yah those ways are just messy and time consuming.. try this.. the night before take out what you need from the freezer and put it in the fridge.. then the next day they should be fully thawed.. let your kitchen sink tap run all the way hot for a few minutes until it gets nice and hot, plug up the sink and fill to about 1/4 to half full.. put the mice/rats in a rubbermaid tub and let it FLOAT on the surface.. after about 20min flip them.. and then another little bit and they should be good to go!