Our unwelcome house guest

Every once in a while I spot a wee mouse scurrying across the kitchen floor between the hot water cylinder and the oven. We first met back in March and that same day I popped out to buy two mouse traps. Months later he continues to elude me, despite me trying to tempt him into the trap with an array of foods - jam, peanut butter, apple, chocolate cake...

I was just saying to my flatmates the other day that I haven't noticed him hanging around lately (when he is about he kindly leaves us small deposits in the water cupboard). Murphy's law. I was sitting on the couch tonight, not spending hours trawling through patterns on ravelry, when I saw Mr or Mrs Mouse not even scurrying, but dawdling, across the kitchen. Cheeky git!

So I set the traps again and went to bed. A few minutes ago I heard one of the traps go off and ran out there to find....NO MOUSE. He's nowhere to be seen (although I imagine he's having a good laugh in a dark corner, licking peanut butter off his chin). I think we'll have to start calling him Houdini.

If it wasn't so amusing I'd be quite annoyed. Any tips on catching pesky little mice? I'm scared that if I put out poison it will curl up and die someplace inconvenient and start to stink.

So that's my life at the moment, fighting battles on two fronts. If it's not cats lobbing missiles and mischief at me, it's mice. My latest cat-fighting technique, spraying cider vinegar over the garden seems to be working so far. Might save us having to dress salads with vinaigrette this Summer too.