As someone else said, dormice, if indeed they are the villains of the peace, should be left alone because they are a protective species and should not be disturbed. They should be welcome in any garden, trapping them without a license is an illegal act. yes, I be over the moon to have them.
I would be happy to have them too but sadly if the initial poster does not reside in the UK then it perhaps isn't illegal to persecute them in his/her country. Even so I wouldn't want to do so anyway.
It's still not clear for sure what the animal actually is yet?
The jury is still out debating who the culprit is still at the mo.
I did say ‘IF’ and yes, the jury is out at this moment of time. Still what a bonus for a very lucky individual if it comes about they are indeed dormice, even if they have a bit less of a harvest.
Look at ccess2g's picture, people, and read the description - it's clearly an Edible Dormouse rather than the native species. Getting on for 10x bigger (small squirrel size). The behaviour & fruit damage sounds typical as well, nothing like that of Hazel Dormouse which is not a pest species.
I think it would be very difficult to keep them out of the trees. Not sure how much else you can do about it other than trapping, which isn't proving very effective.
If you are within 5 miles of Wendover in Bucks then it will probably be Edible Dormouse. A totally benign and welcome Victorian introduction. Otherwise it would be very interesting to know exactly where you are so the culprit can be identified. There are several weird and wonderful non-native breeders in the UK and details are generally kept quiet these days in the hope of preventing further "humane" eradications" such as in the case of the Ruddy Duck.
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possum?
Sounds like Edible Dormouse, as in the picture. Introduced in Britain from the continent, mainly in the Chilterns (and spreading).
Whereabouts in the world are you? Would help us to help you better!
As someone else said, dormice, if indeed they are the villains of the peace, should be left alone because they are a protective species and should not be disturbed. They should be welcome in any garden, trapping them without a license is an illegal act. yes, I be over the moon to have them.
I would be happy to have them too but sadly if the initial poster does not reside in the UK then it perhaps isn't illegal to persecute them in his/her country. Even so I wouldn't want to do so anyway.
It's still not clear for sure what the animal actually is yet?
The jury is still out debating who the culprit is still at the mo.
Last edited: 20 November 2017 17:28:43
I did say ‘IF’ and yes, the jury is out at this moment of time. Still what a bonus for a very lucky individual if it comes about they are indeed dormice, even if they have a bit less of a harvest.
Look at ccess2g's picture, people, and read the description - it's clearly an Edible Dormouse rather than the native species. Getting on for 10x bigger (small squirrel size). The behaviour & fruit damage sounds typical as well, nothing like that of Hazel Dormouse which is not a pest species.
I think it would be very difficult to keep them out of the trees. Not sure how much else you can do about it other than trapping, which isn't proving very effective.
Note that to trap these legally (in England) you need to register with Natural England for a licence. It's also illegal to release them so trapped dormice will need to be killed humanely. Details here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/edible-dormice-licence-to-trap-them
If you are within 5 miles of Wendover in Bucks then it will probably be Edible Dormouse. A totally benign and welcome Victorian introduction. Otherwise it would be very interesting to know exactly where you are so the culprit can be identified. There are several weird and wonderful non-native breeders in the UK and details are generally kept quiet these days in the hope of preventing further "humane" eradications" such as in the case of the Ruddy Duck.