Of Mice and Men and Sharp-Toothed Vermin

I’ve been having some vermin problems in the office. Mice, to be more specific. As you can imagine, scraping together funding for my research has been a bit difficult – partly because there is resistance to it by those who see it as controversial, partly because people are hesitant to fund “independent” research (a problem I was hoping to get around by finding a benefactor in the CSLD).

At any rate, I currently have a loose tile on the floor of my office, and though I’ve submitted several maintenance requests to Building Maintenance, no one has responded to those requests as such. True, I’m keeping odd hours, but it seems that the Greater Los Angeles Area keeps odd hours in general, and I don’t see myself as an anomaly here.

Meanwhile, little sharp-toothed bastards come in and destroy my pertinent documents. They seem to find them no matter where I hide them away. Does anyone have a recommendation for a humane mouse deterrent? I’ve done my best to keep them out by stacking cinderblocks on top of the loose tile, but they must have an entry point elsewhere.