Going insane

My little visitor has still not left the building.  It is driving me mad. I'm turning into a bit of an expert on rats.  I'm up on all their behaviours and all the various ways of getting rid and repelling them but nothing is working.  I find myself laid googling in the early hours of the morning to see what more I can possibly do. I hate the things and I don't want it in my house spreading it's diseases and causing who knows what damage.  Rat, rat, rat it's all I can think about.  I'm being plagued by it, and it's driving me nuts.  The sleep deprivation isn't helping.  I feel like an absolute zombie.  My brain is fuddled.
 
My weekend was dominated by the bloody thing.  Saturday was spent chopping back Ivy which the neighbours have also helped with, well so they should, they planted the stuff and let it grow out of control, at least now that is all chopped down so should make it's access more difficult.  It must be going out for food because there is certainly nothing edible in my loft.

Sunday I decided it was time to be really brave and armed with a sweeping brush I went up into the loft for a good investigate.eugh it's the horrible long tails that just creep me out.  My biggest fear is that I did disturb it and it managed to run down the loft hatch and then it would actually be in my house.
  My mouth was dry and my heart was pounding.  It's just the thought that at any second it could dart out from somewhere if I disturbed it and

I can't find a bloody thing.  The place where I thought it was sleeping was empty, not a trace.  The only thing I did find was a mound of birds feathers which only leads me to the totally disgusting thought that it's taken it up there to eat,  Gross.  I've moved boxes and searched and searched all to no avail.

I've clocked it's wake up time as being 10.30pm and it goes back to sleep anytime between 5.30 and 6.30.  I've got traps, poison, a repellent alarm and still 7 days later it's dancing round.  I get in to bed and am constantly alert.  Listening, every little sound my ears are pricked.  I'm turning paranoid.  I actually can't believe how many noises your house makes when you actually sit and listen.  Which I have done for nights.

Charlie brought home a letter from school the other day about online reading website which contained his log on and password.  I just couldn't believe it, his password is rat.  What the hell?  He scared the hell out of me this morning when he came running into the bedroom and shouted, "Mummy, look what I've caught, the rat from the loft," I screamed as he threw it towards me only to find that it was the horrible bloody plastic rat from Halloween.  Thanks a lot Charlie.  I did have a little chuckle to myself later on once my heart had returned to it's normal rhythm.