A couple of days ago while eating dinner outside I noticed a cute little mouse with a bushy tail end. Kind of like a shrew. Healthy looking. Not afraid of people or fires as witnessed when he kept trying to get into the fire burning our trash & food bits.

Then last night I woke to what I thought was something scampering over my midriff. Over the covers, not under. But that little mouse didn’t seem to be that big… I put it out of my mind. Must have been my imagination. I restlessly went back to half-sleep.

Then later there it was again. Running across me again! And then I heard some skittering noises. OK, you have my attention. I snapped on the light. Nothing. I decided to leave on my interior fairy lights and I slept soundly till about 6:00 a.m. when I noticed that my DC power was out! As I lay there trying to figure out my options and why this could have happened, I heard noises again…of a critter. And I thought I saw a flash of something. Just then my inverter started constantly beeping. No other choice but to get up and troubleshoot even though pitch black outside and something inside. At least it wasn’t cold.

Oddly the battery was severely drained. I started the van and was relieved to see the numbers ticking up on the inverter. The bonus for the early morning intrusions was that there was a blood red sunrise I got to witness.

No going back to bed now. Am up. Time to fix coffee, check the news on my tablet, and listen to mellow morning music. Just as I settled in to reclining on my bench, there he was… Two beady eyes and he quickly scampered away. Then again. He is getting braver and looked like he was trying to escape through the open side sliding door but hesitated when he got to the edge of the cab floor where the main living begins. And I notice that he looks bigger than that cute little mouse!

I stomp about, make noise, flail a fly swatter around. Nothing. And now he sounds like he is behind the panels somewhere. Like the door panel. No, that can’t be. Then the sound goes away for a bit but then he is back! I get a better look at him and he is definitely not the cute little mouse.

About this time Jody is up to take Sophie, her dog, for a walk. I tell her the tail and we start troubleshooting looking under the hood, behind the panels. Still nothing. I’m going to Yuma tomorrow and will buy a rat trap. But that means sleeping with him another night! Yikes!

Jody remembers that coyote pee will deter rats and other critters that can be coyote prey. So I start the Amazon search and discover what they really don’t like is peppermint oil. I place an order for a spray and packets. They don’t arrive for 4 more days. Meanwhile we discover that Jody’s Dr. Bronner’s is peppermint scent and mine is lavender. So I fill some ramekins with both and place them in my center console and under the hood. Pretty soon it begins to pay off. The “rat,” not mouse is trying to get away from the smell and tries to come out but runs away every time he sees me. He is HUGE!! - a Hispid cotton rat that grows from 8” to 13” long!! Jody found him through Mr. Google Search. No wonder I felt his very fat long body thumping across the top of me and my down comforter.

I decided since my presence must be scaring him off as he tries to escape the lavender and peppermint smells that I’d go outside for rat patrol watch. Nada. All I see are his droppings on the rubber mat in the cab and on the engine. No more sounds. Is he gone??? Or will he arise again at sunset??? One thing for sure is that I’ll sleep with the lights on and my flashlight blinking to hopefully keep him at bay during the night in case he is still inside the van. And, for sure, a rat trap is on the list for tomorrow’s purchases….

Stay tuned…