Cellar Interloper

From time to time, I like to go down into my old basement cellar just to stare at my collection of wines, perhaps just to watch them age a bit! I suppose you could call it one of life's cheaper pleasures (i.e., the staring, not the acquisitions). At any rate and subsequent to a two-week absence of not having done so, I decided to "commune" with my precious bottles this eve. After a minute or so of low light adjustment for my aging eyes, I was startled to find a pair of shiny black eyes staring right back at me!

Ah, so Mr. Mouse has come to pay my cellar a visit! For whatever reason, I've never been able to summon much enmity for a creature as visually endearing as a mouse. Thus I was pleased that he hung around for a few minutes, affording me the opportunity to observe wildlife in my own home (yeah, right!)!

Upon his departure, I did a quick inspection of bottles and found that he'd chewed a quarter-inch hole through the aluminum capsule of a recently-acquired 2004 Schmitt-Wagner Riesling Kabinett. A note to David B.: The little beast took only one small bite out of the cork (TCA, perhaps?).

Notwithstanding my ambivalence for keeping this type of company in my cellar, could anyone give me an idea whether this capsule chewing business might develop into a serious problem?

I'm thinking your rodent will pose more of a problem for the household....they chew electric wiring, too.


I'd call your local exterminator and take him out, er...the mouse, I mean.

[David M. Bueker]

Capsule chewing is no big deal. Cork munching is another matter. I am in agreement with Tim as to other damage the rodent might do. He is a rodent after all. He lives to chew.

Just a reminder that mice are carriers of hantavirus and other communicable diseases. That's not Mickey you're looking at.

Get a cat!

[David M. Bueker]

Get a cat!

You know you're in trouble when the cat asks whether mice should be served with red or white.

[James Roscoe]

Get a cat!

You know you're in trouble when the cat asks whether mice should be served with red or white.

If the mouse is chewing cork, maybe the cat will drink the corked wine?

I think there are two issues, David, aesthetics and integrity of the cellar.

Mice and insects may chew on the labels as well as the capsules and the cork. Not so pretty when sharing your treasures with friends and family.

More important is how the mice get into the cellar itself. If your cellar is heavily insulated, you certainly will have heat loss, and perhaps other problems. I would carefully inspect for the entry point -- I found one in our cellar in the ceiling where the electrician failed to close in his cable for the light.

If you have a passive or less than air tight cellar, it's best to get rid of the mice -- as a farm boy, we were taught that if you saw one mouse or rat, you probably had a hundred or more. We certainly learned the truth of that rule of thumb as we finished feeding out the last several bushels from a corn crib in the late spring or early summer.

One other consideration, if you are like lots of other WLDGers, based on a survey awhile back, you are apt to store foods and other things in your cellar.

Off them I say.

Regards, Bob

Get a cat!

However there lies a further problem. Let the cat have access to the cellar and the bottles might start smelling of Sauvignon Blanc
regards
Ian

[James Roscoe]

Get a cat!

However there lies a further problem. Let the cat have access to the cellar and the bottles might start smelling of Sauvignon Blanc
regards
Ian

Is this a bad thing? At my house the litter box is in the wine cellar. It reminds me to drink more SB!

I say terminate with extreme prejudice. Fievel is spreader of disease, a destroyer of property, and no respecter of fine wine.

I had a family of mice move into my tractor late one fall. They were all snug and cozy until I turned the engine over for one last time prior to the winter. Not only was my intake now full of mouse bits but they had gnawed the insulation off of quite a bit of wiring.

Dave,

I had a few mice in my cellar last year, and found that my local hardware store had inexpensive little "Catch 'Em Alive" traps made just for mice! It's a little plastic box, about 2" x 4", with a hinged plastic door that closes when they crawl in to get a piece of cheese or peanut butter. It took me all of 10 minutes to catch the first mouse! <g> I guess he was hungry! I turned him loose in the back yard! If you can't find them, I can send you one of mine! ...Paul

Get a cat!

Let the cat have access to the cellar and the bottles might start smelling of Sauvignon Blanc
regards
Ian

ROTFL!! Pipi du chat, anyone?

I think the tough question is which cheese to serve in the trap. Maybe you could just use a capsule of the 2004 Schmitt-Wagner Riesling Kabinett since it chose that from your entire cellar (better taste than some critics). Charles

I am in agreement with Tim as to other damage the rodent might do. He is a rodent after all. He lives to chew.

Thanks, David.


You see? Powerful minds do think alike

Well it looks like the verdict is in, and it's thumbs down for the rodent! I like Paul's trap and relocate idea, though I might take the little gray one a bit farther than the back yard. Thanks to all of you for a truckload of hoots!
Dave Mo...