Tuesday, April 20, 2010


"Oh yeah. You've got a rat infestation. Look here. They've been coming right up to the door."

The access to the attic (over the living and dining rooms) is a small opening in the wall in the upper hallway. The "door" is just a piece of painted wood that is hinged. I'd placed a heavy piece of Clint's computer equipment in front of it to keep the rats from pushing it open and joining us in the rest of the house.

Exterminator Guy is on his hands and knees in front of the opening and encouraging me to take a peak at rat droppings and whatnot. I want to run into the street, screaming like a drama queen, then move to a house that is perfectly sealed. Tight. No one inch openings anywhere.

He sets the traps and I take him down the hall to my laundry closet. Access to the attics over the rest of the house is directly above the washing machine. I give him privacy (he's a shorter, rounder, sort of fella) to negotiate climbing up onto my appliances and moving the ceiling hatch aside. And when he comes down to the kitchen a few minutes later, he's apologetic. "Yeah. Unfortunately, when I opened the hatch, droppings fell. Lots of them. There's quite a mess up there. They are very dry, so they're probably old. And they're smaller than adult rat droppings but definitely larger than mouse. At some point there must have been many smaller rats up there, because the droppings are everywhere. But there is a mess right now that will need to be vacuumed. And tomorrow? When I come back to check the traps? There will be more mess."

Then he walked around the outside of my house and told me the good news. If I want someone to 'clog the openings' and he suspected there were probably half a dozen spots where they had access - it would be expensive.

So here I sit, blogging at my kitchen counter, not wanting to go upstairs and look at the mess in my laundry area.

And here I sit, thinking that I should get another part time job.

And this is a lousy way to start the day.

Three things I`m thankful for:
1. There are people who look after attic noises. It`s only a matter of money.
2. I have a job.
3. I have a vacuum.



Anonymous said...

There are a few jobs that ALL women agree on. This my dear friend is one of those. THIS IS A MAN JOB!! Rose

Anonymous said...
