Rat Or Mouse In Garage

[Juliebove]

So... We are pretty much snowed in here. Husband has been getting out to go to work but the road we live on is really icy and I'm not going to risk it. It has started snowing again and we are due for high winds that could knock the power out for over a week. So of course I stocked up on as much food as I could. And that meant putting some of it in the garage. I also hid the Christmas presents in the garage, including stocking stuffers. And that includes some not necessarily gluten-free chocolate and nut candies for my husband. Argh!

I'm not sure what day this was now. We've been stuck in the house for so long it's all a blur. Husband called me on the phone around 5:00 a.m. to tell me there's something in the wall behind his TV. Turns out he was getting ready for work and was sitting in his recliner. He yelled and screamed so much he frightened it away.

Then I got another call and he hissed, "Get in here NOW!" Then I could hear the scratching in the wall. It was not as loud sounding as when we had a rat up under the house right near my computer. As a result of that, we hired a company that is now Terminex. They were coming out monthly, but after about a year of little to no activity in the traps, they were coming only quarterly. I think they are due to come back soon.

I called them as soon as they opened and was told the soonest they could get here is Mon. at 8:00 a.m. This didn't please me but I know in this kind of weather we are not the only ones with the problem. My mom's neighbor had a rat and they have tons of cats. We have one cat who has not seemed to notice the problem.

A few hours ago, I went out to the garage for a soda. In cold weather, I keep all of our drinks out there. I found oatmeal in the bottom of the box. My first thought was... Oh! Somebody spilled oatmeal at the store. But... I knew there was a case of oatmeal out there that I bought at Costco. Daughter and I eat the gluten-free stuff. Bought that for husband. I looked and it looked fine. I had been checking it daily since I heard the noise in the wall. Something told me to delve into the box. I did and sure enough, one package near the bottom was chewed open.

I immediately called my daughter to the garage and told her she was going to have to take all of her food into the house. She had two bags of Cocoa something or others from Safeway. Astros? Maybe. gluten-free cereal in a bag. One bag chewed open. Eek! Two bags of Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips. Two boxes of Rice Chex and one of some kind of Pebbles. Also some other gluten-free cereal whose name escapes me. Also two cases of gluten-free bread products from Ener-G, with more on the way any day now!

We still have a lot of food in the garage, mostly in cans and mostly from Costco. I did leave the rice milk, Horizon chocolate milk, broth cartons, applesauce cups and Fruit Chillers. Not sure if those will be safe or not. My mom seemed to think they would be.

Husband is still at work and will try to buy traps on the way home but it will be late and I'm not sure he can get them. This is just soooo creepy. I'm frightened now that they will get in the house but with below freezing temps. I can't blame the little things. Oh, oh, oh!

ETA: I just realized I bought her that gluten-free cupcake maker and extra mixes. And they're out THERE! I know the maker is in a box and I know where it is, but the mixes are both wrapped and I'm not sure which package they are. I might never find them. And if I do, I don't think there's any place here in the house to hide them. Ohhhhhhhhhhh...

[whitball]

This is too funny! My son lives in Chicago. His apartment has a few fine critters. He and his room mates chased a rat around their apartment and finally caught it in in a cooler. They felt sorry for it and let it go. Well, when there is one, there is usually a lot more. I had the pleasure of meeting one of them at Thanksgiving. I'm glad he has to deal with them. I couldn't do it.

[purple]

About 10 yrs ago, my dh woke me up in the night and said he heard chewing in his ear. He said it was a mouse. I said yeah right. No really, get the flashlite. I did and shined it at my dh and there was a mouse on his shoulder. I flipped the light on and he grabbed the BB gun and shot the intruder as he tried to run away along the wall. My dh is a good shot

Too bad your intruder has a belly full of your food.

[purple]

So... We are pretty much snowed in here. Husband has been getting out to go to work but the road we live on is really icy and I'm not going to risk it. It has started snowing again and we are due for high winds that could knock the power out for over a week. So of course I stocked up on as much food as I could. And that meant putting some of it in the garage. I also hid the Christmas presents in the garage, including stocking stuffers. And that includes some not necessarily gluten-free chocolate and nut candies for my husband. Argh!

I'm not sure what day this was now. We've been stuck in the house for so long it's all a blur. Husband called me on the phone around 5:00 a.m. to tell me there's something in the wall behind his TV. Turns out he was getting ready for work and was sitting in his recliner. He yelled and screamed so much he frightened it away.

Then I got another call and he hissed, "Get in here NOW!" Then I could hear the scratching in the wall. It was not as loud sounding as when we had a rat up under the house right near my computer. As a result of that, we hired a company that is now Terminex. They were coming out monthly, but after about a year of little to no activity in the traps, they were coming only quarterly. I think they are due to come back soon.

I called them as soon as they opened and was told the soonest they could get here is Mon. at 8:00 a.m. This didn't please me but I know in this kind of weather we are not the only ones with the problem. My mom's neighbor had a rat and they have tons of cats. We have one cat who has not seemed to notice the problem.

A few hours ago, I went out to the garage for a soda. In cold weather, I keep all of our drinks out there. I found oatmeal in the bottom of the box. My first thought was... Oh! Somebody spilled oatmeal at the store. But... I knew there was a case of oatmeal out there that I bought at Costco. Daughter and I eat the gluten-free stuff. Bought that for husband. I looked and it looked fine. I had been checking it daily since I heard the noise in the wall. Something told me to delve into the box. I did and sure enough, one package near the bottom was chewed open.

I immediately called my daughter to the garage and told her she was going to have to take all of her food into the house. She had two bags of Cocoa something or others from Safeway. Astros? Maybe. gluten-free cereal in a bag. One bag chewed open. Eek! Two bags of Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips. Two boxes of Rice Chex and one of some kind of Pebbles. Also some other gluten-free cereal whose name escapes me. Also two cases of gluten-free bread products from Ener-G, with more on the way any day now!

We still have a lot of food in the garage, mostly in cans and mostly from Costco. I did leave the rice milk, Horizon chocolate milk, broth cartons, applesauce cups and Fruit Chillers. Not sure if those will be safe or not. My mom seemed to think they would be.

Husband is still at work and will try to buy traps on the way home but it will be late and I'm not sure he can get them. This is just soooo creepy. I'm frightened now that they will get in the house but with below freezing temps. I can't blame the little things. Oh, oh, oh!

ETA: I just realized I bought her that gluten-free cupcake maker and extra mixes. And they're out THERE! I know the maker is in a box and I know where it is, but the mixes are both wrapped and I'm not sure which package they are. I might never find them. And if I do, I don't think there's any place here in the house to hide them. Ohhhhhhhhhhh...

How about the trunk of your car or the neighbor's house??

[Juliebove]

How about the trunk of your car or the neighbor's house??

I drive a van and I wouldn't dare leave presents in there because of the crime rate in this neighborhood. I have found the cupcake mix and also some candy that I forgot about and put it in the house. At any rate, I can't get to the back of the van. Too much snow. Or the neighbor's house for that matter.

Husband just called and said he has never seen such bad snow. And he's from PA!

[Juliebove]

Husband said he saw something run out of the garage. So I hope that was it.

[kenlove]

This is a common problem year around in Hawaii even with 6 outdoor cats running around.

I get the big sticky traps from Ace Hardware which work really well for us.

ken

Husband said he saw something run out of the garage. So I hope that was it.

[ianm]

Just be glad it's not chipmunks. I had four of them in my attic over the summer and they were not easy to get rid of.

[Juliebove]

Just be glad it's not chipmunks. I had four of them in my attic over the summer and they were not easy to get rid of.

We had squirrels in our apartment building in NY. Luckily we had the bottom apartment so not a bother to us, but the people upstairs sure complained. They finally did something about it after we moved out.

[eeyore]

Before we moved to NC, our house had loads of mice and probably a bats nest in the attic ceiling. We also had a rat once, but thankfully we were able to get rid of it! Now our only problem is ladybugs!

[purple]

Before we moved to NC, our house had loads of mice and probably a bats nest in the attic ceiling. We also had a rat once, but thankfully we were able to get rid of it! Now our only problem is ladybugs!

We get a season of box elders every year and a couple of stray ones in the winter. This winter we had mosquitos. They came in on the firewood. Never had those in winter before..prob about a dozen so far...weird.