A Night in the Life
Years ago, before I started my own pest control company, I worked the night shift handling commercial accounts. One memorable experience involved a rat in a grocery store. I’ll never forget it. One of the main reasons I eventually switched to residential was so I could work during the day. Nighttime pest control brings a whole new level of weird, but that particular night stands out as both terrifying and, in hindsight, absolutely hilarious.
The Grocery Store Encounter
It was one of my first stops of the night at a large chain grocery store. I won’t mention the name (for privacy reasons), but everywhere has pest issues. It’s our job to keep them hidden.
As usual, I walked in, checked in with the night manager, and asked, “Any issues tonight?” I expected the typical “No, just the routine,” but the manager’s face lit up like I was his savior. “Thank goodness you’re here! We’ve got a rat in produce!”
The Search for the Rat
“Oh,” I said, trying to stay calm. “When did you see it last?”
“Right now!” he replied with the urgency of someone who clearly had never chased a rat before. Without waiting for my response, he motioned for me to follow him.
We headed to the produce section, and there it was—your standard grocery store fruit display, stocked with dried fruits and nuts. He pointed and said, “It was just here.” I started moving a few products around, hoping the rat had run off. Then—just my luck—I caught a glimpse of its butt and tail as it squeezed under the center fruit display case.
Normally, in these situations, I’d set some traps or bait stations, come back later, and check if we caught it. But not tonight. The manager wanted a rat eviction now. The store was open, the manager was watching, and he clearly wouldn’t be happy with me just setting traps and calling it a night. Plus, I didn’t want to keep coming back for a rat that had likely made a nice home among the dried apricots.
A Crazy Idea
Now I faced a dilemma—how do you catch a rat in a massive, open store? These little guys are fast, and the second I opened the access panel to that fruit display, it was going to bolt. Then, an idea popped into my head. A crazy idea.
At the time, we carried air rifles for dealing with birds in stores (believe it or not, a bird in a grocery store is a bigger health risk than you’d think). My genius idea? I’d crawl under the display, armed with a flashlight and the rifle, and take care of it. Of course, I had to be discreet. I didn’t want someone calling 911 because they thought there was a sniper in the grocery store.
I went out to my truck, grabbed the rifle, and casually wheeled it back into the store inside a shopping cart like I was just picking up groceries. The gun case was huge—big enough to carry a .22 caliber break-barrel rifle with a scope. It’s a miracle no one noticed!
The Moment of Truth
Back in the produce section, the manager helped me crawl into the display case. It was about four feet square and 2.5 feet high—just big enough for me to crouch down and line up a shot. The manager closed the door behind me (because obviously, that’s not horrifying at all). With my flashlight awkwardly held under my chin, I was ready.
Then, the moment of truth—out of nowhere, the rat came charging straight at me. Startled, my flashlight slipped out from under my chin, crashed to the floor, and went out. Now I was in pitch black, on my hands and knees, and the last thing I saw was a rat hurtling directly at my face.
Terrified doesn’t even begin to describe it. I fumbled around in the dark, desperately trying to get the flashlight back on before the rat escaped or, worse, ran up my leg. Finally, I got the light back on, but the rat? Gone. Poof. I yelled back to the manager, “It’s out again!”
The Great Escape
I crawled out from under the display, feeling like I’d just gone ten rounds in a boxing match. The rat had made its way to an empty bread rack nearby. I told the manager, “Alright, here’s the plan: I’m going to roll this thing outside with the rat on it. You hold the door and make sure it doesn’t come back in.”
So there we were, wheeling the rat and the bread rack toward the door, hoping no one noticed this bizarre rat parade in the middle of a busy grocery store. Long story short, we got the rat out of the store. As for whether I caught it or it made a daring escape into the night… well, I’ll leave that to your imagination.
Reflections on the Night
In the end, I always laugh when I think back to wussing out in that dark, cramped display case. Nighttime pest control had its moments, and this one definitely ranks high on the “I can’t believe that happened” list, especially considering it was all about a rat in the grocery store!
Check out our Rodent Control services for when the grocery store turns into a rat race!”