Getting the Evidence

We need to hurry up and get this thing caught up, as the adventures continue!

As with any scientific inquiry, an observation led to a hypothesis - we have mice. To evaluate the hypothesis, we needed evidence. The most trusted evidence to support or refute a hypothesis is always the most direct. Therefore, the ideal finding would be - a mouse.

When direct evidence is not available other outcomes or markers may be substituted. In this case markers might include clear evidence of mice a) eating or b) pooping. My 'science geek' status affords me some amount of confidence and training in mouse eating and pooping.

Which is why I went on a rampage in the kitchen. Every box of crackers, bag of wheat, and can of coffee was thoroughly inspected. Not a single gnaw mark. I crawled around and inspected the corners of the kitchen floor at close range with flashlight. Not a poo to be found. I reorganized the recycling and cleaned off the breakfast table. Nothing.

I was ready to discard the hypothesis and begin on another - tarantula.

DH, in his wisdom, suggested the introduction of a more elegant observational design. He poured a light dusting of flour across a tight bottleneck between the kitchen and living areas of the apartment. On the second morning our trap captured the proof we feared - several tiny paw prints close to the wall. Housemates. The tiny fury squeaky kind. Great.

Shadows

Yesterday, we declared war. As with any territorial disagreement between two parties, we did not reach this place quickly or lightly. And so, we need to catch you up a bit.

At first there were shadows. A black one-inch oval zipped in front of me across the three feet separating the front of the stove and the metal baker's rack. Yes - I screamed. Being acclimated to infestations common to the Deep South, my brain said "roach!" - which of course made no sense since we're in Philadelphia and generally roaches here are not the sizes of dinosaurs. Days later, it happened again.

Then there was the corroboration. DH (dear husband) saw a giant speeding roach dive behind the stove - one with a small tail. Or was it antennae? Perhaps it was running backwards? Our denial was deep.

Finally, there was the 'giant thing'. During a brief after-work phone check-in, DH became briefly incoherent, and then his phone cut off. Not reassuring. When we re-established contact, I learned he was in the apartment (where the cell reception is possibly the worst in the city) and he had seen a "shadow". A very large shadow apparently. "The size of a hand" as I recall, running from under the couch into the hall.

Giant mouse? (My laboratory knowledge suggested to me this was unlikely.) Rat? DH said not a big enough tail. The answer was clear. Tarantula. Or perhaps, a bat.

It was time to gather more evidence.