Rat Nasty!

WARNING! READER BEWARE...GRAPHIC IMAGES!

I'm not kidding, the images below might be a bit disturbing, especially if you're an animal lover. I don't know many people that love rats though, so it's not THAT offensive.

I really should have known this going into the Historic Preservation field. I mean I knew that it would be tough, hot, dirty work, but I never gave thought that it would also be nasty...as in, rat nasty.

A few days ago we cleaned out the garage at the guard station. When I say cleaned out, I mean removed every last piece of crap that was shoved in there from the last 50 years, tore apart anything that wouldn't come out, and completely ripped up the floor. Here's what it looked like before:
Actually that was only one side, there's a wall here separating the other side which was also full of crap. And when I say crap, I mean that in every sense of the word. The stench of rat urine and feces was outrageous. Thank goodness for respirators! This was some really gross stuff. Just think of stirring up years upon years of neglected dust and trash, with the pack rats having a freaking field day. The picture below is of the barn, not the garage, but it gives you a good feel for what years of rat urine looks like:
Seriously grody. I can handle this nastiness if I don't really think about it, and I have a mask and gloves on. I actually really enjoyed ripping up that floor. Demolition is just so fun and therapeutic! Along the way I also found a few surprises. This is were the warning comes in, if you're squeamish then don't look. I never had any idea a rat could get this big!
I'd say that mummified head was about four inches. I found another head, and a few detached bodies. To give you scale I'd say there were about the size of a house cat. Ya I know, scary stuff. You can see in the picture above all that debris around it. That's the top of a dresser that we pulled out- all that debris is mounds of rat poop. The grossness just continues. My supervisor Helaman and I were talking about how gross we felt at the end of the day, covered in this contaminated dust. We somehow came up with the term rat nasty, and I think it pretty much sums it all up.

We finally got just about everything out of the garage. But now there are mounds of dust, dirt, and rat poop that needs shoveling out. We have to get some bleach and water to spray on the dirt first, otherwise you're talking about a potential health hazard. Unfortunately we didn't have all the supplies we needed for that, so down to Lake City we go to buy a wheelbarrow and bleach. In the meantime, I found another treasure as I was leaving the garage. Again, reader beware, this next image might haunt you...especially if you're a cat lover. (Amy and Casino, you might not want to see this!)


Poor little kitty! I have no idea how old this mummy was, but I could read the tag on it's collar perfectly. The poor thing was all the way from Ft. Leavenworth Kansas. Perhaps someone brought it there on vacation? Who knows what happened, but clearly it either got lost and stuck in the garage, or the rat nastys got it. Boo rat nasty!
Well, such is life I guess. We all have a fate to live. I just hope mine is not similar in any way shape or form to that of my little kitty friend. On a positive note, the garage is looking good. Check it out now...
And now the work really begins. The stabilization will be tough, not to mention everything else we have to do to turn it into a habitable bunkhouse. But have no fear this will be a place you will want to rent out and bring your family to! Maybe not until next summer but still...I promise you not a single rat will be seen!