My mother thinks someone is spraying poison into her house from the attic. Advice?

If your mother has Alzheimer's/dementia like you say in your profile, I find it interesting that you describe her as being "very sharp." The paranoia you are describing, is very common with folks with mental decline and will only continue to get worse. It's probably best at this point that you just go along with it, and understand that this all part of the disease.

It sounds like she is living by herself, right? That might need to change sooner than later for her safety's sake. When someone's brain is broken like your moms, her safety should be your number one concern. She just may not be as independent as you believe. I wish you the best in this situation.

She is extremely independent and other than thinking someone is spraying poison in her attic she is very sharp. She remembers everything and I mean everything. She refuses to go to a home or assisted living. I mentioned that several years ago and she emphatically refused. I don’t know what to do except listen when she calls to tell me someone sprayed poison last night or whenever.

I see in your profile that she has dementia. I guess that explains her behavior. Dementia keeps getting worse. Given that, there is probably very little you can do about her odd thinking. She won't believe you that her thinking is off and that these things are NOT happening.

Does someone help her at her house? Is she living alone? With these delusions, I am a little concerned about her safety. Is she eating the food from that fridge?

If your mother is suffering from Alzheimer's/dementia as you say in your profile, and as evidenced by her paranoid thinking about someone spraying poison into her home from the attic, why is she living independently (assuming she is living independently)? There comes a time when it's just too dangerous for an elder to be living alone and either needs in-home caregivers, to live with a loved one, or to move into Memory Care Assisted Living. Dementia progresses, so things will only worsen from here, including the paranoia & accusations. My mother is 94 (living in Memory Care) and it's unbelievable how far she's declined, mentally, in the past few months alone. She calls to tell me the caregivers are moving her to a new hotel every night, but the new hotel has the same furnishings as the old one had, and asks 'how can that be?' She also constantly accuses the caregivers of stealing her old BRAS, believe it or not! I feel relived that she's safe and has caregivers looking after her 24/7.

The best thing to do when your mother complains about this poison is to reassure her that you'll call in a roofer to look around the attic to make sure everything is in order. Hopefully, she'll forget all about the matter and you won't have to actually call someone in to look around the attic! If she has someone coming in to care for her daily, the CG can help calm her down with these delusions as well.

Wishing you the best of luck with a difficult situation

These types of delusions are VERY common in elderly people.
cognitive decline