Rats...!

Mice, actually. But they look like mini rats and have tails just as long.

We suddenly have a rodent problem. After 3 visits from 3 different "technicians" from Terminix (a complete wear-out), I think we're on the right track.

I'll spare you pictures (oh, I was tempted) and most of the details. But I will say, it's very unsettling to have rodents - even when they are confined to walls and attic. Mainly because we don't know why all of a sudden they've chosen to bunk with us. I know it's cold outside and the neighbors have been doing some work. We also may have a plumbing leak under our house which we are looking into....

It's also unsettling because these things are elusive as hell. I smashed a hole in a wall where I was certain to find a critter dead or dying based on sound evidence (see what I did, there?) only to find nothing (except for maybe some poops, but I'm not real sure). For awhile, I wasn't even certain what we were dealing with - mice, rats, or squirrels (or all of the above). Finally, it's unsettling because the thought of a rat in the nursery where my baby sleeps is enough for me to tear our house down to the studs. In fact, when we bought the house, it was the discovery of mouse droppings in a kitchen cabinet (in a house that had been vacant for 6 months, mind you) that led to this.

Anyway, the first Terminix dude came out and set 4 traps in our attic and never came back. A second guy came out and said he wasn't going to look for the traps (2 of which were nowhere to be found) or do anything more to help us. He thought he had been called out to spray for insects, which I let him do. He did tell me that it might help if I removed the clutter from our attic, which I already knew. He also spent a considerable amount of time criticizing the tactics deployed by the first guy and made sure that I knew the first guy was "of size" and not likely to have ventured very far back into our attic.

Unsatisfied with dude #2, I called Terminix again and they sent a third guy out. No one knows where Technician #1 set his traps, so everyone's a little weary about doing anything up there, but this third guy, he took a look around and told me he'd come back a day or two later. He told me to clear out the space best I could and I assured him I would.

I spent the day Saturday clearing every single thing out of our attic, leaving only an iMac G3 and and old Dell hard drive tower, placing everything else out for bulk trash. In doing so, I found the missing traps - attached to dead rats. They were smallish, which accounts for why they allowed themselves to get clipped by the tiny mouse traps left by technician #1 (Remember, technician #2 was critical of the first guy for good reason. He just wasn't going to do anything about it...). I have no doubt the other traps were sprung by larger specimens who got away with minor bumps/bruises. I believe this because they sound like freaking possums(opossums?) when we hear them above us.

I was skeptical about dude #3 returning. And though he was a full 2 hours late, he did, in fact, return on said day. I was ready to demand my money back (and in fact had requested a manager come out for that purpose)... but this new guy, Nate, says he's on it. He has a plan of attack. Together, working as a team, he says, we're going to knock this problem out. I believe him. He set up all kinds of traps. 3 or 4 different types. Actually baited them with cheese. I wanted to tell him that I thought that rats on Newberry Drive probably didn't follow stereotypes so closely, but decided to let them man work. He also put out poison, which we are completely fine with. If our walls become tombs, I'm okay with that. If one crawls up in a wall and dies and begins to stink, then we have a problem. But I'll just smash more holes in the walls until that problem gets solved.

I cannot tell you, though, how frustrating it's been working with Terminix. Once this little episode is over, I'm fairly confident I'll take my rats and business elsewhere. If I stay with them, it's all due to Nate the Warrior and the fact that we are not hearing any more pitter-patter in the night.

Developing...

UPDATE 12/23/10 - Confirmed body count: 07; Suspected Missing in Action: 4

UPDATE 01/10/11 Confirmed Dead now at 8, suspected KIA nearing 5-6. Prior to the holidays, I removed 4 from the attic. Made the mistake of tossing the traps with them. I should have reused those suckers. The little wooden mouse traps caught the most. One was caught in a big trap. One caught using the pad of really sticky stuff. That must have been a tough way to go out. Stuck. Cheese in front of your face. Man.

Anyway, the stench of the dead ones in our walls or attic buried in insulation is, well, pungent. It smells like rotting corpse. My wife - who had the nose of a bloodhound just 6 months ago while pregnant - says she can't smell them. That is good. She says I've suddenly developed extra sensitive olfactory glands or something. Trust me. That smell stays with you. Avoid rat/mice poison (often euphemistically called "bait").

Nate came back out after the holidays and set more traps. He moved the "bait" to the "perimeter" (outside near the fence). The smells have tapered off and the traps have been empty. Looks like we got it going our way.

Sorry, Buddha...