Posted by Susan Muncie on March 30, 2006

Q: We caught a mouse in our furnace room in a live trap (one that holds lots of mice). We took it through our backyard over a wide creek, all total about 600 feet away from the house. It has been 7 days and every morning there is one mouse in this trap. I plan on marking it tomorrow with a dab of color, but

is it possible this is the same mouse. I can't imagine there are that many mice in our walls since we haven't heard or seen them. We have a walkout basement and the furnace room is in the back of basement next to a sliding door.

Habitat: suburban/yard

State: New Jersey

Habitat: suburban/yard

A: Animals are often very good at finding their way back to an area once they're removed. I don't know how much work has been done with mice, but I could easily believe that your mouse "could" get back to your basement if there was only 600 feet or so distance involved. However, I find it a bit difficult to believe that it not only gets back to your house but also gets into the trap each day too! I'm guessing that you have more than one mouse although there may have been a few repeaters. I like your idea of marking your next mouse so you'll know. I'd love to have you let me know the results too. Thanks for asking.

John Wiessinger ( March 31, 2006)