Critter Control

In the middle of the night on Thursday Howie jumped off the bed, barking ferociously, and ran into the kitchen like a rabid beast. Then he stalked our mouse zone. Something was clearly in there, yet the traps were mouse free. I woke up every hour for the rest of the night.

First thing Friday morning I called Critter Control. Matt left for his ski trip Thursday after work and, seriously, the thought of chasing a mouse around the house with Howie, W, and my sixth month pregnant self all weekend was well worth the cost.

I had no other option if I wanted to sleep while Matt was away for the weekend. They were here within a few hours. The guy was friendly, found the point of entry, and verified there was not a nest or colony.

I specifically told him I wanted to know how many eyes were staring back at him when he climbed under there. He saw none. Good sign, right?

Then he sealed the entry point and mentioned that if there were any others still inside, they won't be able to make it back outside and may barge their way out another way. As in through the house.

That's when I mentioned that my husband was out of town for the weekend and I wasn't down with chasing a loose mouse around the house. And then I realized I just told a complete stranger, who had done a review of the entire exterior of my house that I would be alone with a 2 year old. My mind flashed to every Dateline episode I've ever watched.

I followed it up with mention of how crazy my dog is, so crazy that I had to send him to my parents knowing Critter Control was coming over. (This is true, Howie is not good when people come to our house for work of any kind, he just barks and jumps all over them.) I neglected to mention that he's a cuddly, long-haired, adorable 25 pounder, but he didn't need to know that. And to make matters even better, I continued to talk myself into a hole and said that I might make my dad stay over just in case anything happens... with the mice.

He seemed genuine, totally nice, but the idea of a random guy knowing I was home alone just didn't sit well. Deep down I knew I was fine, but I did check all the windows and doors a little obsessively. And my dad came over to reset the traps for me. I'm sure the poor Critter Control guy left thinking "That pregnant lady is delusional if she thinks I'll be coming back to attack her and steal her dumb laptop."