? I have friends who don't have OCD who couldn't poison mice with anticoagulant, either. I wouldn't like killing them by any method, but I have reached the point where I would kill them all if I knew it would be painless. I've now spent nearly Â£200 on electronic killers. They work, but few mice will go in them.

As to the guilt not lasting. I still feel guilty for poisoning mice twenty years ago, before I realized that they died in such pain. I just don't think I can be responsible for more suffering. Right now the world seems full of such agony and I can't face it. Fear and guilt. Surely life's not meant just to consist of these two emotions?

Thanks again.
Tricia.

Thu Oct 22 2009 14:48:08 #
Parvez Choudhry
Member

Dear Tricia

I feel for you very much. You are caught in a dilemma between intolerable fear and intolerable guilt. My own perspective about guilt is that sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where every possible option carries some guilt with it. Since we have no choice but to do something that violates our conscience, it is best to choose the option that carries the least guilt. Having made that choice, I don't then feel guilty if I put it into practice because the wrongness of doing it is cancelled out by the greater wrongness of not doing it.

Like you, I don't like the thought of animals suffering and if I were in your position I would be reluctant to use anticoagulants. But if no other option is going to get rid of the mice, then you have to weigh up the guilt you will incur if you don't use anticoagulants. I am referring to the guilt of grieving your family by continuing to cause them so much stress & unhappiness, the guilt of destroying your marriage, the guilt of damaging your own physical health by the continued strain of living with the mice, the guilt of risking infecting the members of your household with salmonella and other diseases that mice carry, the guilt of causing someone to have an electric shock by plugging in an appliance with a chewed electric cable, etc.

When Jesus met a man with a deformed hand on a Sabbath day, he had no hesitation in healing him even though by doing so he was breaking God's commandment not to work on the Sabbath. Jesus answered his critics: "If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn't you work to pull it out? Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep!" The need of a man with a deformed hand was higher in Jesus' priority.

With my warm regards .... Parvez

Thu Oct 22 2009 15:36:56 #
Unregistered

Dear Parvez, Thank you so much, what you said made such sense, as always. However, when I read what you wrote about my family, I thought back to last night when my daughter was angry with me for not putting up a stronger fight when my husband said he was going to use poison. She is also totally opposed to using it. She feels I should try Paracetamol crushed in food. The trouble is, the vet I spoke to said that would possibly be even worse than the anticoagulant. I've spent several hours researching how painful an overdose is in humans. Still no better off.

So, I am even caught in a dilemma over distressing my husband or distressing my daughter. As to the guilt of destroying my marriage, my husband would probably be eternally grateful for that. I haven't made his life easy. The last person to receive an electric shock from a chewed cable was me, just hoping it will be next time.

Tricia xx

Thu Oct 22 2009 15:58:19 #
Unregistered

P.S. I'm sure Jesus would be disgusted with me, but I feel a sheep is as valuable as a person. I'm like Elgar in that respect. I guess my wiring is wrong.

Thu Oct 22 2009 16:07:36 #
Unregistered

P.P.S. Talking about guilt. I still feel incredibly guilty for eating meat up until the age of 13, even though I had little choice in the matter and put up quite a fight for years. I truly don't think there is any hope for me.

Thu Oct 22 2009 16:11:30 #
Unregistered

Please will you pray for me, Parvez. Whatever occurs over the next few days I am going to need all the help I can get. Thank you, and bless you for caring.

Thu Oct 22 2009 16:16:01 #
Wombat140
Member

What can I say? I can't even make out whether the guilt thing is OCD or not. It seems to be entirely rational, but then the way it goes on and on is just like OCD. I can't help you with the poison question either. I think the only ones that would be entirely painless are certain of the narcotics, and those all seem to be controlled substances because they are drugs of abuse as well. Otherwise I don't know anything.
What the Bible says about animals has always foxed me as well. It seems to say that they aren't as important as humans, and also that they are. It makes no sense.
I just hope it all goes away, or failing that, that the mice all go away!
Praying for you.
Wombat140

Thu Oct 22 2009 20:51:13 #
Wombat140
Member

I forgot to say that I'm going away for a week or so. But I'm sure the others will be here if you need them.
Wombat140

Thu Oct 22 2009 20:52:19 #
Wombat140
Member

I keep forgetting to say, you mentioned that you'd tried the electromagnetic gadgets and they hadn't worked, but have you tried the ultrasonic ones? Not that the anti-cat one we bought ever seemed to do much good, but it's worth trying if you haven't already.
Otherwise you could try ringing the RSPCA and asking if they know of any humane ways to get rid of mice, and if not, whether they know who would. Their phone number for general advice is 0300 1234 555, open 9am-5pm weekdays only. Their website is http://www.rspca.org.uk, but it doesn't have anything about marauding mice - I've just looked.
Hope this helps,
Wombat140

Thu Oct 22 2009 22:50:24 #
Unregistered

Thank you, Wombat, I hadn't thought of the RSPCA. They can't approve of painful deaths for innocent creatures, they may have a suggestion. Yes, we had the ultrasonic devices before the electromagnetic, and then bought an expensive duel one. Ironically, we didn't have any mice at the time, just wanted to ensure none returned. Within a day of switching the machine on the mice arrived!

Thank you also for your prayers.

I hope you have a good holiday. Look forward to hearing from you when you return.

Tricia x

P.S. Of course, there's still the problem of it being illegal to kill them, but it doesn't seem to be a law that many abide by.

Fri Oct 23 2009 13:50:02 #