It is officially fall
A couple nights have dropped sub-40º

So as a precaution, you should address the rodent situation
(is everything is order?)

Now, several years back, we woke-up-in-the-night sensing something was in the room
(which speeds up the heart)

You start to put the pieces of the puzzle together
(obvious signs that you just ignored)

Some pieces of your exercise mat (chewed out)
Some pieces of insulation appearing on the floor under the dish washer

So you find the traps
you bait the traps
you check the traps
you find simething in the trap
(a cute rat, his furry belly up, under a trap which has been overturned)

A RAT!
(not just a mouse)
A RAT!

Then you go into rat mode
Try to think like a Rat
Look for signs

Notice the neighbors yard, full of trash
piled high with refuse, without a dumpster
I address that hole in the floor of the garage which I have seen shadows of phantom creatures, scurry into on rare occasions

And then I hit the mother-load
I find an area next to the furnace which is COVERED with Rat feces
and notice a hole chewed through the wall

Removing the dishwasher, I break the copper water line
and discover further evidence of chewing, drywall and insulation

And so cover the hole in the floor
Patch the dishwasher hole
Sweep up the Rat feces
Set too-may traps
and caught to mice in the meantime

So its time to take inventory
Check some areas
Reset Traps
and maybe do some more patching

Because, take-it-from-me
you don’t want to wake-up-in-the-night
knowing that something is in the room