Mice find ant bait in cabinet

DEAR HELOISE >> I didn't think there was any “food” in the cabinet under my kitchen sink where I keep detergents, bug spray, new sponges, etc. But I learned the hard way that mice like ant bait, or at least the name brand I kept — the little white squares that have an entry for ants to take the bait and leave back to their colony. The bait comes sealed in plastic inside a paperboard box. I had bagged the boxes as well, but the mice chewed through it all into the bait, leaving a real mess to clean up.

I have now read that some companies use peanut butter to entice the ants. Any future ant bait will be stored in hard plastic or, better yet, metal. (Several mice were humanely trapped with professional backup just in case.)

— G.W., Staten Island,

New York

DEAR READERS >> After you take your medications, be sure that you put the lids on tight, and store them up and away from nosy pets. Poison control centers report that there are many calls about pets swallowing human medicines, which can be deadly to them. If you discover missing pills, take your pet to the vet ASAP.

DEAR READERS >> When you buy or receive a beautiful bouquet of flowers, you want to keep them fresh for as long as you can. To maintain them, take off all of the leaves below the water level, then cut a 1/2 inch off of the stems. And do change the water every other day.

DEAR READERS >> Getting lipstick on towels happens often and looks awful, so here's how to get it off. Act fast and take these steps:

First, pour a bit of rubbing alcohol (70% to 90%) on a paper towel and place it down on a nonporous surface. Then put the bath towel on top with the lipstick stain down.

Next, pour rubbing alcohol onto a second paper towel and press the lipstick stain so that it transfers to the first paper towel. Keep pressing until the stain has disappeared. Repeat if needed. Then wash as usual.

DEAR HELOISE >> It seems that every time I crack an egg open, I lose a tiny piece of the shell. I hate to say it, but 9 times out of 10, I will lose that little piece. Then someone will find it when they chew their scrambled eggs or bite into their muffin.

Finally, I decided to break the eggs into a small glass bowl where I could easily see if there was a small piece of shell floating in the egg whites and fish it out.

No more crunchy eggs!

— E.F., in California

DEAR HELOISE >> Here's my solution when I get gifts I don't want or need. I give them to one of the animal rescue groups that I support. They hold auctions for fundraisers, and the new items can be used for an auction.

— M., in Ohio

Write to Heloise at P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000; Fax 210-HELOISE; or email Heloise@Heloise.com.