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I seem to have an unwanted visitor in the kitchen

(83 Posts)
Supernana1 Wed 30-Nov-22 14:36:53

For a while now there has been a gap in the baseboards in the corner under my kitchen cabinets. A couple of times I've noticed my dog's soft toy was tight up against the gap, as if somebody was trying to pull it underneath the cabinets.

Then last night one of my granddaughter's trainers was jammed in the corner. I moved it to join its mate at the back door but an hour later one trainer had disappeared.

I've just removed the baseboards to find one trainer, three soft dog toys, a roll of sandwich bags (completely unrolled), a dog ball, two yellow dusters, two packs of kitchen wipes and a roll of unused microfibre cloths.

What sort of animal would do this? They weren't piled up to make a nest, just scattered here and there.

The kitchen items were obviously taken from a shelf under the sink and the other (dog) items would have been on the kitchen floor. Our dog won't leave his toys in a box, he likes them scattered everywhere.

I'm mystified. By the way, there is no sign of any animal droppings.

Can anybody help please? The dog's sight and hearing aren't too good but I haven't even seen him sniffing at the base of the cabinets.

Whatever is doing this, dragging all these items under the cabinets, is very quiet and leaves no trace behind.

Now I've got to try to put the baseboards back!

RVK1CR Sun 04-Dec-22 06:34:34

Blossoming

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/

There were grey squirrels causing problems in my garden so I got a trap from B&Q and took them 6 miles to the woods. I don't care if it's illegal, I took them to a nice wood and left them with some cake🍰

Supernana1 Mon 12-Dec-22 10:34:05

At long last I know. It's a rat, caught on camera.

Doesn't touch food on worktops, no wee or droppings. Very silent. Still trying to pull dog toys under the cabinets, but since I moved the baseboards to fill the gap that there had been, it's now trying to pull things upwards into the gap between the baseboard and the oven.

I can't really afford to get pest control out. Might ring the Council and see if they provide a cheaper service. Or head to B&Q to see what they have for sale.

But at least now I know what it is!!!

MaizieD Mon 12-Dec-22 11:01:56

Lauren59

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

When we had a visit from a rat and called in the pest control I asked him about the danger of my cats eating a dead poisoned rat. He assured me that the amount of poison in the rat wouldn't have any effect on a cat.

We never did find or smell a corpse, or even saw any sign of the poison being taken.

My cats do catch rats from time to time (we live in the country). They never eat them, just leave them on display for us. They eat anything else they catch (mostly mice and rabbits).

MaizieD Mon 12-Dec-22 11:06:22

Our local council charges £50.

B&Q will have a selection of bait blocks and traps.

Callistemon21 Mon 12-Dec-22 11:07:40

Rats carry disease so yes, I would dispose of it, quickly and humanely. Thank goodness you know now, Supernana1

We found a very decomposed one on the lawn not long ago, the shape was distinctive. It must have decomposed very quickly in between fortnightly lawn cuts! We hadn't poisoned it but a neighbour must have done.

Kate1949 Mon 12-Dec-22 11:08:31

Our council deals with rats etc free of charge if you are a pensioner.

nanna8 Mon 12-Dec-22 11:10:14

One of cats brought a cicada in and I managed to rescue it and put it outside on a leaf. I had never seen one that close up, only heard them.