I hate rodents
I think most people would say that they hate rodents. I have a hate/hate relationship with them. The thought of them grosses me out and makes me shiver. A week ago we heard some seriously terrible scratching in the ceiling of our front living room. Riley yelled out to me "Do we have roofers on our roof today? It's so loud in here!" I could only wish that was what it was.
I called the Pest Management Company - they're amazing by the way! The guy came out yesterday and sprayed our wasp nest that had grown outside over the summer/fall. Glad to have that done. Though we had two wasps flying around the house yesterday that both died. We enjoyed watching the stinger continue to poke out of its' bottom long after it was dead. I learned that the stinger is a reflex and will continue to work despite the wasp being dead.
He went up into our attic and came down not too long after to say "Ma'am, you've got a major problem up there."
He proceeded to share that there were tons of droppings - and not fresh ones (which he found by touching it). He also shared that there were many paths/tracks showing that they'd been wandering up there for a while. There are more than one - possibly three, four or more. He said that you can see beds in the insulation where they have chewed and then laid in it to get warm. If that wasn't enough, he added that the problems up there are indeed rats. RATS. Oh. My. Word. UGH.
Rats can actually travel straight up a wall and then find a small piece of rubber to chew through on/near the roof. They only need a very small hole to make their way into the house. He said that often a squirrel will do some chewing and make way for rats to get in. Unfortunately, he can't find how they got into the house. He said everything appears to be shut and closed and properly sealed in the roof areas and overhangs. We (I mean Jeremy - don't think I can do it... call me a wimp if you want to) will have to sweep the board areas up in the attic. This way we can track the new paths that the rats make and see if there is less traffic up there. Praying they eat the poison laid upstairs and died fast deaths... far, far away from the home. The poison makes them thirsty and causes them to look for water which means they get out of the home to eat it. Or at least, that's the hope.
The one we had heard scratching up above the front living room was apparently looking for a way out. He said that it's possible that it will die up there because he could become a very fat rat and get stuck in that corner. Our attic is small and there are mostly narrow areas up there where they can get stuck. We haven't heard him today yet. If they die up there, they'll smell and we can get an odor pack from the company that will last a few months.
This was only the attic. Then came the garage.
We had noticed that one of our old car seats on the floor of the garage had two chew marks in the seat portion and thought that we had a rodent issue. This was what caused us to call the company. Thinking it was a small deal. And it's not.
He called me into the garage and kept saying "Wow. There are tons of droppings. And they are all over. I usually don't see this much activity like this. You've got mice here. And likely some babies as there are some droppings that are small and some that are bigger." MICE. For real?! We get the joys of rats and mice.
Come to find that our garage door is slightly off and in the side there is sunlight poking through. As a result, there is a tiny narrow passageway where the mice has chewed through the wood siding and gotten into the garage. They have access all day and night to get in and out. We need to put up a metal piece to block them from coming in.
We also have several boxes of stuff (who knows what is in them) on the floor of the garage. He said that mice will chew holes into the boxes, then snuggle in and have babies in them. We'll have to go through the boxes to see if they're in there and then kill them with poison. There are poison packs set around the third car area of the garage where the stuff is but they haven't eaten it yet. Not looking forward to going through everything... again... Jeremy will likely do it. Or I'll do it with him as I can't do it alone.
Wasps, rats and mice. And the reason??
The guy asked if we are anywhere near the Nebraska Furniture Store Construction. And yes, we definitely are. Maybe half a mile if that and there's a big field between our home and the construction. He said that he has no doubt that the rodents are a result of the construction. They've dug up such an incredible amount of ground that their homes would have been affected greatly. They're looking for a warm place to go and with our home being one of the first in the sub, they'd find us first.
To make it a little lighter of an experience, I'm thinking we should name the rat we heard scratching. Maybe it will make it not seem so scary to me. Call him something silly to add some humor. Definitely grossing me out.
Another life experience that I hope to never revisit. Praying this is done and over sooner rather than later.
I called the Pest Management Company - they're amazing by the way! The guy came out yesterday and sprayed our wasp nest that had grown outside over the summer/fall. Glad to have that done. Though we had two wasps flying around the house yesterday that both died. We enjoyed watching the stinger continue to poke out of its' bottom long after it was dead. I learned that the stinger is a reflex and will continue to work despite the wasp being dead.
He went up into our attic and came down not too long after to say "Ma'am, you've got a major problem up there."
He proceeded to share that there were tons of droppings - and not fresh ones (which he found by touching it). He also shared that there were many paths/tracks showing that they'd been wandering up there for a while. There are more than one - possibly three, four or more. He said that you can see beds in the insulation where they have chewed and then laid in it to get warm. If that wasn't enough, he added that the problems up there are indeed rats. RATS. Oh. My. Word. UGH.
Rats can actually travel straight up a wall and then find a small piece of rubber to chew through on/near the roof. They only need a very small hole to make their way into the house. He said that often a squirrel will do some chewing and make way for rats to get in. Unfortunately, he can't find how they got into the house. He said everything appears to be shut and closed and properly sealed in the roof areas and overhangs. We (I mean Jeremy - don't think I can do it... call me a wimp if you want to) will have to sweep the board areas up in the attic. This way we can track the new paths that the rats make and see if there is less traffic up there. Praying they eat the poison laid upstairs and died fast deaths... far, far away from the home. The poison makes them thirsty and causes them to look for water which means they get out of the home to eat it. Or at least, that's the hope.
The one we had heard scratching up above the front living room was apparently looking for a way out. He said that it's possible that it will die up there because he could become a very fat rat and get stuck in that corner. Our attic is small and there are mostly narrow areas up there where they can get stuck. We haven't heard him today yet. If they die up there, they'll smell and we can get an odor pack from the company that will last a few months.
This was only the attic. Then came the garage.
We had noticed that one of our old car seats on the floor of the garage had two chew marks in the seat portion and thought that we had a rodent issue. This was what caused us to call the company. Thinking it was a small deal. And it's not.
He called me into the garage and kept saying "Wow. There are tons of droppings. And they are all over. I usually don't see this much activity like this. You've got mice here. And likely some babies as there are some droppings that are small and some that are bigger." MICE. For real?! We get the joys of rats and mice.
Come to find that our garage door is slightly off and in the side there is sunlight poking through. As a result, there is a tiny narrow passageway where the mice has chewed through the wood siding and gotten into the garage. They have access all day and night to get in and out. We need to put up a metal piece to block them from coming in.
We also have several boxes of stuff (who knows what is in them) on the floor of the garage. He said that mice will chew holes into the boxes, then snuggle in and have babies in them. We'll have to go through the boxes to see if they're in there and then kill them with poison. There are poison packs set around the third car area of the garage where the stuff is but they haven't eaten it yet. Not looking forward to going through everything... again... Jeremy will likely do it. Or I'll do it with him as I can't do it alone.
Wasps, rats and mice. And the reason??
The guy asked if we are anywhere near the Nebraska Furniture Store Construction. And yes, we definitely are. Maybe half a mile if that and there's a big field between our home and the construction. He said that he has no doubt that the rodents are a result of the construction. They've dug up such an incredible amount of ground that their homes would have been affected greatly. They're looking for a warm place to go and with our home being one of the first in the sub, they'd find us first.
To make it a little lighter of an experience, I'm thinking we should name the rat we heard scratching. Maybe it will make it not seem so scary to me. Call him something silly to add some humor. Definitely grossing me out.
Another life experience that I hope to never revisit. Praying this is done and over sooner rather than later.
Comments
Post a Comment