Reuniting A Deermouse Mother with Her Babies
Another glue trap horror story involved a mama Deermouse with quite a few babies. A pest control specialist discovered a nest with the babies in a house. Worried, the homeowner called SSCC and asked if they could bring them in. Our wildlife manager, NaTasha, talked with the homeowners and inquired if another Deermouse (the mother) might be nearby. There was, but they were not sure if it was the mother and proceeded to use a glue trap to catch her. They called again, even more worried because she was stuck to the trap, so NaTasha told them to bring her in with the babies. Because her stomach was glued to the trap, it wasn’t immediately clear if she was the mother. Olive oil was used to carefully remove her from the trap, and she was then given a bath using Dawn dishwashing soap. After removing her from the glue trap, we could see she was indeed the mother and were able to reunite her with her babies. Mama and babies, who are now weaned, did very well in our care and were released. Not every outcome is as happy as this, so please reconsider using glue traps in or around your home. Live traps are a much better option. For more information on how to get along with wildlife, please check out “Living with Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest” from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife at this link: http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/book/.
