Mystery Pest

[jok 3,399]

It's without doubt the Lesser Rafter Confined Prehodactryl Mono thing. commonly found i n Wales.

[DIDO.1 22,855]

Socks..the loft had been cleaned when I came on my next visit....I didn't leave 12 month between visits...I hadn't caught it, I didn't catch it over the following weeks, nothing on the camera and I gave up. There has been no noise or droppings for over 12 months

[DIDO.1 22,855]

 

 

The drain pipes were plastic and fitted tight to the wall.

 

This thing had been in there a while, it had been hunting and thriving.

 

I didn't want to set traps in the loft and spook it so I placed fenn traps in the stone walls around the garden.

 

When I returned the home owner had cleaned the droppings up in the loft and no sign of the culprit has been heard for 12 months.....

What time scale are we talking about? Month when it was first detected and left?

It was late November last year, I ran my fenn traps for a number of weeks, but from the moment the loft was cleaned (I know, I should of told him to stay away) no sign

[Nicepix 5,650]

 

 

The drain pipes were plastic and fitted tight to the wall.

 

This thing had been in there a while, it had been hunting and thriving.

 

I didn't want to set traps in the loft and spook it so I placed fenn traps in the stone walls around the garden.

 

When I returned the home owner had cleaned the droppings up in the loft and no sign of the culprit has been heard for 12 months.....

What time scale are we talking about? Month when it was first detected and left?

It was late November last year, I ran my fenn traps for a number of weeks, but from the moment the loft was cleaned (I know, I should of told him to stay away) no sign

 

 

Everything fits except the location. They have pads on their forelegs that allow them to climb drain pipes or brick walls. We had one here a few months ago that managed to climb the fall pipes and squeeze into the loft. Sounded like a cart horse in the loft. Pine martens don't invade houses although they are found in the UK. Beech martens do exactly what you describe right down to the diet. But they aren't found in the UK. So in reality, without being able to examine the scat we'll never know.

[DIDO.1 22,855]

Ok....part 2

 

The other day I receive a call from the home owner saying they have heard a bump in the loft...

I checked and found one fresh dropping and two older droppings that wernt there 12 month ago. When I first went in there was hundreds of dropping. So it had been living there and thriving until it got spooked, since then it's been back a few times but not like it had been.

I added some cage traps and a bodygrip baited with rabbit.

Looking outside i find a hole at ground level were the mortor is missing, it's smooth and looks used. It wasn't there last time.

We set cameras up around the house and on the hole....

[EDDIE B 3,168]

Well it doesn't look like a Pine Marten anyway! Wonder are Polecats common in that area? There's obviously an entry point somewhere, but these aren't always easily found!

 

Edited to add, talking about the first picture!?

Edited December 17, 2015 by EDDIE B

[DIDO.1 22,855]

It's a stoat. It's actually just coming out of the hole in the mortor.

 

I'm not convinced that's the same animal as on the first pic in the loft. The first pic looks more like a ferret or polecat...not the smooth little stoat in the second pic.

 

I'm loath to trap the stoat, it looks cute and must be catching some rats and mice.

It's using the hole regular and lives in there. Is it to much of a coincidence that the house has two different animals of the same family?

[DIDO.1 22,855]

Well it doesn't look like a Pine Marten anyway! Wonder are Polecats common in that area? There's obviously an entry point somewhere, but these aren't always easily found!

 

Edited to add, talking about the first picture!?

No polecats that I know of.

[EDDIE B 3,168]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The drain pipes were plastic and fitted tight to the wall.

 

This thing had been in there a while, it had been hunting and thriving.

 

I didn't want to set traps in the loft and spook it so I placed fenn traps in the stone walls around the garden.

 

When I returned the home owner had cleaned the droppings up in the loft and no sign of the culprit has been heard for 12 months.....

What time scale are we talking about? Month when it was first detected and left?

It was late November last year, I ran my fenn traps for a number of weeks, but from the moment the loft was cleaned (I know, I should of told him to stay away) no sign

Everything fits except the location. They have pads on their forelegs that allow them to climb drain pipes or brick walls. We had one here a few months ago that managed to climb the fall pipes and squeeze into the loft. Sounded like a cart horse in the loft. Pine martens don't invade houses although they are found in the UK. Beech martens do exactly what you describe right down to the diet. But they aren't found in the UK. So in reality, without being able to examine the scat we'll never know.

Actually Pine Martens do invade houses! Maybe not as much as Beech Marten do, but it's common enough all the same!

 

In fact, everything does point towards Pine Marten, apart from that photo! But sometimes photo's can be deceiving!

[J Darcy 5,871]

 

 

 

 

 

The drain pipes were plastic and fitted tight to the wall.

 

This thing had been in there a while, it had been hunting and thriving.

 

I didn't want to set traps in the loft and spook it so I placed fenn traps in the stone walls around the garden.

 

When I returned the home owner had cleaned the droppings up in the loft and no sign of the culprit has been heard for 12 months.....

What time scale are we talking about? Month when it was first detected and left?

It was late November last year, I ran my fenn traps for a number of weeks, but from the moment the loft was cleaned (I know, I should of told him to stay away) no sign

Everything fits except the location. They have pads on their forelegs that allow them to climb drain pipes or brick walls. We had one here a few months ago that managed to climb the fall pipes and squeeze into the loft. Sounded like a cart horse in the loft. Pine martens don't invade houses although they are found in the UK. Beech martens do exactly what you describe right down to the diet. But they aren't found in the UK. So in reality, without being able to examine the scat we'll never know.

Actually Pine Martens do invade houses! Maybe not as much as Beech Marten do, but it's common enough all the same!

 

In fact, everything does point towards Pine Marten, apart from that photo! But sometimes photo's can be deceiving!

 

The only thing is; pine martens are very very rare in england.

[EDDIE B 3,168]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The drain pipes were plastic and fitted tight to the wall.

 

This thing had been in there a while, it had been hunting and thriving.

 

I didn't want to set traps in the loft and spook it so I placed fenn traps in the stone walls around the garden.

 

When I returned the home owner had cleaned the droppings up in the loft and no sign of the culprit has been heard for 12 months.....

What time scale are we talking about? Month when it was first detected and left?

It was late November last year, I ran my fenn traps for a number of weeks, but from the moment the loft was cleaned (I know, I should of told him to stay away) no sign

Everything fits except the location. They have pads on their forelegs that allow them to climb drain pipes or brick walls. We had one here a few months ago that managed to climb the fall pipes and squeeze into the loft. Sounded like a cart horse in the loft. Pine martens don't invade houses although they are found in the UK. Beech martens do exactly what you describe right down to the diet. But they aren't found in the UK. So in reality, without being able to examine the scat we'll never know.

Actually Pine Martens do invade houses! Maybe not as much as Beech Marten do, but it's common enough all the same!

 

In fact, everything does point towards Pine Marten, apart from that photo! But sometimes photo's can be deceiving!

The only thing is; pine martens are very very rare in england.

A never thought of that! Common as muck here! I'd like to see those ears being a bit more prominent in that photo also!

[MAG1980 116]

Looks like mink or ferret to me. be interesting to see if you can live trap it and id it.

[TOMO 27,636]

Obviously the new pic is a stoat,,,

 

But the first pic ,, I would have said mink,,,not a ferret as there not much at climbing,,,pine marten well maybe as Eddie said pics can be deceptive ,,,but there not common in England ..

 

Or of course the first pic is a stoat,,and it just looks bigger ....

 

So for me the first pic is a stoat or a mink,,,just seems to much of a coincidence though for it not to be a stoat,,possibly the same one,,,

[DIDO.1 22,855]

Yeah that's what I'm thinking. It's not playing ball though

[stealthy1 3,964]

Looks like a feral ferret to me, judging by the carcases you found, the Starling, it sounds like it's climbing the wall to the guttering and squeezing through under the slates to gain access to the loft, and that's how it came into contact with the Starling.