All you do is place it on floor, turn it on, and push clean button to start it off on its cleaning odyssey. It will circle a couple of times and then off it goes around room seeking out dirt and dust. Whether floor is carpets, hardwood, ceramic, or tiles – it does them all with equal enthusiasm.

It is not a toy or gimmick. Rather, it is part of a new generation of household equipment that will soon become common. They are products that can make decisions as to how best to accomplish a task. Not quite true artificial intelligence, but definitely smart enough to vacuum rugs for you.

The two preeminent manufacturers of these vacuums are Electrolux* and Roomba*.

The Electrolux version is probably most sophisticated. It incorporates eight ultrasonic sensors and some advanced computer reasoning. It sends out a sound beam that allows it to determine where all objects are located in room. It can even find its way back to charger when power levels begin to drop. Once charged, it will appear again to continue cleaning. When it determines room is clean it goes back to charger, turns around, backs into it, and turns itself off. This robot vacuum has been available in Europe for a couple of years. It appears to be most complex of these machines and comes with a $1795 price tag.

The robot vacuum cleaner I purchased is Roomba, manufactured by iRobot company. It is a simpler and much less expensive version and carries a price tag of approximately $249. Its round shape, bright colour, and flashing buttons give it a futuristic look. At three inches in height and one foot in diameter it looks like a miniature flying sauce as it scurries across floor.

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In just six months one pair of mice can eat more than four pounds of food and deposit about 18,000 droppings. Food contaminated by mice is about 10 times greater than what is eaten. Also, food wasted by mouse nibbling is much more than what is eaten.

Here are some ways to prevent pets and children from being poisoned by using natural mice control.

Mice like to eat seeds, grains, and foods high in fat or sugar. These types of food can be used for bait. Such items include bacon and bacon fat, candies such as tootsie rolls and anise teddy bears, butter, peanut butter, avocados, pizza crusts and nutmeats. Chocolate covered peanut candy will kill mice. Chocolate is poisonous to mice. Switch bait occasionally--it makes mice more likely to investigate new food offering.

Place traps along walls between mice habitat and food sources. Place under cupboards or other furniture in dark to help prevent household pets from being injured by traps.

Don't leave pet food out at night--at least until you are sure all mice are caught.