What happens when you combine a former city chick who has seen rats the size of small cats, a handy husband that is surviving on too little sleep and a mysterious “something” with an appetite for a 45-year-old house in the woods? Chaos, I tell you, chaos.
When I last left off, I was telling you about our adventures with a mystery rodent. Let’s call it Godzilla, so you don’t confuse it with that cute little epicures mouse in Ratatouille. Better yet, let’s call it the ROUS (rodent of unusual size); with teeth.
(If you missed the early part of my adventures, click here: Of Mice and Men and Of Rats and Men.)
I hate to be anti-climatic here, but the fact is that my husband and I needed some sleep in order to have our wits about us and prepare for our battle against ROUS (with teeth). After a few extra bangs for good measure, I went upstairs to bed, while my husband decided to make himself comfortable on the couch, to act as sentinel in case ROUS (with large teeth) should give him an opening. He just settled down with a throw blanket and closed his eyes. He rolled over once and then again. Just as he drifted off to sleep, the scratching began again (and were those chomping noises, too?).
With a sigh, my husband got up and headed into the garage with a crowbar.
The rest of the early morning passed uneventfully.
The weekend, however, saw about a fourth of our garage wall ripped open. My husband was not about to fool around. Inside the wall, among the insulation, were tiny bits of chewed up black plastic. The mouse trap that the exterminators had placed in the garage three months ago was rendered into a kind of confetti that ROUS (with really large teeth) must have used to celebrate its good fortune and superior skills. I could picture it doing a little full-on butt wiggle in the direction of the family room.
Despite of the destruction to the garage, there was no ROUS in site. I did an Internet search for photos of dead mice to post around the garage as propaganda in a brilliant interrogation plan. My three-year-old wanted to know if the ROUS (with really large, sharp teeth) could invite Mickey Mouse to our house.
It was time to call the exterminator. You might be surprised by what he found. I know I was.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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