Rats vs sneezing

The next morning, I called Berry at the Cape and explained the rat problem. She immediately called me back letting me know she hired an exterminator to take care of the problem.

Sure enough, an hour later, two strange little men showed up at the Perkin’s front door. They were identically dressed in workman's jeans and a tee-shirt with a big rat face on the front and were obviously prepared for whatever rat situation required high rubber boots. I couldn't imagine what the boots were for but from the looks of them, I was sure they knew what they were doing. 

"We're here to get rid of your rat problem, Miss" the taller of the two told me. All three dogs started to bark at the rat men and continued to howl as they set traps in kitchen drawers and the attic.

"Rats are very cleaver creatures," one of the rat men told me. "We'll set these traps but they'll know where we've been and find new spaces to hide." 

"The only way to get rid of them for good is to get a cat," the other rat man added. 

I knew Berry was allergic to cats so that solution was out of the question. I hoped the rats would heed the warning from the rat men or we would have to weigh rats vs sneezing.