Animal put seeds under my pillow

[Water Camper]

Went up to the cottage this weekend and found a handful of some type of seeds under my pillow! No sign of any mice, nothing shredded, just seeds under the pillow ... and only on my side of the bed. Absolutely no sign of any animal having been in the building but we did have an Ermin underneath the building a few weeks back. Sure was hard to sleep that night and I warned my husband not to tough my face in the night or he'd probably loose his hand! Seriously, if anyone has any thoughts on this let me know! It's just wierd. Thanks!
Sue

[bclaker]

You probably don't want to think of this, but whatever animal put the seeds there will probably be back to dine on his hidden snacks.

[Water Camper]

Had the same thought! Hence the not sleeping so peacefully. We'll see if there are anymore next weekend. Hopefully on HIS side of the bed. He's laughing at me pretty hard as it is.

[ITD]

I'm thinking mice, or possibly type of insect, are you sure they are seeds? I would set a few mouse traps to find out if it is mice, look along the walls for mouse turds, if you see a concentration put a trap there with the trigger side of the trap against the wall.

[Water Camper]

Definitely some kind of seeds ... pretty uniform in size ... most about 1/4 inch long and about 2/16 inch wide, some a little smaller, and they were flat-ish and dark in color, kinda shiny and smooth. There were enough to fill the palm of my hand. I threw them away (and changed all the bedding!) but will keep some if I find more (hopefully not!) and try to identify them. Maybe from pinecones? We have tons of those around. I checked every inch of the bedroom and other rooms as well. No dropping of any kind, no sign of anything except the seeds. And yes, I put out four mouse traps before we left today. And now that I'm thinking back on finding them, I believe there was an indentation around those seeds like something sleeping there? Okay, now I'm freaking myself out! Imagination running wild.

[ITD]

Could have been a flying squirrel, I watched 3 or 4 collecting pine cones a few weeks ago in the yard. They grabbed them all and there were hundreds of them. Good luck.

[Jonas Pilot]

... a tooth lately? Maybe it's from the "Tooth Fairy"? Things have been tough lately for ever body , don't 'ya know?

[beagle]

It reminds me of when we bought our first house in the woods in CT. We unloaded all our boxes and then left to visit my mom in Indiana for Thanksgiving. When we returned and started unpacking boxes I found a cache of seeds inside two of the boxes in the kitchen. Sure enough, we had mice! Definitely buy some traps, load 'em up with peanut butter and place along the walls and see what turns up. Good Luck!

[Water Camper]

We're going on six years at this 100+ year old cottage and have only seen 2 bats inside, one on the floor and one IN the fireplace insert!

Jonas Pilot, I need the tooth fairy to leave me gold, not seeds. Perferraby a large sack of it!

And ITD, I'm thinking about what you said about flying squirells. My husband said something woke him up about 3 this morning ... some banging around. By the time he became fully awake and got up to look around, it had stopped. I hadn't thought about that until now as I slept through it. But it could have been whatever this thing is coming back for it's stash. Now I'm really not gonna sleep!

[RLW]

Sounds to me as if the seeds are really hemlock cone seeds. I have never seen mice eating them before, but that doesn't mean they don't. The only thing I have seen eating them are the smaller birds, chipmunks and squirrels.

[Water Camper]

RLW, you might be onto something. We have a big hemlock right outside of the bedroom. I thought that Chipmunks hibernate in the winter but maybe it's hanging out under the building for the winter? Could be what hubby heard this morning.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by Water Camper

Definitely some kind of seeds ... pretty uniform in size ... most about 1/4 inch long and about 2/16 inch wide, some a little smaller, and they were flat-ish and dark in color, kinda shiny and smooth. There were enough to fill the palm of my hand. I threw them away (and changed all the bedding!) but will keep some if I find more (hopefully not!) and try to identify them. Maybe from pinecones? We have tons of those around. I checked every inch of the bedroom and other rooms as well. No dropping of any kind, no sign of anything except the seeds. And yes, I put out four mouse traps before we left today. And now that I'm thinking back on finding them, I believe there was an indentation around those seeds like something sleeping there? Okay, now I'm freaking myself out! Imagination running wild.

WC,

Are you sure it wasn't bat guano? Unlikely since it was under your pillow but it's possible.

BT

[Water Camper]

I don't know what bat crap looks like but having had 2 in the building in 6 years, coupled with the banging around at 3 this morning ....

[bclaker]

We had bat in one of our houses. We called the police. I had my scanner on. When he signed off, it was "This is Batman off at Dracula's Den". I kidded him about it, but he was not that happy that I heard him. He put a waste basket over the bat, who was on a curtain and slipped an LP record behind it and took him outside.

[RLW]

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

WC,

Are you sure it wasn't bat guano? Unlikely since it was under your pillow but it's possible.

BT

I don't believe so as they hibernate don't they, at least the ones behind my shutters and in the bat house do.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by RLW

I don't believe so as they hibernate don't they, at least the ones behind my shutters and in the bat house do.

That is true but with this unseasonably mild winter who knows??.....
I'm not trying to freak WC out, just offering a possibility.

[jeffatsquam]

Have you had any work done on the cottage in the past year?

Sounds like a new point of entry

[Gavia immer]

Originally Posted by Water Camper

RLW, you might be onto something. We have a big hemlock right outside of the bedroom. I thought that Chipmunks hibernate in the winter but maybe it's hanging out under the building for the winter? Could be what hubby heard this morning.

The clues to your posing a chipmunk-as-a-suspect need to add up.

Are the seeds of a certain small capacity, and in one nice little pile?

[Water Camper]

Thanks to everyone who has replied with their ideas. To answer jeffatsquam, yes, we had part of our roof redone in late fall, nothing else. And to answer Gavia immer, the seeds were enough to totally fill the palm of my hand. They were not piled up. They were in a flat, almost perfect circle. And like I said earlier, I think there was an indentation around them, like something curled up around them. That makes me think possibly an Ermin or a weasel type critter. Will find out Friday if it has paid another visit. If I feel something fuzzy in bed around my feet I'm gonna hit the roof! And honey, if you read this, don't get any ideas!

[Water Camper]

I spoke to the Wildlife Division at Fish and Game. They strongly suspect flying squirrels. Then I called a pest control business and she, too, said most likely flying squirrels. She had me convinced when she said that you'd often hear them coming back in at around 3:00 in the morning. That's the time hubby heard something. She said they will hide food but not shred bedding, etc., and she's thinking they are up in the attic. We'll take a look around up there this weekend to see if we can find any evidence of what it might be.

[Kamper]

Sounds like a quality establishment to me. A snack discretely placed by your pillow and no mess.

[NoBozo]

In the interest of good animal detective work..a few questions need to be answered.

1: Did you find any little stains on the sheet..indicating a mouse had left any saliva or juices..? (drooling) A mouse delivering a bunch of seeds..deposited one at a time..would probably have left some signs.

2: Did you find any mouse hair around the "site" which might confirm a mouse presence..?

3: Did your husband ever "Short Sheet" your bed in the early years of your marriage...?

I'm thiking your husband is just showing his affection ..on Valentines Day by ...Busting your chops. NB

[RLW]

If you were renting or staying the night I would say that the maid left that instead of a mint.

[Water Camper]

NoBozo and RLW, Thanks for the laughs to go with my coffee this morning. You both are funny!

To answer your (serious) questions, I don't know if there were any stains as I stripped the bed after finding the seeds! I did do a major search through the cottage for any sign of a mouse, or any animal. Absolutely nothing.

Valentine seeds? Maybe hubby's on to something.....

[dpg]

An Ermin isn't that a pretty good size animal? Seems if one of those were getting into the place you would know or be able to find from where.

[Tired of Waiting]

It's a chipmunk.

My best friend had the exact same thing in his camp in Otis MA.

Don't know why under the pillows but they put them there on every bed. We cought the little seed hider in the act and removed him to a better location.


tow

[webgirl]

So glad that you posted this. We have a country home in Waitsfield, Vt.
We arrived on Friday, March 1 at around midnight. And as I was about to fall asleep, and my hand was under my pilllow I felt something strange...

I found a small handful of seeds, about 3/4 of an inch long and 1/4 inch wide, brown, they look like wild rice but brown. There were no mouse droppings or shredding....and it was on my side of the bed (wife) nothing on the husbands side.

We were both a bit freaked out, but I find this really intriguing as well as we live most of the time in the city and wild life is new to us.

We've owned our home for about 2 year and this was the first incident.

I am looking at this as a good omen, a beautiful gift.

Is your cottage in New Hampshire? We are close in proximity and live in the mountains.

[RLW]

webgirl, I just noticed that you are fairly new to the forum and glad you have joined us. Have fun and enjoy the Winni Forum while making many new friends. I hope you find the little critter that left you his most precious gift.

[NoBozo]

Originally Posted by webgirl

So glad that you posted this. We have a country home in Waitsfield, Vt.
We arrived on Friday, March 1 at around midnight. And as I was about to fall asleep, and my hand was under my pilllow I felt something strange...

I found a small handful of seeds, about 3/4 of an inch long and 1/4 inch wide, brown, they look like wild rice but brown. There were no mouse droppings or shredding....and it was on my side of the bed (wife) nothing on the husbands side.

We were both a bit freaked out, but I find this really intriguing as well as we live most of the time in the city and wild life is new to us.

We've owned our home for about 2 year and this was the first incident.

I am looking at this as a good omen, a beautiful gift.

Is your cottage in New Hampshire? We are close in proximity and live in the mountains.

Suspect your husband: He has read this thread. Back when I was married..45 years ago...such behavior was perfectly acceptable. I havn't done any pranks lately..She knows all of them by now. NB

[Water Camper]

NoBozo, concerning your last post, I would have suspected your wife. She was probably just paying you back for your pranks! And rightfully so! You have a great sense of humor too and I'd like to meet you some day. Life is full of fun, mystery, and smiles.

Just don't look under the pillow!

[ITD]

Originally Posted by webgirl

So glad that you posted this. We have a country home in Waitsfield, Vt.
We arrived on Friday, March 1 at around midnight. And as I was about to fall asleep, and my hand was under my pilllow I felt something strange...

I found a small handful of seeds, about 3/4 of an inch long and 1/4 inch wide, brown, they look like wild rice but brown. There were no mouse droppings or shredding....and it was on my side of the bed (wife) nothing on the husbands side.

We were both a bit freaked out, but I find this really intriguing as well as we live most of the time in the city and wild life is new to us.

We've owned our home for about 2 year and this was the first incident.

I am looking at this as a good omen, a beautiful gift.

Is your cottage in New Hampshire? We are close in proximity and live in the mountains.

Webgirl, welcome. Don't mean to scare you, but some of the "gifts" mice (and other rodents) can give us are listed in the sentence below from Wiki. I prefer mice outside the house..... Good luck!!

Some of the diseases the house mouse carries can be deadly: for example, Leptospirosis, Murine typhus, Rickettsialpox, Tularemia, lymphocytic choriomeningitis ^[27] and potentially Bubonic plague.

[Water Camper]

Originally Posted by webgirl

So glad that you posted this. We have a country home in Waitsfield, Vt.
We arrived on Friday, March 1 at around midnight. And as I was about to fall asleep, and my hand was under my pilllow I felt something strange...

I found a small handful of seeds, about 3/4 of an inch long and 1/4 inch wide, brown, they look like wild rice but brown. There were no mouse droppings or shredding....and it was on my side of the bed (wife) nothing on the husbands side.

We were both a bit freaked out, but I find this really intriguing as well as we live most of the time in the city and wild life is new to us.

We've owned our home for about 2 year and this was the first incident.

I am looking at this as a good omen, a beautiful gift.

Is your cottage in New Hampshire? We are close in proximity and live in the mountains.

Hi Webgirl. We are located in Laconia, NH.

Now, the guys on the forum, especially NoBozo, have been giving me a good ribbing on this critter thing. All in fun and funny! But the seeds I found under my pillow are exactly as you describe. And while we did have something trip the traps set in the outside pantry (a room off the building) I still don't believe it was related to the inside incident. I'm going with your thought that it might be a good omen, a beautiful gift. It has not happened again. Just that once. And no, NoBozo, I don't believe my husband put them there! But just in case, I was thinking about getting a racoon tail and sticking it down under the blankets where his feet would be so when HE went to bed and tucked his toes down under .....

[NoBozo]

WC: You have a good sense of humor and a logical mind. This is good.

Many years ago, my wife and I stayed in a Motel/Cabins in the Catskills. The cabin was very rustic, ...it had a nice stone fireplace which we enjoyed. An hour after we went to bed, we heard a scratching..or something, in the wall which we tried to ignore. (I'm not making this up). It kept going. I finally got up and went over to the wall and banged on the wall to silence the animal that was chewing..or whatever. It worked for a few minutes. Then it started again.

This went on for maybe 45 minutes. .... The animal chewing and scratching..And me going over to bang on the wall. Each time the animal would stop for a few minutes. The LAST time I banged on the wall..the animal GROWLED at me! I have NO idea what it was.

I quit banging on the wall and the animal quit scratching..or Growling at me and the rest of the night was....less confrontational. It was one of our more memorable experiences in our national travels, over the last 40+ years.. NoBozo