SO.......this weekend was time...time to do what I've put off for the last couple of weeks. First of all, 2nd Family has been going to the house at least once a day to check the trap we set up in the bathroom. Much like a fisherman who sets his line and waits, only to find nothing on the other end, same with our trap. Nothing in it and nothing had eaten the bait.
On the plus side there was no poop and no shredded floor this time around.
There was only one thing left to do. Go into the attic.
The house doesn't have a standard drop down attic staircase, it's one of the "stand on a rickety ladder and push your head up through the opening" types. Oh and no light up there either. So it's really one of those "stand on a rickety ladder and push your head up through the opening and into complete darkness" types. I've seen those movies...they never end well...
With trepidation, and great bravery (be nice!) I pushed the door open. I half expected bats to fly out. Or snakes to drop down. I hate snakes. And spiders.
But I digress...
Armed with the flashlight in one hand, the machete in the other, and my cell phone in my pocket, you know, in case I needed to, um, check my email, I stuck my head into the opening...
OK, so it wasn't that.
So here goes...brace yourself...look away if you are easily frightened...
OMG!!!
GIANT BLACK SNAKE!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, OK...so it's just an old ventilation duct....
OMG!!!
A GIANT INSECT WITH ANTENNAE!!!!!
Fine...it's a TV antenna "Ma" left behind when she moved...
OMG!!!
IT'S....UM...UM...
So, it turns out there was nothing up there, certainly not of the SyFy Channel variety. The imagination is indeed a powerful tool.
We did discover that the attic is fairly well insulated, though it could probably stand to be straightened up a bit. There are actually TWO layers of insulation, that's why this stands up so high. But the reconnaissance mission was not without some intel...check this out!
I found a hole in the eave of the house that you can't see from the ground!! There was even some nesting material. Not sure if a bird or what.
Here it is closeup:
 |
| Hole in attic |
Any idea what could create a hole like this?
Looks like a router saw was taken to it? Very odd. It's a good 6" across...big enough for all manner of creatures to enter and exit.
I have not sealed it up yet. We're trying to think what we could do to drive out anything that MIGHT be up there and give it a chance to leave before sealing it up forever. Also spotted one other small opening that I did seal up. Side note, a dark attic with no light is actually a great way to find out where the holes are when you look at it in the daylight.
We left the trap down with fresh bait and we'll give it another week. If nothing comes in, we'll move it outside the bathroom and leave it in the living room and just make sure nothing is hiding elsewhere.
SO I guess, this latest installment of "Random Country Creature Encounters" ends with a few answers, still no creature in the trap and the possibility that maybe we've sealed up most everything (other than that one spot in the attic).
I think you have solved the mystery of your creature(s)’ access to your house. I could not have been paid enough to go up in that dark attic! You are definitely earning your country stripes!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely thinking that's where "IT" is coming in. Country stripes, I like that. Do I get something to sew onto my shirtsleeves? Ha.
DeleteSquirrels and raccoons are both good at chewing through wood. One night as I was sitting on the sofa reading, with the lamp on next to me and a window beside me, I heard an awful noise right by my head, outside. I turned on the outside light and saw a raccoon staring back at me, up under the gutter where the roof slopes. He was trying to eat his way into the house and didn't care if I saw him. At the time we had cedar siding. Now we have concrete board! My sister and brother-in-law had one get into their attic once through the ventilation louvers. Rats can also chew their way inside. Whatever it is, the quicker you block its access with a metal cover it can't chew through, the better. It (or they) might be looking for a cozy winter home or a place to raise babies. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThose raccoons are brave too, or maybe I should say aren't too scared of us, ha. Cedar siding and he was just gnawing away huh? Wow. Thanks for the idea of a metal cover, I can get some small pieces of sheet metal and put it up with some screws.
DeleteSpooky!
ReplyDeleteI think you should take up writing ghost stories for a hobby!!
Ha, thanks!! "Happy Halloween", right? :-)
DeleteIt's when you don't hear them anymore that you start to worry.
ReplyDeleteYikes, didn't think about that, ha. Thanks!
Deletewhat the hell gnawed a hole that big? you might have bigfoot living in your attic!!!
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly (well, not about bigfoot but thanks, now I'm thinking about that, LOL). But yeah, it's a big hole. I kind of wondered if a woodpecker could do that? Not sure. I will cover it soon.
DeleteDo you think it could be a man made hole that someone put there to have wires going up into the attic? Those cable/satellite installers don't always do the finest work.
ReplyDeleteKathy
It's possible, but "Ma" who lived there before had cable but the cable/phone line come in on the other side of the house and just come up from the ground and through the wall into the room that was her bedroom. You are right though, definitely a possibility.
DeleteVery peculiar hole you've got there. Even if it's got nothing to do with the earlier snake/rodent activities, I'm sure you'll want to block it soon! I've heard that leaving a radio playing music loudly will get squirrels and other critters to leave an interior space so you can then block the entry, but I've never tried it myself so don't know how well it works. Might be worth a try? Good luck with your adventures :)
ReplyDeleteMusic? Really? That's a good idea and can't hurt. Won't bother anyone either. I'll keep everyone posted. Thanks!!
DeleteI laughed so hard at this post!! I can only imagine how skittish and freaked out you were with the possibility of facing the "creature".
ReplyDeleteHa, thanks...yes, honestly I really didn't know what might be up there. Then it turned sort of anticlimactic, ha.
DeleteIt might had started out as a small tiny hole and some critter decided to make it bigger.
ReplyDeleteI suggest you get it closed up ASAP by using a metal plate
Yes, I kind of wondered if it' started small and was 'made' bigger along the way. Pretty sure it's the main entrance, but definitely will be closed up this weekend.
DeleteWell, glad to hear that there were no attacks or steps in large piles of poo ;-) Definitely get that hole closed up, though :-)
ReplyDeleteHI!!! Yes, will be closed up soon. And not having to clean up the room AGAIN was a nice feeling.
DeleteDo you think the lack of critters this past week is due to the daily human activity? Just from the photos of the attic I'd say you do not have residents living there. Very neat and tidy. Most critters will tear the place to shreds to make a nice cozy bed. And leave poop everywhere. :)
ReplyDeleteHmmm....now THAT I didn't think about. They do go in at random times a couple times a day. I did however think the same thing about the attic. I was expecting to see torn up stuff and nests and droppings. Didn't see anything really like that. Thanks again!
Delete1st Man,
ReplyDeleteA squirrel, raccoon, or a woodpecker could make such a whole. Maybe there was an original whole with something in it and the critter just made it larger.
Did you find poo near the whole or around the attic?
Short story, my husband moved into a rental home years ago with his first wife. They would hear noises at night.....like something walking in the ceiling. They reported it to the landlord, he/she did nothing. One night, my husband's wife opened the cabinet above the stove to get some spices out for cooking and there was a ticked off raccoon staring her down. She slammed the cabinet door, screamed and my husband contacted the landlord. The landlord arrived, opened the cabinet and got a big ticked off raccoon in his face. In the end, the raccoon was relocated and the whole in the roof was patched along with the whole in the kitchen cabinet. Good luck hunting my friend, and be careful!!!
thank you for that story, you know several people here (and a coworker) have suggest raccoons. I checked for poop and didn't see any. Glad you mentioned woodpecker, 2nd Family says we do have them out there. They've heard them...The hole seemed round in several parts. It could have made the hole and now it's just a gateway to everything else.
DeleteThis post was very funny. And I will be following closely to see if the mystery is ever solved. lol :)
ReplyDeleteWell thank you very much for the kind words. We'r kind of torn, we would like to find something so we can know what it is/was but then again, we'd like to hope it's just gone, whatever it was, ha. Thanks again!
DeleteIf anything; Call Ghost Busters :}
ReplyDeleteDang, I should have put a Ghostbusters logo in the post, ha. Hey, I might have to call them if we can't figure it out, LOL.
DeleteYour post made me smile! Do you have squirrels in your area.......or raccoon? Hope that whatever it is, it will stay away!
ReplyDelete