Can you help my Mum & Dad?
Nearly two weeks my folks woke up to this mess all over their kitchen floor. In case you are wondering it is a half eaten mandarin with scraps everywhere. They have a dog who is quite partial to the old mandarin but only if my mum takes the pips out for her. Add to that the fruit is keep on their kitchen bench and this is on the other side of the kitchen to where the fruit bowl is.
Mum is starting to freak out somewhat. I have been ever so helpful with suggestions like it is a possum, it is cockroaches, it is a rat, right up to it is a ghost and she needs to arrange for an exorcism. I have even suggested that it is my Uncle who lives nearby sneaking in at night to play mind games with her. Mum sleeps like a log and clearly isn’t hearing any noises at night. Dad’s hearing is failing him so without hearing aids in at night for sleeping he won’t hear a thing and quite clearly their dog is useless as far as a guard dog goes! If they pressed the doorbell on the way in the house however, she would bark her head off.
Here are Mum’s facebook updates all about the missing fruit:
16/6 What comes into your kitchen in the night and takes a mandarin from the fruit bowl and leaves a mess like this two nights in a row. The fruit bowl is on the kitchen bench. 17/6 I guess you all want to know did it happen again last night and YES is the answer exactly the same. going to set a trap tonight I am going to put flour on the side to see the footprints, any other thoughts welcome 18/6 What happened last night was we locked the door put mandarin outside and talc down to track the blitter – no foot prints to be seen only Missy* when we let her out during the night (or should I say when Dad let her out) but the fruit eaten. So I guess we are locking the door for a while till it finds another source of food
Kit xoxo
Edited with an update:
well here is the culprit – he was ko by the trap Dad took the picture and then went to get a plastic bag to put it in to put into the garbage and it had come too and run off. So we will try again tonight. Hence to say we slept with our door closed and Missy escaped outside into her kennel when all the commotion started. So we will try again tonight with a rat trap, any of you that think this is so funny could offer to come and help us, neither of us are good with this sort of thing!
Latest update! 9th July 2016
A couple of nights ago a midnight feast was had by the two legged variety at Mum & Dad’s. So the story goes they heard noises that woke them up, they couldn’t go back to sleep so thought they would get up and get a bowl of ice cream to help with the return to sleep! In the process get chocolate quik to sprinkle on the top and left evidence all over the bench to be discovered in the morning.
What we later found out was that when they got up (the 11yr twins!) they saw the rat! It was running around the kitchen and rather than wake any of the adults in the house one pushed the other into the walk in pantry to retrieve the quik (and put it back!) where the rat was hiding got their ice cream and headed back to bed. This meant that the rat then had free reign to the house. Dad thinks that possibly it ran into the pantry when it received the head injury and has been hiding out and recovering there ever since. Until the door was left open for it to make the great escape that is.
Somehow it got itself back into the roof space where Dad is certain it has been living. Hubby was woken to scratching noises overnight indicating the activity in the roof. So the trap and humane cage have been set and placed in the roof and we will see what tonight brings! I have to admit as much as I want it caught I do not want to hear a big snap during the night.
I now have visions of this rat crawling all over me in my sleep tonight! Dad tells me this will only happen if I have food in my room and I don’t have food as such I consider chocolate medication for my soul! It is unopened and hidden for now (so this actually means I am not sure where I have put it!)
I am praying that tomorrow’s update will be that it is gone!
It could be mandarin loving maniac living in their roof who has a rope which he uses as a lasso? He might think he’s a cowboy? Obviously not a very clever one by the amount of mess he leaves behind. The ingrate! However that might terrify everyone involved so lets just stick with your ghost theory. A mandarin loving ghost who doesn’t realize it can no longer eat. How intriguing.
Oh Kooky I am hoping my mum reads this comment! Lol …
Personally, I’d love to see #mandarins trending too 🙂 Do you have a chimney? The possums used to come down the chimney at our house when we were kids. The sooty footprints are a dead giveaway though and you don’t have those.
Nope pretty sure there is no chimney. I think Dad has moved onto that it is a mouse (though I am not a fan of running into a mouse that can push a mandarin across a room!) I just hope they have it sorted before I get there on the weekend!
thanks everyone for your suggestions I hope it isn’t a ghost, might have to move!!
Mum
you know you will have to keep me informed of what it is a couple of people have suggested on FB that the footprints are definitely a possum! and you won’t catch a possum with a mouse trap, though I am not sure how a possum gets in through locked doors and windows. Mice on the other hand blergh!
Can you please sort it out before we get there on the weekend, I am coming for a break not to stay awake all the time at every single noise!
Love you xoxo
A poltergeist. Yep definitely a mandarin loving poltergeist haha. Cant wait to find out though 😉
I think it is a ghost too though they have now put down the old style wooden mouse traps and are feeding whatever it is peanut butter as well as mandarins!
I just hope they have it sorted before I get there on the weekend!
Oooh, how bizarre! Certainly sounds like a possum – they love our mandarines (we have a mandarine tree in our backyard). Keep us posted on what shows up on the webcam. #TeamIBOT
If they haven’t sorted it by the weekend I will get my brother to send ome equipment down and we will set up some surveillence ghostbusters style lol!
I’d be locking my bedroom door, lol! Hope all is revealed soon. I have to say, I’m just a little in love with Missy the useless nuerotic guard dog… just too cute!
Sandra
She will be at my place for a holiday soon with my two crazy pups! She is adorable if not a little useless and neurotic!
xoxo
I couldnt stay there…no I couldnt …so, call in whatever experts you can!! Yikes.
I couldn’t either Denyse! My hubby thinks it is hilarious but if they haven’t sorted it by the weekend he will. Hubby thinks it is even funnier that they knocked out the rat and it came to before Dad could get it out of the house!
I’m sorry I’m a bit late to the party but I’m kind of pleased I’m late because the culprit is revealed and I wouldn’t have been able to bear the suspense! We lived in a Victorian maisonette in London and the flat was full of mice who incidentally would run around the house with gay abandon every time I was on my own. Mice are my nemesis (and don’t get me started on the rats) so we moved to Australia! How did your folks go with the rat trap? Eeek! Rather them than me!
Oh I’m glad that you know who it was! Cheeky rat to come and steal it like that! I had no idea they did that. I’ll have to keep an eye out for my mandarins now.