We are now (for the moment) critter free.
The guy came and eventually discovered a gathering (no nest to my knowledge) of brown thrashers in the crawl space under the house behind the fireplace. They appeared to have come from the chimney (a long and detailed description is required to explain the exact situation, so I’m going to go with the mysterious angle on this one). I also learned the following things:
1) The critter guy said he’d “never seen a chimney/fireplace set-up like that on a house.” He said he’d seen plenty on apartments (old ones), but never on a house. This isn’t a huge shocker given the do-it-yourself genius who lived here previously (and whose handiwork we’ll be correcting for years to come).
2) The fireplace isn’t unsafe, but we’ll need to get the thing sealed to prevent more critters from making their home in our home. This needs to be done before I deliver because I can’t handle the thought of a rat infestation and a new baby. Not. Happening.
3) I don’t deal well with possible critter infestations while massively pregnant. There were tears. Big old crocodile tears.
4) I need a vacation. Stat.