I seem to have an unwanted visitor in the kitchen

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.

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

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.

Our local council charges £50.

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

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).

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!!!

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🍰

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

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

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.

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

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'

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

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.

Poltergeist.

Any idea appreciated thanks.

*Hole.🙄

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?

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!!

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 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.

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.
😳😊

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.

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.

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!