I seem to have an unwanted visitor in the kitchen

I hate to say this, but when I lived in an old cottage, I found the fruit bowl was being raided overnight. There were no droppings. But then we discovered that a rat had somehow got in through the eaves, and the Council came and laid poison. The fruit never disappeared again.

Ampersand

I would think it's either squirrels or mice. I had a similar problem and called in pest control.

They told me the best thing to do is fill every gap with wire wool as rodents hate it - problem solved - never returned

Hope this solves the problem

wire wool is a cheaper option but if there is the slightest amount of damp, it will rust through quite quickly. A better option would be to use stainless steel pan scrubbers or stainless steel fine wire mesh (it looks like knitted wire) which I bought on Amazon when I needed to block holes in my shed.

Please don’t use any kind of bait/poison. It’s quite inhumane and the dead rodents could be eaten by other animals.

I have two 19 week old kittens, there’s not even a moth left - they’ve taken and eaten flies, spiders etc. Just suggesting…

Borrowers. Most homes have them...

My money's on it being rats. It's amazing the very small spaces they can get through and the large objects they can move around. Most winter's we hear them moving between the walls and behind the boiler, a nice cosy place. They don't venture into the rooms and we don't do anything about them, they leave in the Spring. Though we do check the wiring in the loft every year as one year they destroyed some of it. Occasionally I see one scuttle across the patio and disappear under the barbecue. For the most part I can accept rats and mice as part and parcel of living in the country.

My immediate thought reading this was one or more rats.

They can make very long underground tunnels, so the lack of droppings in your kitchen are not conclusive proof that it is not rats.

Mice certainly cannot move a trainer.

It could also be a weasel or some member of the weasel's extended family.

Whatever it is, you don't want it in or near your kitchen, so do get the nearest pest control person in.

Much as I love animals, I have little compunction when it comes to rats!

At the end of the list of things I found under the cabinets I should have added 'and a partridge in a pear tree'.......I found just about everything else!

Reading all your messages I've come to the conclusion that it is/was a rat. I've just discovered an unused hoover under the stairs that is covered in black greasy marks and what looks like the tail end of an old potato. It's the black marks that convinced me, as mentioned by another poster.

Anyway, I put back the baseboards (making sure to fill the gap) and there's no sign of anything else happening - for the moment anyway. I couldn't see anywhere it could have got in but the angles made it impossible to see all areas.

I didn't expect to get so many responses so thank you.

If any more things disappear, I'll let you know.

Gransnet is such a helpful friendly place - thanks again!

SparklyGrandma

I have two 19 week old kittens, there’s not even a moth left - they’ve taken and eaten flies, spiders etc. Just suggesting…

Our two are 6 mnths and since they moved in in August, we are rid of moths of all kinds, daddy-long-legs and spiders - none of which our old cat was particularly interested in catching.

I am hoping they will continue the indoor hunt, when they are allowed out on their own come the spring. Right now I take them out on their leads, but the last week or so, they say it is too cold.

Yup. Call pest control. Not sure if they would sort out any Borrowers or ghostly visitors though. You might just need a good plan B!. Good luck.

My cat used to do things like this. Borrow random items like sponges, brilo pads, underwear, small soft toys, balled up socks.
He came home once with a thong! I have no idea which neighbour he had borrowed it from and I was too embarrassed to knock on doors to find out. It was summer and everyone had their patio doors and windows open.
😳😊

It sounds more like a rat...they actually hide their droppings in one place away from their living quarters! My mum couldn't understand where the soap bars were going until she was in the bath one evening and saw the soap being pulled into a hole behind the bidet.

The only other time we had this sort of problem was when a ferret managed to get into the house after escaping from its owner. My grandad who had dementia so often saw things which weren't there so we took no notice when he complained that a long rat kept pinching his stuff. It was only when it suddenly shot out from underneath his bed, nearly giving me a heart attack, I realised we had an intruder.

Sounds more likely to be a squirrel but they also leave droppings. One got into the cottage we hired for a holiday and had a feast ! There were droppings. DEFINITELY call in Pest Control as it needs identifying. Could even be a small cat ?

It sounds like rats. You never see rat droppings as they are basically clean animals and have a "toilet" that they go to. I would definately get pest control in. We had an infestation of rats a couple of years ago and the only clue we had was a whole punnet of grapes disappeared overnight and we then found a hole. I hope you get it sorted out as the last thing you need are rats. Dont try and do it yourself. Our pest control guy only visited twice and the rat problem was sorted!! They know what they are doing. Good Luck!!

I seem to have a whole 'burrowed' in my (what was) the flower bed- its next to the house wall- but ive not seen evidence of anything inside anywhere at all.the holes round & about 3 inches across.I wondered if it could be a hedgehog or something burrowed down for winter? The cats took no notice and hes ussually on the ball so im not too worried but just wondered if anyone had any ideas?

*Hole.🙄

Any idea appreciated thanks.

Poltergeist.

Nannan2

Any idea appreciated thanks.

It could be a rat?
We had one in our compost heap; the garden behind us is very neglected and the rodent exterminator tracked it back to their garden.

icanhandthemback your poor Grandad! At least he was vindicated in the end.

There is a very simple solution to this dilemma. Get one of those small surveillance devices, the kind relatives put in rooms in care homes when they suspct the care a relative is getting.

Do no tell anyone that you have the device. Place it somewhere where it can film everything happening around the place everything is being found.

There will be three possible results:
1) when you check the recordings you will see who or what is causing this phenomena.
2) The activity will stop because it is caused by that animal known as a human being.
3) It will move its sphere of activity somewhere else and possibly also tamper with your equipment, if it appears at the new location. This activity is also caused by genus 'human being'

Please can you let us know what it is doing this when and if you find out?
Set up a camera.

My first thought was it was your dog doing a burying job but now it doesn't sound like that. Odd there are no droppings if it is a rat. Sounds a good idea to get a pest investigator in as he is likely to work it out.

If it was here it would be a rat,a mouse or a possum. Or perhaps a stray cat?

Can you set up a camera to see what it is maybe use your phone if it records that long