After Tyson fixed the damage that had been done under the house we bought a bunch of traps and put them all around where the mice had been.
Nothin'.
So we bought sticky paper and put it by the mice's entries and exits.
Nothin'.
So what did we do next?
Nothin'. Maybe they would go away on their own? 'Cause that happens all the time.
Until my neighbor emailed me asking if we had caught any critters yet. Why? Oh because she saw what looked like a RAT running across their yard and under our fence.
Um, rats are not okay. Neither are mice of course, but rats? Really? RATS. Ugh! I don't even like the word! RRRAAAAATTTTSSSS. Sick. Okay, I'm done.
So Tyson got rat traps while I looked up exterminators. Naturally the exterminators want me to use their service so they totally freak me out with stuff like "Rats will eat anything including other dead rats" or "Rats can hold their breath long enough to swim up through your toilets, AND OFTEN DO."
W.T.Freak!? Great, now I'm scared of my garage and going to the bathroom. I keep all the bathroom doors closed now just in case.
Where are we now with this, you may ask. Well Tyson informed me after checking the traps that we caught a piece of something. A piece.
Just when you thought it couldn't get worse.
So.
Rat watch 2011 is on.
Things are about to get interesting because my parents are coming on Friday (yay!) and my dad has lots of experience in this department. More on that later. In the meantime, let us all share our stories of rat, mice, and other vermin. Please, tell me I'm not alone.
Eeewww! I'm with you! *shudder!* I don't know about rats, but we seem to get ants in our kitchen every year during monsoon season. It's like a whole colony moves in and they crawl all over the counters, even if I keep the place spotless. Bleck! Hopefully you will not find any more rats or pieces thereof. :)
ReplyDeleteHas Tyson told you the story of the possums that moved into our old house? Dad shot one with a bb gun. And I think one got trapped or died behind our dryer. I was little at the time, but I definitely remember the gun part.
ReplyDeleteOh no! A PIECE of something??? Yuck. I hope it gets resolved and fast!
ReplyDeleteWell, there was that one time I woke up with a mouse crawling on my FACE!!! Definitely one of those memories I try to erase from my mind. Dad can get the rat, he's an expert!
ReplyDeleteI'm telling you - GET A CAT!!! hahaha
ReplyDeleteIs Tyson wearing a helmet? hahahaha
A cat is the only solution! We had mice, and the minute they smelled our cat they were out of here! Ha ha ha. YIKES! And the rats swimming up your toilet! Scarry!
ReplyDeleteWe had mice in our garage last year. It made me feel so dirty! I think we found the spot where they were coming in and haven't seen them since. My neighbors say they don't have mice because they have cats. I do find dead mice around the yard from the neighbor cats. Good luck, not fun!
ReplyDeleteAhahahaha! You crack me up! I'll bring my cat to your house next week and maybe he can catch some of those nasty rats although they may catch and eat him, so.....maybe not :)
ReplyDeleteHilarious picture of Tyson, all ready and willing to do battle!
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely interested to know how this gets resolved in case it should happen in my future home. This is one of the many reasons why I like 2nd level apartments. I figure ground floor dwellers get the unwelcomed visitors first.
Ha, yeah Emily he did tell me that story. It may end up on the blog sometime...
ReplyDeleteAnd Becca, yeah he is for sure wearing a helmet. Can't let one jump on his bare head!
And to everyone, I think you are right, we probably should get a cat. But we are REALLY not cat people!
Sigh.
We'll see.
So what's the rest of the story? And don't forget to post photos and stories of your parent's visit!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I am freaking out for you! We had the worlds most stubborn mouse all winter long. Mitch used everything he could think of to entice it, chocolate, peanut butte, etc. He would always eat it, but somehow escape the trap. We FINALLY just caught it. It's about time. I was getting really sick of having to throw away half the food in my pantry.
ReplyDeleteBut a rat? Oh my. I'm having a major case of the eebie jeebies just thinking about it.
Hey! Oh my gosh---so the "piece of something" - that was probably originally a whole rat! I hear what happens when you have a lot of them is, once a trap catches one, the other rats eat it! I'm not kidding....
ReplyDeleteOh, my gosh. Get somebody out there!