To think a mouse might be eating the coriander in my kitchen??

[HoneywithLemon]

I've discovered small pellet-like "droppings" by the coriander plant on the worktop, which when squished are green. Loads of the leaves have been nibbled off!! Do we have vermin ??

Yes, yes you do.

Yes

At least the droppings are still pellet-like. Wait till the buggers start making themselves a curry.

Is this a stealth boast? "I'm so posh my mice eat coriander"

Soon you will have lots of meeces.

I would swap it for some flat leaf parsley and see if it notices! I have made that mistake more than once

It could be a caterpillar. I found little poos like that by my completely munched herbs and the culprit was a caterpillar. They have surprisingly large poos! Mouse poo is solid and won't squash.

Aww!

For some reason I find the image of a teeny tiny mouse stretching up to nibble some coriander leaves very cute.

Bugger. Wish it was a stealth boast! Any ideas for getting rid? Is it a professional job??

Ohh yes, it's probably a caterpillar. We hatced some this summer and their frass can be enormous.

Did it look like this?

The incontinence of mice as they scamper around your worktops is less cute, Kirjava.

We have a family in our garden. They can nibble cutely on the bird feeders all they like but if they venture in the house they will find traps behind the backboards in the kitchen.

Idlefolly - it doesn't look like mouse poo. And it's just by the plant, nowhere else. Will check around for insects. On the plus side, I see that the council here will treat the problem for a bargainous £35 if it is mice.

Yes it does Kirjavathecat! It is about the size of a grain of rice, maybe smaller.

I love mumsnet.

Could it be greenfly that you're seeing? They can drop off when dead and look a bit like pellets.
Have a squizz at plant and check under the leaves in particular.

Oh, Kirjava has ID'd it already as caterpillar shite.
As you were.

Aww try to find it and keep an eye on it! My DS loved watching his caterpillars turn into chrysalises and emerge into butterflies.

I found out I had a mouse when I found a tunnel going through my weetabix.

Have a look about all around the skirting boards and in the bottom of cupboards, it's surprising how much evidence you will see when you get your eye in.

Hang on caterpillar shite? Blimey,

Was he adding ingredients to his tikka mouse-ala?

The caterpillar is nowhere to be seen - am thinking of setting the alarm for half past early to see if we can catch the culprit in action!

If it's that big, it's probably pupated, and is buried in the soil.

My dogs eat my tarragon. It's taken me ages to work out why it looks all chewed up and dead :(