August 17, 2006

Last night, I had very, very little sleep. I was kept awake by the sounds of rat(s) at play. See, my plan was to put down a lot of poison and have another night like the one previously. Unfortunately, the rat(s) seemed to have been more comfortable to explore and play. They did not stay in the poison area (under my futon bed). I heard sounds under my bed, in the corner by the TV, and near my head in the cube shelving unit. I felt trapped. I really wanted the rats to eat the poison and go, but it felt like one rat invited some friends. I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I rattled my keys, dropped a book on the floor, then I turned on the lights. I heard them, but I did not want to see them. The evening before, I did see a rat in the kitchen on the kitchen counter. I am sure that rat was between 5 and 6 inches (not including the tail).

I discussed what I thought was a rat problem with my neighbors. Screamer’s response was that she did see a rat, did not like it, but continued to leave a mess in the kitchen. she had made tacos leaving meat sauce, shredded cheese, and lettuce all over counter and in the sink including 2 or 3 wooden matchsticks. Not to mention the pile of dirty dishes that have been sitting on the countertop for about a month. She also felt comfortable because she had a cat. Her recommendation was that I should also get a cat.

Mr. 40+’s response was “Oh, you should buy regular rat traps, the kind that snaps the head right off. I asked him if he had seen the big rat hole in the bathroom, would you believe he told me that he had not seen the hole. The hole was right by the door. To get to the bathroom, you have to step up. And…if you are sitting on the toilet, the floor space is about 4ft by 4ft. How can anyone missed that hole. See the attached photo in the previous blog entry.

Property owner’s response – “Oh.” He tapped the walls, then left. Later in the evening, returned with the handyman. I guess rat holes demands a response, but broken electrical outlets don’t. I wonder if the holes would get patched up, or if it is just for show to bring the handyman in.

I did not want another sleepless night, so I went shopping. Sorry, being so stressed out about the sleep (or lack thereof) and the rats running wild, I forgot to take a photo of the items I purchased. But the list is as follows:

4 rat traps
4 rat poison packs
3 bags of metal scouring pads
1 Combat roach killing Gel tube

I patched the holes in the kitchen, bathroom, and the two holes in my room. It was my foster father who had told me years ago how to fix a mouse hole, stuff it with steel wool scouring pads. The idea that we (at that time), or me at this time would ever have to deal with rats seemed unreal. I never thought that I would ever see a rat inside any placed that I lived. I took my foster father’s mouse advice one step further. I put rat poison in the hole, stretched out the metal scouring pad so that I could tie it off on the pipes. I wasn’t sure if rats would push or pull the material blocking their paths, so I wanted to cover my bases. I also laid a glue trap at the entrance to each hole. Now to see if I can get a stress-free night of sleep.

Post Date - Monday, August 21, 2006 1:04am