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Hold the phone, if your mum knows enough about this stuff to actually have a position on whether or not to engage the thing, why isn't she helping you out? Mums are supposed to help you with things you can't handle on your own, it's practically the entire job description.

To try another tack, I can suggest what I do, but it only works out if you're pretty strong and clear in yourself: talk to it. Some things are just begging for attention and will get nastier and more obtrusive until you basically sit it down with a cup of tea and say, "Okay, fine, what gives?" Keep in mind that what you get back will be from whatever warped world-view it's got, and that it will try to win you over to seeing things its way. If you do that, you're giving it a way in, which it will most likely jump on like a cat on a laser pointer. Assuming you can converse clearly and get into a bargaining/haggling position with the stupid thing, it will most likely be willing to deal. Most of these things act badass because they're terrified of something. They're looking for a safe place. If you can create a safe place for it, the Whatever will probably be quite happy to leave you alone. If it insists it needs you, keep saying no. That is not a happy road to travel. Interesting, but not happy, and ruddy difficult to return from.

Things that were sent are tricky, yes, but it's rare to find someone capable of sending them these days. And even then, a canny conversationalist can winkle out what's going on without promising anything. It is possible to bargain from a position of strength: "You're bothering me and I would like to know why. Now what do you want, you pesky thing!" Of course, there's a HUGE difference between that and cap-in-hand "Gee, Sir, you're really really bothering me and, just, I dunno, maybe you could tell me what I can do for you, and maybe then you'll leave me alone? Please?" And it's vital to get that difference, else most likely you're doing it wrong. As I stated earlier, wrong in this case would be...bad. Like, the Egon version of bad. That's why I prefer the term "discussion" - it indicates that, by talking with the thing, you are by no means bound to satisfy any demands it might have. But they do tend to wheedle, especially after a while.

I used to have a problem with desperate spirits invading my dreams whenever I forgot to do Qi Gong that day, and it was usually someone/thing who wanted reassurance or a safehouse. They'd always start out impressive and demanding (like guys, really), then when I wasn't buying their crap start wheedling or begging at me. Once they got to that point, I'd just point them in the direction they should be going, give 'em a friendly smile, and tell them to go away and let me sleep. Worked every time. Whereas my mom was always terrified that initiating a dialog would give the things a path in (to be fair, it can - see above), so she'd have random spirits wandering around shaking the house and similar until I could come over and evict them for her.

It isn't proper, I know, but I get a bit resentful - my mother and I started studying the same stuff roughly a semester apart, and she knows I'm better at some things (just as she is at others), but since she's got a couple decades on me she gets all the respect. Yeah, that was off-topic. I just felt like bitching.

There are also some things you can do around the house to help keep negative energy from building up. Burning sage incense and wafting it around your room can spiritually purify a place, as can physically washing things. Energy builds up like dust does. If you've never Cleansed your house, and you've lived there for years, you have a TON of built-up "grime" in there. Not to mention whatever may be there from anyone who could have owned the place before your family did, if you aren't the first inhabitants.

That would make a pretty choice "nest" for Things that feed off of other people's energies. Perhaps dealing with this Thing could be similar to dealing with ants: Remove the food that drew them in, and they'll go looking somewhere else.

You can bless some water, add a few drops of sage essential oil, and then just wipe everything down, one room at a time, while either visualizing the build-up washing away, or repeating a mantra of blessing. If you're intent on getting every inch clean, you can take a cheap mop and wipe down the walls and ceiling, too.

I used to have to do this on a regular basis when I lived in a city that was particularly known for its psychic leeches... Pretty similar to what you're describing.

Another option:

Gemstones.

Amethyst gemstones help the wearer focus his or her psychic energy. Obsidian absorbs negative energy. Clear Quartz crystals can be charged with whatever energy you choose, and can serve as a sort of "back up battery" when you need a little boost. You can sometimes go to a rock shop and purchase chips of sapphire and other, more expensive stones. My friends and I call sapphire "The Caffeine Rock," because it floods you with energy and makes you feel a little jittery.

Gemstones are pretty, generally inexpensive, and you can hide them in inconspicuous places around the house so that they can do their work even when you aren't there.

All of these are things that you can try without disobeying your mother and heading off into the woods.

I hope you find something that works!