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Post by Perfect Mess on Aug 4, 2013 6:31:15 GMT -5
Hello all!! I just had a bit of a surprising heads up about what went on here after my post about having "rats everywhere". I hadn't visited this board in a couple weeks so I'm sad I missed the fun.  (I'm always up for a good debate.) If I ever wanted to punch someone in the face it's now. This board has always been like a safe room for hoarders and messies alike, but now I'm not so sure anymore. Just because one person feels too righteous to just "sit by and do nothing" while the rest of us move at a pace that is obviously too slow for them. Without knowing all the facts or even having been in my house, no one can rightfully judge me. Remember you only know what people will tell you about here - nothing more. In my mind, having 2 piles of dried dog poop in the house is disgusting while other people live with months worth of human excrement bottled up under their beds and this is their "norm". I bet you the human excrement person will tell you that it's "not that bad", while I will tell you I live in 99th degree squalor. It's all about perspective. The last thing anyone who comes here looking for a way out of the mess needs is a troll who will call CPS on them. Or worse yet, an active member who after finding your real name linked to a youtube video will then make a call to the local animal control authorities. Nobody needs that. Yet, that's what someone did. I was paid a visit yesterday by my county's Animal Control. I haven't had people over to my house in MONTHS, so who could it have been? At first, I figured it was someone in the neighborhood. We have a 16 year old dog who has been an escape artist since we adopted him 12 years ago. He is nearing his end of life but still digs and escapes from our yard. He has been looking very ragged lately, emaciated, weak, etc. After spending $600 at the vet specialist a few months ago, we know that he has Chron's disease OR intestinal cancer. He is on 2 medications and we feed him like a baby. Yet, he gets out and romps around the neighborhood looking like a horribly neglected animal. I figured that it surely must have been a concerned neighbor who is aghast of his skeletal appearance. But no. Whoever called said that we were living in "extreme hoarding and squalor" conditions (those were the words he used), "could not walk thru the house without stepping over things", and that I had other pets "living in extreme conditions". I stared at him for a moment before breaking out in laughter. I asked the man (who I had been talking to outside my front door) to please come in and look for himself. He visited all my pets, explained to me what extreme hoarding really is, then left. He couldn't find anything wrong and actually commended me on the condition of my pets. He left to write a report because it was his "job". Fine. Shockingly, when I asked this man if he could tell me anything about the person who issued the complaint, he said that once the case is closed in 1 week, I will be able to listen to the phone call recording myself and get a copy of whatever written complaint there might exist. *I can't wait!* I really will not know who tried to throw me under the bus until then. But until then, all I can do is speculate.... I have been emailed by a couple other members here advising that I remove the link to my video which links "perfectmess" to my real name. While I appreciate the suggestion, I just can't remove the link from my sig. Making that video inspired me to clean my garage and I think it might inspire others here to do the same with their garage or other parts of their house. Turning the cleanup process into a multimedia project is what gave me the motivation to do it. And I refuse to live in fear especially because I have nothing to hide. Now that that's said, I have news on my "pet" house rat situation. (btw, I do have 2 ball pythons and I bring rats into the house on a regular basis to feed the snakes. Some got out in the garage after my kids left the rat tank open one day (after petting them) and these may be the spawn of those white rats but I doubt it because these rats in my house are brown, but who knows.... So I'm not AFRAID of rats, and I'm not concerned for my kids' health either, just tired as hell for having them scurrying around, making messes, chewing threw the ethernet cables of my home network, and mostly I'm tired as hell of not feeling comfortable enough to cook in my own house. I just can't cook in a kitchen where there have been rats) So I called a large cleaning service that was recommended to me by a friend. They came out last week and spent 4 hours cleaning my house. I won't name the company because I just wasn't impressed at all by their cleaning skills. The company sent 5 people and they cleaned for 4 hours total. This cost me $560. I was expecting them to be done in 2 hours so I let them stay 2 more hours because I wasn't happy with the progress. Honestly, I am disappointed and expected a lot more for the money. They didn't even mop the floor! That said, at least they got the ball rolling for me. I'm still not happy with my house and want it disinfected and SHINING top top to bottom. This is why I hired 3 more ladies from care.com to come and clean my house today (again). The first lady arrives in 1 hour. I don't know that there will be much for 3 people to clean but there is plenty to organize in the kitchen cabinets, fridge to clean out, and garage mess to sort through. Simply put, I'm on a rolllll and I'm putting them to work. Yes, we still have rats in the house. I caught about 15 over the last 2 weeks, but there are still rats. I've seen two since last week's cleaning. After today, I will be calling the rodent exterminator I've already selected. They will also be vacuuming out all the insulation from the attic, disinfecting the attic, and replacing with new insulation. So it will be another couple weeks (and another few hundred dollars) before that is done. After that, I'll probably drag my living room couches to the curb because i think they are beyond salvation at this point. They are also very old. Doing all this is costing me a LOT of money. I will pay for those services I mentioned and be in a financial hole when it's all said and done, but I can't spend $100 a night on a hotel room to stuff my family of four in because of a few rats. And hotel rooms in this high-end neighborhood don't allow pets so I'd have to board my dogs, birds, rabbit, and snakes too. No thanks. That's money I'm not willing to spend and I'm glad I didn't allow my frustration to get away from me and do that. Instead I planned it out and made it happen WHILE living in my house. Btw, I'm taking action BECAUSE I'm disgusted, not because I think it's OK. And I'm doing it this way because that is what makes sense to me. And I'm doing it at this pace because that is what makes sense to me. |
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Post by Jannie on Aug 4, 2013 7:12:48 GMT -5
I'm so sorry someone "ratted" you out. I know, at end of life, animals start looking scrawny,matted,dishevelled, etc. I also know it's expensive to hire professional cleaners to come to your home, and they tend not do do as well as you would like. Been there, done that. All I can say is, you seem to be doing everything you can for your pets and your family. Sorry you are (or will be) in a financial hole on account of this. Don't give up and don't listen to the nay-sayers. Come here as often as you can, mostly everyone here is kind, understanding, supportive. Continue working at your own pace. You can do it!
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Post by Perfect Mess on Aug 4, 2013 8:16:43 GMT -5
I'm so sorry someone "ratted" you out. NICE! I think I'll have to use that.  |
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Post by PaperGrace on Aug 4, 2013 9:26:22 GMT -5
I'm so sorry someone "ratted" you out. Oh jannie, you didn't.  I hadn't visited this board in a couple weeks so I'm sad I missed the fun. (I'm always up for a good debate.) Fun.  While I'm not happy that anyone return to the board and find a debacle like that that involves them, I'm at least glad that it didn't drive you away. If it had happened to someone with a different situation it could have seriously driven them into isolation. (So while I'm sorry that happened to you, I'm glad that it happened to YOU instead of another...  I swear that's not a backhanded compliment!) Perfect Mess I commend you for your willingness to keep that video up to help and inspire others. I too am an open book online, not because I'm unaware, but because I've made a conscious decision about it. |
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Post by eagle on Aug 4, 2013 11:02:08 GMT -5
Dear PerfectMess, I am so sorry you are going through this on top of all the other problems you are facing.
Please feel free to inform the admins via PM if you learn that the person who reported you was a member of our forum. However, we do suggest that you take the higher road and avoid posting the name of the complainant on the forums, as even though that would be very tempting, it would also be a violation of our posting rules. Harsh though it seems, maligning another member (even when they have maligned you first) is against our posting rules and ProBoards Terms of Service.
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Post by Perfect Mess on Aug 4, 2013 11:22:32 GMT -5
So after 4 hours of cleaning, 1 of the ladies has gone home and the other two are still at it in the kitchen. They spent their entire time cleaning the kitchen only which I'm very happy about. Everything has been taken out of the cupboards, cleaned, and put back. Threw out a lot of old broken dishes too.
One of the ladies started telling me how I could clean the couches and I said that I'm throwing them away anyway and she seemed so alarmed by this (because they are nice couches despite being dirty) that she called her uncle who is coming to pick them up today. That's a 4 piece living room set. (Sofa bed, love seat, chair and ottoman) Almost seems wrong, but I just don't want them anymore. They just disgust me too much because there are stains that I know won't come out anymore.
After today, I think my house would qualify to be on the cover of minimalist magazine. The garage on the other hand..... Let's just say, I'm planning "The Garage Project: Part Deux".
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Post by Perfect Mess on Aug 4, 2013 11:24:01 GMT -5
Dear PerfectMess, I am so sorry you are going through this on top of all the other problems you are facing.
Please feel free to inform the admins via PM if you learn that the person who reported you was a member of our forum. However, we do suggest that you take the higher road and avoid posting the name of the complainant on the forums, as even though that would be very tempting, it would also be a violation of our posting rules. Harsh though it seems, maligning another member (even when they have maligned you first) is against our posting rules and ProBoards Terms of Service.As I said before, I only have my suspicions about who could have called Animal Control. If I do find that it was someone here, I will certainly let the admins know. |
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Post by nifty50 on Aug 4, 2013 12:17:07 GMT -5
I often read the board using my phone, and I think that might be why I didn't know about your Garage Project until this morning (possibly sigs, or links in sigs, don't show up on my phone? I'll have to check into that) -- anyway, I was tickled because I did something sort of similar a while back. My "work of art" was only less than a minute -- it was just a way for me to ascertain whether I had figured out how to do timelapses on the Mac. I picked a day when there were multiple meals' worth of dishes in the kitchen; I set up the lappy in a safe place and just tried to forget it was there as I rinsed and scrubbed and filled the dishwasher and filled the sink and washed and rinsed and drained and refilled the sink and then tackled the pots and pans..... It was nice to be creating something "fun" at the same time, even though the only person I ever showed it to was my sister!
So, even though that isn't what your post was about, thanks for reminding me of that day that I turned an onerous task into something fun. If I can remember how to do it (it's been several months) I will try it again on a larger scale. I'm doing it directly from the Mac with the built-in camera, and I think I found the instructions online somewhere.
And, more related to your woes, I can only say that I had no idea rats were so.... prolific? Fertile, maybe is the word I am looking for? Also I wonder if they are of the sort of animal that likes to live in a community and if there will finally one day be the MOTHER LODE of them that you find and eradicate and then the problem will be over. Like with ants, when they say you have to not just kill the ones you see but find the "nest" outside and destroy it.
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Post by howardsgirlfriend on Aug 4, 2013 13:14:05 GMT -5
I hadn't known about your video, either. Just watched it, and I love it! I'm so glad you're back!
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Post by Moodle on Aug 4, 2013 14:14:14 GMT -5
Dear PerfectMess, I am so sorry you are going through this on top of all the other problems you are facing.
Please feel free to inform the admins via PM if you learn that the person who reported you was a member of our forum. However, we do suggest that you take the higher road and avoid posting the name of the complainant on the forums, as even though that would be very tempting, it would also be a violation of our posting rules. Harsh though it seems, maligning another member (even when they have maligned you first) is against our posting rules and ProBoards Terms of Service.As I said before, I only have my suspicions about who could have called Animal Control. If I do find that it was someone here, I will certainly let the admins know. Oh no!!!! YIKES!! I am so sorry, Perfect Mess!! In all of my years on Squalor Survivors and our new community, I have never heard of anything like this happening! How frightening!! I am so glad that you are keeping Admin informed. Please listen to Eagle; she says what she means and means what she says....always! Wow. Big hug to you!!  |
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Post by lula on Aug 4, 2013 16:50:02 GMT -5
Perfectmess, I am so sorry that happened to you. But I am so proud of you for coming back, explaining what you've done, and for refusing to flee the boards. I don't want anyone driven away. If I were driven away, I'd only have one other place to contact folks in similar situations. Because I've been having terrible computer problems, I have not been able to get online as easily or as often. And this morning I was in terrible despair because I could not get on at all. Without these online support boards I would probably just shrivel up and die under a mound of gunk.
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Post by dtesposito on Aug 4, 2013 17:32:32 GMT -5
Hi perfectmess, thank you for updating, it sounds like you have the situation well in hand. Sorry about the first cleaning service not doing a very good job though, it sounds like a lot of money to spend for mediocre work. Maybe having a fresh start will make it easier to keep up the cleaning as you go forward.
Diane
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Post by Ally on Aug 4, 2013 18:02:15 GMT -5
PerfectMess, You should be proud for all you've done. I'm sorry that someone felt the need to report you. I'm hoping that this nightmare with the rats comes to an end soon. To bad that your snakes can't take care of the problem... |
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Post by Perfect Mess on Aug 4, 2013 19:14:18 GMT -5
I used to have a breeding pair of rats for producing food for my snakes. The mother was albino and the father was not. They would produce a litter of 6-8 babies just about every 2-3 months. This was incredibly convenient for feeding my snakes, but without the population control, I'd imagine that 2 would turn into 128 within 6 months and the sky's the limit after that. While I've been successful at putting a huge dent in the rat population the house, I havent been able to erradicate them completely. So that's why I'm hiring a professional to do the job. I knew cleaning house would send a lot of them running. I haven't seen a rat in 3 days and I don't hear them in the attic anymore but I heard one in the office last night. These guys are acting like they own the house which makes me wonder if they didnt come from my breeding pair. Normally rodents stay far from human living space, but these guys act like they own the house. My breeding pair and their babies were pampered and didnt fear humans much. The babies which are called crawlers are cute as hell and would get petted regularly. But there is a fine line between baby rat cuteness and major nuisance. At least I haven't shed a single tear killing the 30-40 rats I've caught so far. |
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Post by Fivecat on Aug 5, 2013 0:05:33 GMT -5
I suspect, since the report was found to be false, the person who made it may very well face some legal/punitative ramifications of their own. Budgets are tight and resources stretched thin. I suspect protective service agencies such as animal control take a very dim view of reports that send them on a wild goose chase. This may very well come back to haunt the reporter in a very real way. Karma really does have a way of working these things out sometime Moral of this story: if you haven.t seen circumstances with your own eyes then best to keep reports to yourself. Oh. And just in case there.s ANYONE here who doesn.t KNOW this by now, not everything you see/read on the internet is true, even here at soos  |
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