I was reading the local Idaho rag this morning and learned that a New Mexico man had caught a mouse in his house. He decided he wanted it dead so he took it outside and threw it in to a pile of leaves he was burning. Thats when the fun began.

The mouse took fire and immediately ran back into the house. He got into the intricacies of the house and spread the flame. The article said that the reporter talked to the man in a motel room. He said that no one was hurt but that he had lost his house and his furnishings.

Well, we mustnt have this happen again, must we?

This might be a good time to set up some rules for handling creatures that like to live with us in our houses during the wintertime.

Never try to poison a mouse.

We put one of those cute little yellow triangular boxes full of poison in a place where we knew our dog could never reach it. Somehow it got out from under a very low shelf beneath my work bench. My dog ate the stuff and he died a miserable death. My veterinarian son and two of his fellow vets could not save him.

My son has a zillion stories about horses, dogs, cats and other creatures being poisoned by usually safe-to-use farm and household poisons.

I think the mouse did not like my dog.

He carefully nudged the little box of poison out from underneath my workbench with his nose so that my dog could reach it. This leads to a corollary: Remember that critters are smarter than humans.

Put a metal grid over your chimney.

Yesterday our rag had a story about a barn owl that got stuck in a ladys chimney. It took a while, but one of her family members got the bird out. When released, it flew right back into the barn. Im sure its spending the day there.

Some year back in Colorado a bat flew down our chimney. Then with a little of my pestering, it flew around the living room scaring the heck out of everybody.

After all, rats carry rabies. (My son had to take shots for rabies once after being bitten by a dog. In those days, the shots were given with a horse needle in the stomach. No fun!)

Anyway, I finally caught the bat in a cloth and took it outside. It took off like a bat. I think it headed south for Carlsbad Caverns.

Never try to get a skunk out from under your house with a long stick.

Its best to call a professional in this case. I guess that would be the fire department where I live. Have you heard of a HAVAHART trap? They are handy for catching rabbits, raccoons, and other critters. You can read about how to use them at http://www.havahart.com/nuisance/_old_nuisance/troubleshooting.htm.

These two tips might keep you from getting sprayed: If you want to trap your skunk get a small trap (1078 and 1088) so that it can not raise its tail. Use for bait Chicken entrails, cracknels, fish-canned (sardines) or fresh-insect larvae such as may beetles, crisp bacon, cat food, bread crust coated with peanut butter. Place a blanket over the trap after the skunk has taken the bait and the trap doors are locked.

If you do get sprayed, the old remedy is tomato juice. Would you rather smell like skunk or the juice? Havahart has remedies which include tomato juice (http://www.havahart.com/nuisance/_old_skunks/skunk_solutions.htm). Skunk squirt is alkaline so acidic liquids like tomato juice and vinegar help.

So whats next if you have a skunk in a trap under a blanket? Call the Humane Society. They just love to get rid of animals.

Well, Im exhausted from the technology of this article. Well cover bears, wolves, and coyotes later.