Carcass Removal

We thought we left the mice behind at the cabin.

Unfortunately, they found us here.

The Terminex Company guy was kind enough to set some traps for us while they were here

spraying for ants and 21 other deadly and/or annoying pests.

This did not include scorpians, which was too bad, because Seth found one

in his bathroom the very morning the Terminex guy was coming.

Spencer and Seth took care of it with a broom and a big stick.Well, the traps were set up in the attic space. And worked like a wonder.

How did we know?

The rank, rancid, smell of death that began early the next morning.

My first instinct was to check the laundry for smelly stuff and start a load with a generous amount of clorox.

That didn't help so I started checking toilets.

I was baffled by this smell--and I don't get baffled easily by smells (I have 5 boys you know).

Luckily, Scott traced it to the attic and we deduced that:

Dead Critter + 100 Degree Heat= Stink

I called our Terminex guy. The bored receptionist let me know that the papers

I signed with their promise to correct any problem immediately was just a

suggestion. A guideline. Not really true.

They would be happy to send someone out tomorrow.

Me: "We will probably all be dead by tomorrow--dead by asphyxiation from dead animal smell"

She: "I'm not sure who the guy is that works in your area."

Me: "Don't you have a list there somewhere that you can check?"

She: "Ummm, I don't know."

Me: "What do you usually do when you need to send someone to a particular area? Draw straws?"

She: "I'm going to have to put you on hold."

While I was waiting on hold, I had time to look through my paperwork and see that our guy's name was 'Abood'.

So I passed that helpful tidbit along to the helpful receptionist when she got back to me.

She: "OH! Abood!"

Me: " Yes, Abood. Tell Abood he needs to come and collect the dead critters in my attic."

She: "He'll be there tomorrow between 10:00 and 2:00."

Me: "This is pretty urgent. You can't get someone here sooner?"

She: "Tomorrow. Thank you, good-bye."

And with that she got back to texting her boyfriend.

And I got back to holding my breath as I made my way out to find a willing son.

It's a long-standing tradition that I pay my boys for carcass removal.

They like dead stuff and I don't so it's a WIN/WIN situation.

It's usually something the cats drag in.

But usually the cats eviscerate and decapitate their offerings so SMELL isn't an issue.

But this time it was a much bigger job.

Seth volunteered--for a higher than normal fee--which I was

more than willing to pay.

We weren't even sure what kind of animal was up there.

Or what kind of mess it had made.

So, here you see him braving the smell and removing the carcasses from the attic.

Two tiny mice.

Now we're all breathing easier.