Mouse vs. Cockroach

Earlier this week, I found evidence of what I thought was a mouse in my kitchen . . . I opened the candy drawer to find little poops all over! And oddly, my mint gum chewed, but nothing else.

The hard candy went promptly into the fridge and I set out to find a mouse trap. However, being Sunday afternoon, none of the stores were open! So, alas, I spent a night wondering where in my house the mouse with wintermint fresh breath was wandering.

The next morning, upon speaking with my house help, she mentioned that she thought the offending critter was a 'cafard'. She mentioned I could put down some type of product to kill it, but I mentioned that it lived behind the one kitchen cupboard that is attached to the wall and I didn't want it to crawl back there, die and stink up the kitchen as I could not get to it. She countered that it would not stink. I still was not sure what type of animal was in my house, so she then proceeded to show me a picture on my bug spray bottle . . . yes, she thought my kitchen was host to a cockroach!!

"Cockroaches eat mint???" I queried.

"Cockroaches poop???" My friends asked.

Upon further discussion with various people, I discovered that cockroaches LOVE mint flavour. And will, in fact, even chew on a toothbrush left out because of the mint flavour.

So, apparently, I had a mint-loving cockroach in my house.

And yes, then, cockroaches do poop . . . a LOT!

This makes sense, as said, no other candies or gum in the drawer was eaten or even remotely taste-test nibbled! The crackers on the counter were untouched and all food in the cupboard secure.

As of Tuesday, I had to discover a way to kill a cockroach and decided in a 'note to self' moment that I must remember to secure my toothbrush and toothpaste, lest the mint-breathed cockroach find his way to my bathrooom to nibble on my toothbrush!!

This dilemma posed a question for serious pondering: Do I prefer having a mouse or a cockroach to trap? Now, I much prefer that the inhabitant critter be a cockroach to a mouse. However, another part preferred that it be a mouse. Realistically, the mouse should be easier to kill . . . they sell mice traps, but I have never seen a cockroach trap.

I was still contemplating matters when I returned home last night, went to the kitchen, and turned on the light to discover . . . a HUGE cockroach crawling over my kitchen counter.

ewwwww!

I stared at it, it stood still. It's long feelers nervously twitching as it sensed the danger of my sudden appearance in it's perceived domain. I contemplated getting the camera to document the finding, but decided that it would disappear before I could get back and thus, the opportunity was now. I grabbed one of my sandals (thankfully, there is always a pair at the backdoor for running out with garbage or laundry!) and whacked the thing for all it was worth. These things do not die easy . . . and this big guy needed 3 hefty whacks to completely kill it. I swept it onto the kitchen floor and doused it with bug spray liquid just to be sure.

Hopefully, that is the end of the saga!! I left 1 mint candy in the drawer as a test over the next few days, to see if there are more behind the counter who come to nibble. May last nights cockroach be the sole offender!