Rats: Part 1
Too Long; Didn’t Read: Laid down poison outside the house. One died inside a wall. Bought a badass trap. Updates to come.
I was leaving the house about two months ago, when I saw a small creature scurrying from beneath the stairs, under the fence and into a pile of wood in the neighbors’ yard. It had a long, thin tail like a dirty brown shoelace. It was a rat.
Later that day we found a suspicious hole underneath the stairs. The hard plastic drain cover had been chewed through and there were signature turd nuggets laying around.
So we filled the hole, replaced the drain cover, cut back the weeds and laid down poison. Exactly two days passed and we noticed a heavy stench in the house which was coming from an electrical outlet on the kitchen counter. Yes, something had died inside the wall right next to where we prepare food. Needless to say this was stressful.
Once again we cleaned. Behind appliances, inside cabinets and closets. There was no evidence to suggest they had entered our actual living space and after several days the stench vanished. Weeks passed without smells or turds and we thought this dark episode was over until one night recently when I was peering out the window into the backyard. I witnessed two very large rats (call them Mrs Brisby and Nicodemus), running up and down the alley, in and out of shadows, under the neighbor’s car, etc.
I realized laying down poison and hoping the problem would take care of itself was far too passive so I sat down and purchased the most intense rat trap I could find. Its like the thing from Ghostbusters but without an electrical cord.
It should arrive in a couple days and I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. In the coming weeks I will update with our progress. Stay tuned, it will be a learning experience!
