I seem to have an unwanted visitor in the kitchen

👀👀 got me thinking! Surely not rats

It does seem odd that there were no droppings. How old are your grandchildren? Is it possible one of them could be posting items in through the gap?

You do need a licence to trap glis glis. You don’t need a licence to trap grey squirrels and if you use a ‘humane’ trap you will need to kill them as it’s illegal to release them.

Sorry Supernana1, I think it’s one or more rats. If you aren’t able to trap or kill them yourself you need to speak to a pest control company.

bpca.org.uk/

Edible Dormouse
Yes, it is what the name would suggest; it’s a type of mouse. And it is considered a delicacy on the islands of Hvar and Brač. If you spend some time on these islands, it’s worth trying! The dormouse is cooked on the grill, seasoned with salt, and cooked in olive oil before being served between two slices of bread

Stuff the dormice with minced pork as well as the flesh from all of the dormouse’s limbs, together with ground pepper, pine nuts, laser and liquamen and place them sewn up on a clay tile in the oven or cook them in a roasting pan

Apicus

Recipes?

Species = other species

Whitewavemark2

I thought you needed a special licence to trap them?

I trust they were not killed😮😮😮

I trust they were not killed
🤔

Edible dormice have increased from a few escapees from a private collection to an estimated million in the wild.
They're an invasive species which could cause damage to native species of trees, species and cause other damage to property etc.
Like the grey squirrel which has ousted the native red they have upset the balance of nature here.

They're not sweet, tiny little creatures like our native dormice.

They are still eaten in many parts of the world.

My guess it's a fox. Is there a way into the stash from outdoors?

Please get rid of the animal humanely if you must.

Whitewavemark2

I thought you needed a special licence to trap them?

I trust they were not killed😮😮😮

Given that it was a professional pest person removing them, I'm sure it was all above board.

I thought you needed a special licence to trap them?

I trust they were not killed😮😮😮

I've a friend who lives near Oxford and she has just had to deal with them in her ceiling. The pest man trapped 10.

Oh yes, they have increased in numbers in some areas and are a real problem but mainly in woodland, I thought.

Could it be a glis glis

It could well be a rat I bet I recently inherited one (now deceased) from the house next door which had to be condemned
I unfortunately (for it) trapped it under the kitchen sink without realising and it died but the things in there with it was amazing carrier bags, a shopper bag, a big old potato kitchen washing sponges Brillo pads I never saw any grease marks and not much in the way of droppings however before I caught it it had started to shred the edges of carpet chewed door jambs and nibbled a chunk of Lino in the downstairs toilet
Although I would have preferred to catch it live and let it go Im VERY glad our time together has ended

I would have thought there would be some obvious mess if it was a rat. The droppings are very noticeable and they are liable to leave grease marks along the walls.

Hetty58

We once lived in the ground floor of a huge Victorian house. The kitchen had a built in wooden dresser (when we moved in) - with a strong, pungent smell. I removed all the drawers and the raised base, intending to clean it with bleach and line with waxed paper. I suspected a rat or mouse nest - but no - I found it packed with dried leaves - and a hedgehog! Outside, behind shrubs, there was a broken airbrick. The dresser came out!

That’s a great story, a hedgehog at home in your dresser.😄

Whitewavemark2

It has to be a rat.

Yup, sounds like it.

We once lived in the ground floor of a huge Victorian house. The kitchen had a built in wooden dresser (when we moved in) - with a strong, pungent smell. I removed all the drawers and the raised base, intending to clean it with bleach and line with waxed paper. I suspected a rat or mouse nest - but no - I found it packed with dried leaves - and a hedgehog! Outside, behind shrubs, there was a broken airbrick. The dresser came out!

I would worry it's a rat....or Elf on the Shelf 🎅sorry couldn't help it

Sounds like rat-like behaviour but they usually leave droppings and greasy dirty marks all over the place, and get into food supplies.

MawtheMerrier

Squirrels?
They are incredibly destructive -I am told worse than rats, but either way I’d be tempted to call in some sort of Pest Control,
if only for your peace of mind.

Squirrels will chew through electrical cables and can cause chaos in a loft.
We had one in a cavity wall in one house.

It has to be a rat.

I’ve got no idea as to what could be doing it, but maybe your name should be Supernatural not Supernanal? 😁
I agree with others, get pest control in.

Tizliz

We always blame the Borrowers for missing items, unfortunately haven’t found their storage area

Yes, sounds like The Borrowers to me.