And the Mouse Came

If it isn't ants or rain storms it's mice, or rather one mouse. I have been feeding bran mixed in with the grain I feed my horses. I had bought a 50 pound bag of bran not long ago and dumped it in one of the 32 gallon rubber maid trash cans on wheels that I put grain in to keep it safe from the mice and rats that want me to feed them. A few days later I noticed a pile of bran beside the can when I went to feed. I wondered how it got there and after a few minutes of investaging I discovered a hole about an inch in size on the botton of the can. I knew it hadn't been there when I had fed that morning so how had it got there? My first and only suspect was some mice had done it. I hadn't had any in the hay shed for a while but it looked like I did now. I poured the bran into another can and put duct tape over the hole both inside and outside as a tempory fix until I could get another big can. I then set 3 mouse traps around the can and sprinkled bran over each. It worked get as most things I have tried are either so heavy they spring the trap or the mice ignore the bait. That includes the usual cheese and peanut butter. Later that evening I checked and one trap was sprung and turned over but no mouse. Next morning - same thing. Hummmm maybe it was a rat and I needed a bigger trap I though. It had been a rather big hole for a mouse to make. Not having a big rat trap I tryed again and low and behold that evening I had a very dead mouse. I have left the set traps for several more days but no more sprung traps and no more dead mouses.
So the moral of this story is that one little mouse can chew a big hole through tough plastic trash cans when it really wants something. And it seems that bran is well liked by that mouse at least. And bran workes well to bait a mouse trap with.