Weird mouse one

[AlaskaThunderfuckHiiiiiiiii]

Been here 4 years, rural, small village in a row of houses that backs on to a field. First year we had a fair few mice but not house mice they were smaller with shorter tails? Caught about 6 in the trap then didn’t see any more and DH then built a shed which they appear to have made their home due to the amount of droppings in there.

since building the shed we haven’t had any for a few years maybe just the odd one or two which the trap quickly dispose of. My question is they are only ever in the bathroom (downstairs) I’ve never caught one in the kitchen (I did see one in the kitchen the first year but never since) or seen any evidence of them anywhere in the house else other than the bathroom? No noise anywhere, scratching or running around

Yeah that'll be what's attracting them. Try keeping the guinea pigs stuff in an airtight metal container. Once they can't access it or smell it, they'll likely lose interest.

yeah going to start keeping it in containers I think, I wasn’t too bothered to be fair as long as they aren’t in the house!

@DumboHimalayan yeah I was consistently checking when I first had them when we first moved in as worried it was the start of another house mouse infestation that’s when I noticed the shorter tails and different coloured coats and bellies

@DumboHimalayan googled a picture of wood mouse I think the tail is too long!

They're not called the Longtailed Mouse for nothing… — that's the main thing throwing me off, I think. Their tails are also slightly more slender than those of house mice, without such a thick base. But some of the other things you've said do seem to fit wood/field/longtailed mouse…

What about the face/head shape? Voles are much snubber in the nose than mice, almost towards the guinea pig direction, with a broader head (and shrews are much pointier-nosed, like a hedgehog, and with lots of vicious little teeth — though they do do this adorable shrew caravan thing when they need to move their families, which has to be seen to be believed).

That’s why I originally thought field mouse, small body, short tail light coloured belly. I honestly can’t remember about the face I will take a better look next time I catch one but I think just a small slightly pointy face definitely not a thick base to the tails short and slender

I mean, if they've all got short tails, and you're not sure on head shape, I'm going to have to go back to vole… 🐭

I wish you luck with both bathroom-securing and guinea pig food-protecting, and hope for both your and their sake that you can find a way to prevent them being an unwelcome presence

I’ll definitely take more notice next time. If it is voles would they live in a shed though as opposed to coming in the house/shed by mistake?

I'm not sure! I thought they usually made nests in natural places but maybe your shed is just too comfortable and convenient?

Honestly I don’t know 😂 having looked at the photos of them and their droppings I’m leaning more and more towards bank vole

Are they wood mice?

Sorry, for some reason I thought I’d read page 2 but I must have just stayed on page one. See you’ve ruled that out already😳

In my experience they come in because it's warm and they find an area to crap in and stick to that. I will never forget pulling my washing machine out and surveying the evidence 😭The only mice I've found upstairs were dragged their by one of the cats. Definitely plug every single tiny hole and crack in the walls and floors. Fill holes in outhouse from the other side too.

First time I thought I'd seen a mouse it was gently pointed out to me that it was in fact a baby rat!! Mice are teeny but I don't claim to be an expert!!

This is the closest thing I can find to what they look like honestly starting to think it’s these. There are big trees in the field behind me assuming they are nesting in there and maybe seeking warmth or end up in here by mistake and that’s why I only get odd ones now. As I say though shed is full of them