You poor thing - this sounds like a clip from a scary movie! Relaxxxxxxxxx, put on soothing music, take a long soaking bath, drink some wine, relax......

If he was dead, wouldn't the opposum smell? Maybe he was stuffed & had been put there as a sick joke. Not a funny one for sure but may be easier to forget than the other impression.

Well, there were a lot of smells going on in the house and garage as everything was a bit neglected, so I didn't notice a particular dead smell. Maybe he was playing opossum!

(Reminds me of a judicial opinion I drafted when I was clerking at the appeals court during law school - a juvenile delinquent appealed his conviction arguing he couldn't be guilty of animal cruelty b/c the mama opossum and her babies were already dead when he mutilated them. I took judicial notice that these animals "play opossum" by acting as if they were dead when threatened, and quoted the National Opossum Society!)

Seriously, I'm pretty sure it was a real opossum but probably recently dead since it hadn't decomposed (of course, I wasn't inspecting it once I realized what it was and she quickly closed the drawer, just as surprised as I was). Based on the huge nest and his position, it looked like it had been living in the drawer when perhaps someone closed it and he was trying to get out?

Ugh - need more wine!!

OMG! That is horrifying! I would be crawling in my skin for days on end. I am glad you got out of there ok! Hope next week is better for you!

good gravy! that'd freak me out too! you shouldn't be going to someone's house alone anyway. There have been warnings on the news to take someone with you, do not test drive a car alone with anyone, etc. (alone with someone? well, you with a stranger! take a friend, spouse etc)

not that having anyone with you would have protected your eyesight at that time! lol!

you were a lot nicer than I could have been. I wouldn't have pretended anything after that - I'd have made a fast exit to my car.

Oh geeze, I get the ibby jeebies just imagining it. Love wild life but not THAT MUCH! I'm not a fan of CL for several reasons, I never seen anything of even remote interest on there and would never feel comfortable going to a strangers house like that. I agree with desertsteph, you really put yourself at risk when you go alone. I'm a big believer in fate, maybe this experience was just fates way of saying..."don't do that!"

Oh no! What an awful experiance .. ugh, I'm so sorry!

Well just when you think you've heard it all... ;o

Seriously tho, that possum might not have been dead. I was at the pond a couple years ago on the farm I grew up on and one of the dogs was bopping around something. I walked over and saw what I thought was one very dead young possum. Even with the dog making a fuss barking and walking around it, the thing didn't flinch. Poked it with a stick just to be safe before I figured out how to get rid of it and that thing reared up hissing and snarling. Those things can be vicious. Needless to say, the dog and I both jumped back in surprise.

So ya never know!

Then I noticed the opossum - the dead opossum - standing upright in a corner of the drawer looking right up at me with it's glassy eyes.

It had to have been stuffed - or maybe a really good fake.

But with all the rodent activity going on, I would be creeped out too.

Oh juddgirl2, I'm with you on the creepiness of your week! I think I'd need more than wine to calm me down. I'm jumpin' in my seat just thinking about your three critter encounters. Creepy for sure. Thank the Lord you didn't pass out in that woman's garage!

Sorry you had a bad experience...... !

I'm kind of a tom boy...people expect a girly girl when they see me, then think I'm cold when I don't react. Your lucky you have your girl sense in tact. :0) Really.....it's a gift!

Oh, you poor dear. This is the stuff of nightmares....for me, at least.

Wow, that's crazy! The opossum in the furniture would have been yucky, but a bat in your bedroom!!! I'm terrified of bats! Last summer my son and I were kayaking at sunset and I started paddling like the boat was on fire!! He said what is wrong and tried to catch up to my boat, when I pointed up to the sky and said...look at that bat, it's like a kitten with wings, it's HUGE! He just laughed and said, oh I was hoping you wouldn't notice I knew it would freak you out! We also sold a hot tub after a bat once flew inbetween myself and my husband to get a drink...yes I'm that freaked out by them!!

Hmmm an opossum, rat and bat all in one week...I'd be in a nice home somewhere babbling and dressed all in white I think!

Sorry you had such a bad week! My mom used to say that bad things come in 3's so maybe you're done for awhile!

Kat :)

Have you tried spraying your son's desk with a 1/4 tsp borax to 1 qt water solution to rid it of the nicotine? After spraying, wipe dry, then wipe again with a vinegar solution. Also, after trying the spray solutions, place some cat litter and/or ground coffee in the drawers for several days. Hope this helps.

Another GWer swears by vodka -- on the furniture, but I guess if all else fails, pour a drink, LOL!

I'm officially a squeamish girl. Last night, I must have been a bit skittish and woke my husband up b/c I kept hearing a clicking, scurrying noise coming from behind my nightstand. DH sleeps with the slider open so I was sure a rat came to visit.

He pulled his flashlight out and found a small "clicky" bug, which I can live with!

Times have changed - I can remember watching my dad cut the heads off of chickens and willingly doing my job of plucking all their feathers off before giving them to my mom for dinner. Good old days!

oh, abundantblessings post reminded me, try Citrus Magic or Natural Magic odor absorbing gel. Comes in small tubs. You can get them at some Ace stores, but my Lowe's carries them. Lowes has a newer brand too, can't recall the name, same principal, same area as other 'magic' tubs (near cleaning supplies). I know I've pushed them a lot on HD but wouldn't if I didn't have excellent results with either product. (I prefer the Nat Magic myself, larger size). I bought a vintage bedroom set and it smelled inside of both perfume (like it was spilled) and super strong fabric softener. Both headache triggers for me, didn't want that stuff lingering on my clothes. So after I washed the insides with a little bleach water, I put 2 Magic tubs in the drawers (left cracked, needs some air circulation) and rotated every couple days to different drawers. Within two weeks or so smells were entirely gone. Love that stuff, use it everywhere! (I just had a rental house empty and there was a lingering cooking odor I couldn't peg, some kind of spice perhaps. Anyway, unappealing for showing. So I put several in the house and again, within about 10 days/2 weeks that odor was completely gone.)

desert - I've never felt unsafe but I know I should should bring someone with me just in case. My sister said the same thing about not going alone. I told her that I always leave the address I'm going to on my computer so if I disappear at least tbey'll have a lead to find the person who did it! I also officially gave her permission to put on my tombstone, "She died searching for the perfect dining room hutch!"

abundant - I'll try the borax solution - thanks for the tip. I read about the vodka but didn't have any so I used rubbing alcohol instead. Other than giving me a huge headache, it wasn't very effective!

lesmis - I'm with you on the bats. The poor thing was probably more terrified than I was, but I cannot get the image of the bat swooping side by side over my bed out of my head ;-) I scooped up my little girl and hid in the next room (behind a closed door) until my dh could get it to leave through the slider.

Oh my!! How did they not know that was in there. Ick, ick, ick. I'm sorry you had to go through that as well as the bat and rat!!

Well, that doesn't sound fun! I echo sheesharee's ick, ick, ick!

We went through a bat-period in our old house . . . I appreciated their mosquito-eating services, so I would never let my DH kill them. We opened doors and herded them out by flapping towels.

Finally, one got into our bedroom and that was IT. It took about 30 minutes to shoo it out . . . and the next bat we had, DH didn't tell me. Just got out the tennis racquet and killed it. He spread it out on the sidewalk in front of the front door as a message to other bats in the neighborhoo.

Strangely, that was the last one that ever came inside. Message received?? Who knows.

Did the woman react to that possom or say anything to you about it? Did she not even see it when you opened the drawer?

That's just too much. Maybe it was their idea of a CL joke.

Yes, what Did she do??? I really don't think he could die and remain standing up. Maybe he just froze, playing dead, while trying to get out of the dang drawer! You'd think they'd chew their way out, too.

And it would reek!!!

Maybe he was playing opossum!

LOLOLOLOLOLOL!! That is funny, I don't care who you are! :O)

I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that but please don't give up on CL. It is really awesome!! Just be careful.

Well, she noticed it right after I did - remember, I did scream and jump! - and seemed just as surprised and disturbed as I was. She wondered how it could have gotten in there, apologized quite a bit, and was mortified, I'm sure (and will probably always thoroughly clean anything she might offer for sale in the future!)

She was an older, nice lady so I wouldn't think it was a practical joke, and she sent me an email later to apologize and reassure me that she had gotten rid of the opossum and disinfected the drawers, so I'm pretty sure it must have been dead when she went back to it or she would have said so, don't you think?

It was for sale on CL for awhile, so maybe she shut the drawer when she wiped down the outside and it got stuck in there for a week or so. It didn't look like there was any access through the back of the hutch. Ick, ick, ick is what I think too, anyway!

hosta - I'm with you. I asked DH not to kill the first bat, but not sure how I'll feel about more coming into my room. Kinda kills the romantic ambiance having to worry about that!

I guess I'm not as sensitive. If I liked it, I'd have told her that the Health Dept. probably wouldn't let her sell it, and that I'd be glad to cart it away for her.

Neighbors leave their bedroom window open so the cat can crawl in and out ... one night a bat flew in, right into the ceiling fan. Left quite the mess. I'm not squeamish, but that made me shudder.

(In fact, we are so *not* squeamish that we bought our 48" Wolf range from a woman who couldn't bear the thought that a mouse had nested in it during storage while her kitchen was being built. The appliance place thoroughly cleaned and reinsulated the range, but she said no, bought a new one, and sold us this one for almost half price. It will forever be known as the Mouse Range.)

juddgirl2, I feel for you since years ago, I also had a horrible experience buying used and I could not get the smell out so I had to give it away for free to get it out of my home. I guess sometimes it is a good deal and sometimes it is not. Glad you walked away. Thanks for sharing.

squirrel - it was in an upright position but not standing unsupported. It was tucked up in the front corner (like it really had been trying to chew its way out) and its bottom half was hidden in the debris that covered at least a third of the drawer.

A bat flew into a ceiling fan - that's just wrong, lol! And I love the Mouse Range - little mice don't bother me as much as rats, bats and possums, but cooking food in the nesting area might be just as bad for me as keeping my silverware and linens in the 'possum graveyard :-)

I didn't love it, thankfully, so no regrets! Bella loved it though - and Bella, it's still available :-)

My heart goes out to you. Not a big fan of bats, rats, or dead opossums in the furniture here either! I'd have screamed and leapt backward right with you: my husband and sons really enjoy watching my overdeveloped startle reflex in action...

You poor thing. Do NOT waste that vodka on the furniture. You know what to do with it. ;)

I felt so absolutely awful because it was I who sent juddgirl to the possum house! :-( To be honest, if it fits in our house I would be the one driving there w/ 3 kids in tow checking out the dead possum! :-)

Anyhow, it's a cute piece (at least in the picture!). Can you imagine how pretty (and how very VERANDA) it would be when painted a chippy color (off black, french gray, blue grey, etc) and piled w/ old books, shells, pottery, etc.. I would build up the crown a bit..maybe paint it black and store my white dishes!

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Once I & my brother dragged home this old bed from the flea market. DH got all creeped out and said, 'did anybody die on this bed'? And my DB said, "it's antique -- the more people died on it the more expensive it gets. We kinda hope couple people died on it, better if they are famous people". :-)

Another time I brought this old desk from Hollywood hills where 'supposedly' a famous screenwriter used to pen his million dollars hits. Well that desk reeked of nicotine & Chinese take out LOL :-D so it must be true huh. :-)

Oh geez. I think I may have to have a drink after reading this- three animals I am terrified of in one story. Mind you I am a vet tech- but those three are a no go in my book.

juddgirl- If it makes you feel better I reached into a feed barrel, without looking, to grab a scoop and I grabbed a possum by the tail and started lifting before I realized it wasn't a scoop. It was hissing and I was screaming- and now I am a psychological disaster around anything like that with a tail- including mice and rats.

I was outside one night and a bat swooped my head, except he was flying a little low and got caught in my ponytail. Both of us were screeching and flapping- so needless to say I steer clear and take my hair down if I see one.

Sorry the buffet didn't work out for you but it just means it wasn't the right one.

groominggal - your experiences with both bats and opossums were much more traumatic than mine. I can imagine you're not reaching into more feed barrels without careful inspection first!

Walking - I didn't partake in vodka, but I did OD on wonderful Italian food and movie popcorn yesterday. Eating and retail therapy works best for me!

Bella - please don't let this stop you from passing along info on all those beautiful CL hutches. You're so much better at finding the good ones than I am.

This experience sounds like a scary Hitchcock movie.
Don't let it scare you off CL, but I agree with whoever said to take someone with you, NEVER go alone. I know you were anxious because someone else was interested, but it is not worth it.

Wow, that's a beauty! No, it didn't sound like she'd be the practical joke type, but maybe someone else did it, lol. Curious how much they were asking for this piece? I don't see it noted.

OmiGOSH! I'm so sorry you had this experience, but I must admit, in between my own shivers at picturing how this happened, I'm suppressing fits of giggles. I mean, really - what are the odds, right?
;-D

Glue traps are so inhumane they ought to be illegal. Actually I think they are in some places.

I am sorry about this experience. In a way, after time, you will think it is funny. Did the woman know about the dead animal? Or stuffed or playing dead animal? Who would even think of trying to sell a piece of furniture with occupants, dead or alive? Wow, that is crazy.

Which drawer was the possum in?

Just kidding!

That's some story!

I went over budget on my remodeling project so I was looking on CL to find a nice dining room set for less. Someone listed a set for $750 with an original price of $3900. I inquired..no response. Then a week later she re-listed the same set for $2200 with the original price of $10,000. When I called her on it she wrote back "SOLD".

I'm was beginning to think CL is not for me. Now that I've read your story....I KNOW its not for me.

As for your son's desk, I would put it on the curb! Who knows what was festering in those drawers before you bought it!

All the best!
Melanie1121

juddgirl2 - I have been on vacation and am now seeing this thread. Now I am traumatized by just reading it!

Try putting a freshly cut apple in your sons desk drawers. Leave them inside for a few days. This little trick was giving to us by a car dealer to remove odors from cars. My daughters cat urinated on her back seat. We removed the seat cover and shampooed it, but the smell was still slightly detected. The apple worked, although my daughter forgot about it and it attracted fruit flies!

segbrown - If you have the stomach, read my story about our outdoor grill. Beware...it is heart wrenching, but the grill lives on, even though it took several hose and dishwasher cleanings to be presentable for me to cook on. I wanted to get rid of it, but DH wouldn't hear of it.

Here is a link that might be useful: The grill versus the birds

NHB - thank you for the tip on the apple. I'm a bit worried his room will smell like stinky fruit, but I'll try it this weekend while he's out of town. It's got to be a better smell than musty desk and stinky teenage boy!

I've now found my hutch after looking at a few more from CL, but in looking at each hutch since this one I've felt a sense of trepidation before opening the drawers or cabinet doors :-)