Rat Bastard!

To say that I have a rodent phobia is to grossly underestimate the level of trauma that overcomes me at just the thought of one of these things. So when B and I had a critter problem over the last week, it was- how do I put this- MORTIFYING!

We discovered some type of critter hanging out in the attic above our bedroom. We didn't see it (OMG, *shudder*), but could hear it. It would wake us up every morning between 4:30 and 5:30am - rude, first of all...with scary noises that I could only help but imagine was him trying to dig a hole into either a wall or our ceiling. The thought that there could be a...rat...there, I said it (yeuuckhhh!!) chillin' above my peacefully sleeping head was almost too much to bear, so we tried to come up with alternative options for what it could be: a squirrel (still, a rat with cuter clothing, but far less disgusting than a rat), or a bird making a nest perhaps? Unfortunately, our better instincts hinted at something far worse, and those insticts were confirmed when B found "evidence" of a rodent presence (lets just say it was remnants of his take-out dinner). We knew we had a problem.

We had to wait an excrutiating 5 days before the pest guy came out, so in the meantime, I started to sleep with earplugs, I didn't use the back door (we found an opening in the roof above our back door which may as well have had a welcome mat near it), and I hoped and prayed that nothing furry would somehow gnaw its way into our home and/or land on my head as I slept. When he finally came out last Friday, he confirmed that there looked to be recent rodent-like activity in the attic, so he set up a few traps. He would return early this week to follow-up. I continued my protocol of sleeping with earplugs and hoping and praying.

And so, long story short, there was a (rhymes with cat), it was caught, it has been removed, and hopefully our landlord will get someone out ASAP to patch the hole so no other sqatters of the rodent variety can enter...ever again.

Finally...some peace of mind...