(Warning: this is going to get gross. Please don't read while eating your breakfast, and don't say you weren't warned!)
Several months ago when Headless girl was home for the weekend, she mentioned that she was hearing something in the attic.
Um, what?
Apparently, there was quite a lot of activity at night, somewhere above her room. Like the great parents and homeowners we are, we ignored it.
A few weeks later I went in the garage early one morning and a rat ran up the garage door track, across the ceiling, along a beam (over my head, I might add,) and into a hole. Yes, I screamed bloody murder.
Headless Dad diligently set traps in the garage, and at the hole where I saw the rat disappear.
Fast forward a couple of weeks to when my parents were visiting, the first week of March. (We had not yet caught one critter.)
While my parents were here we caught not one, but 2 rats. Coming out of that hole in the wall. (Apparently, they were living in the attic and this hole was their gateway to food and water. Nice.) Thank goodness for my dad, the Master Rat Trapper. He was the one that took care of the dirty work. (Love you, Dad!) Each time, he would empty the trap and reset it.
Sometime in all of this, Headless Dad was cleaning the garage and saw a mouse running around the other side and decided that our problem was just mice. Yeah, right. I know my rats from my mice, Mister. Fat bellies and long tails.
About this time I was going into the garage late in the evening and noticed that the trap had been sprung. Like the grown up that I am, I decided against going in the garage, closed and locked the door, and left. Left it all for HD in the morning. I'm a giver. When he checked the trap he made the most lovely discovery. We had certainly caught another rat coming out of the wall, but his buddies must have been reeeeealy hungry, because they had canibalized him to get out of the attic. (I warned you!)
Around this time we started to have a lovely smell that we discovered was coming from the wall between the garage and our guest room. (Maybe you saw my tweets about this? I was desperate to get rid of the stink; it was awful!) Turns out they only stink for 7-10 days. Who knew?
So right after the stink went away my parents came back for another visit over Mothers' Day. And yes, the Master Rat Trapper caught another rat. Not even kidding!
So now we are thinking that this has GOT to be the end of the rats, right? Hahahahahahahahaha.
One afternoon the following week I was innocently taking out the trash and right outside my back door was another one. Luckily, that one was already dead, but that also meant that our neighbors seem to be having the same problem and rather than using traps they must have been using poison. I left that one for Headless Dad, too. I told you, I'm a giver.
Fast forward to the past week, and we have begun to smell 'it' again. The smell was faint, would come and go, but we had not been able to find the source.
Leave it to Mom, right? Yes, I found the culprit today- RIGHT UNDER THE CHAIR WHERE HD SITS IN THE GARAGE!!! We had been sitting over and walking around a dead mouse for over a week. No kidding, when I told HD and he went to get it we were both so creeped out. Thank goodness he will do stuff like that because I would have been tempted to just move out and leave all of the crap in the garage. Possibly including my car.
Dead rat count: 5 Dead mouse count: 1
Can this please be the end? Please?
Monday, May 25, 2009
A Big Fat Rat of a Tale
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10 comments:
they werent rats in the attic...they were full grown men..
or at least thats what they sounded like
EWWWWWWW!! evil critters!!! time to call in the professionals? Get the place wiped out because they think that it's a good place to live even after their "buddies" die!
I hat mice/rats/full grown men in attics. Whatever you want to call them, I HATE them. LOL
When I lived at my parents house we had the same issue, except the little stinkers weren't dying, they would just come rummage around in my room for a while and leave and then come back again.
Yeah, the first time I saw one I about died and refused to sleep in my room for an entire week. LOL
We live across from open space with a stream running through it. Do you know how many mice, snakes, bunnies, coyotes and other wild things love to hang out in open space with a water feature? Then, when they get bored hanging out in the open space, they like to come into people's homes -- or at least try to. I can deal with bunnies and even coyotes, but the mice and snakes I leave to my husband...
I can barely begin to think about it. I hope they are gone and if not I would get your Dad out here again realy soon!
I didn't hear a thing while I was there in November....just sayin'
good luck, I think I might be calling the professionals at this point....OR have your dad move in for the next six months.
yikes!
Thank you for the warning, I thought I was prepared, but I totally have the heebie-jeebies.
When you said it was going to be gross, that was like saying "sick 'em" to a bull dog, and I was the bull dog!!!
You know - - - I teach Biology, I make kids dissect things. Hubby is medical. It takes A LOT to make us say "gross."
For about a year and a half we rented a small place in the country. Hubby trapped 19 mice in one day IN OUR HOUSE. Oh yes he did.
He also poured about 10 mice OUT of his golf clubs once before putting the clubs in the car - - - possibly due to the fact that at THAT country home he STORED his clubs in the old chicken coop. No chickens in there - - - but evidently PLENTY of mice.
Ewhhhhh! Eeeebie Geeebies! I'm not much of a cat person but I think you might need to invest in one! :)
Ok, so you and all your bloggy friends have really creeped me out now. I think I'll refrain from ever going in my garage again!!!!!!
LOL - Just kidding I love the stories...gross but fun.
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