They're making my life here VERY difficult

Key problem & “reality check” (living in the woods)

• She discovers she’s dealing with a major mouse/dormouse infestation in an old cabin roof/ceiling.
• The mice/dormice are dropping feces onto her while she sleeps, and she worries about disease risk (including a mention of hantavirus).
• The animals are active at night (nocturnal), which makes sleeping difficult.
• She notes the infestation appears to have accelerated around the time she moved in.

Short-term coping + sleep workarounds

• She sleeps outside temporarily to avoid being under “poop raining” from the ceiling.
• To reduce exposure inside the cabin, she physically blocks droppings:
  • She staples a felt panel/barrier to the ceiling to catch/redirect droppings (a “felt poop umbrella/felt poop catcher”).
  • When the felt becomes filled with poop, she removes or replaces it.
• When deterrents don’t fully help, she uses earplugs—though she still wakes up occasionally.

Trying to deter mice/dormice (and what didn’t work)

Essential oils approach

• She uses rosemary and lavender (no peppermint available).
• She applies the scent by putting oil onto cotton swabs/tissues placed in the ceiling area.
• She concludes that smell-based deterrents didn’t work.

Ultrasonic rodent repellent

• She orders an ultrasonic beeper device.
• It didn’t deter the animals and mostly annoyed her, disrupting her sleep.

Pet-hair balls

• She buys/tries cat/dog hair balls as another smell/behavior deterrent.
• She reports that none of these methods worked long-term.

Advice from a “wildlife hotline” (long-term solution)

The only effective long-term solution is to:

• Seal up all entryways/entrances the dormice use into the cabin.

Constraints:

• The cabin roof is ancient and full of holes, making sealing “mission impossible.”
• A proper fix would likely require renovating/reconstructing the entire roof.

Additional suggestion mentioned:

• Cut down trees around the cabin, though she can’t do that right now.

Transitioning lifestyle: building an off-grid outdoor shower

After gaining reliable water from a spring via gravity, she builds an outdoor shower near the cabin.

Construction steps/tools:

• Levels the ground by digging first.
• Uses a found foundation base as a level starting surface.
• Builds a ring of rocks around the shower area.
• Adds a hanging rack/holder for soap and towel (purchased in town).
• Uses a drill, noting it “unlocked a universe” of DIY capability.
• Installs a simple garden hose + shower head setup.

Outcome:

• The shower is described as one of the coolest she’s had, built in about an hour.

Ongoing question to viewers:

• She wants ideas for making it a warm off-grid shower (no power).

Notable locations / products / people (as referenced)

Locations

• An ancient cabin in the mountains/woods
• Her meadow for outdoor sleeping
• A spring feeding water via gravity

Products/tools mentioned

• Essential oils: rosemary, lavender (peppermint not available)
• Ultrasonic rodent repellent: an ultrasonic beeper
• Cat/dog hair balls
• Earplugs
• Garden hose + shower head
• Organic soap and a towel/soap hanger bought in town
• Drill (for mounting/DIY)

Notable references

• An Office episode reference (Angela’s “poop raining from the ceiling” line)

Companion/pet references

• Vilk/Vika (her dog)
• Milk (another pet referenced reacting to mice)