Something is burrowing in my shed

wicklowtown

Hi, Im hoping someone can help me. I went to my 7 x 6 foot metal shed that has a wooden floor for the first time this year, I couldnt get the sliding doors to open and as the sheds in a shaded area of the garden i couldnt see what what preventing the doors from opening so I went and got a torch. When i shined it inside the shed most of the wooden floor seems to have rotted away. On top of the floor (or what was the floor) in different areas of the shed are big mounds of earth and im just wondering if anyone would have any ideas of what kind of animal is obviously living under the floor of my shed. Most of the floor is covered in earth but the actual mounds are around 1- 1.5 feet in diameter. To be honest im a bit scared to check it out as im a middle aged lady and though im not scared of many animals its the fact i dont know what this animal might be and thats whats worrying me. I should also add i have 6 small dogs and 3 cats who use my garden so i would have thought any animal would avoid taking up residence in my garden even if it is inside my shed. My dogs are house dogs but in good weather my cats often stay out at night. Any help would be appreciated as im extremely nervous to investigate these mounds of earth when i have no clue what i might be dealing with. Thanks

jmBuildExt

Hi - You might get more advice in the gardening section (this is interior design)
I've no idea what that might be, and this is purely anecdotal, but a friend of mine, not a million miles away from your part of the world (he's in bray), said he saw a badger out his back garden scratching about at the bottom of the shed.
How long was it since you were in the shed before noticing this?
What condition was the floor in? e.g. was it rotting already? was it very close to the ground where damp could potentially rot it easily?
Have you noticed any burrowed holes around the bottom of the exterior of the shed where something could get under?
Any chance it could have been your cats?

Either way... have you any neighbours/family who would go in and check it out for you?

sullivk

Sounds like rats. Get some big snap traps and set them around the garden and shed. Keep the cats and dogs in the house and see if you catch anything

wicklowtown

Oh sorry i thought this was the gardening section. No it definitely wasnt my cats, ive seen pictures online of mole hills in lawns and thats exactly what these mounds like only there inside my shed. Parts of the floor was a bit rotten last year so i put some parti boards over the rotten bits, it looks like wood from the floor has been dragged down into the holes. The person below you said it might be rats and thats what scares me, I would use snap traps if it were rats but i wouldnt like to use then not knowing what has done this as i wouldnt like to hurt a nice animal

TomOnBoard

wicklowtown wrote: »

Oh sorry i thought this was the gardening section. No it definitely wasnt my cats, ive seen pictures online of mole hills in lawns and thats exactly what these mounds like only there inside my shed. Parts of the floor was a bit rotten last year so i put some parti boards over the rotten bits, it looks like wood from the floor has been dragged down into the holes. The person below you said it might be rats and thats what scares me, I would use snap traps if it were rats but i wouldnt like to use then not knowing what has done this as i wouldnt like to hurt a nice animal

Can you afford to buy a trail cam and put it in there? That'll monitor activity and give you an answer.

wicklowtown

That sounds like a good idea, Il look into it, Thanks

TomOnBoard

wicklowtown wrote: »

That sounds like a good idea, Il look into it, Thanks

Go for reasonable quality at a price. Don't be fooled by claims around units with huge megapixel sensors. This often hides poor lens and sensor quality by touting a cheap high MP sensor.

Do let us know how you get on in due course.

wicklowtown

i will and thats so much for the advice

Hocus Focus

wicklowtown wrote: »

Oh sorry i thought this was the gardening section. No it definitely wasnt my cats, ive seen pictures online of mole hills in lawns and thats exactly what these mounds like only there inside my shed. Parts of the floor was a bit rotten last year so i put some parti boards over the rotten bits, it looks like wood from the floor has been dragged down into the holes. The person below you said it might be rats and thats what scares me, I would use snap traps if it were rats but i wouldnt like to use then not knowing what has done this as i wouldnt like to hurt a nice animal

If it has wrecked the floor of your shed it's not a nice animal!
Regarding the dogs, I had two Springer Spaniels who used to live in a large kennel that was left by the previous owners who had large Labradors. It had a sleeping space and a space where they could be fed.
During the night, when they were sleeping in one half of the kennel a rat burrowed up through the floor in the other part, to get at the left-over food and he wasn't bothered by the presence of the dogs.

Hocus Focus

wicklowtown wrote: »

Oh sorry i thought this was the gardening section. No it definitely wasnt my cats, ive seen pictures online of mole hills in lawns and thats exactly what these mounds like only there inside my shed. Parts of the floor was a bit rotten last year so i put some parti boards over the rotten bits, it looks like wood from the floor has been dragged down into the holes. The person below you said it might be rats and thats what scares me, I would use snap traps if it were rats but i wouldnt like to use then not knowing what has done this as i wouldnt like to hurt a nice animal

It is the gardening forum!

jmBuildExt

started in interior design forum - a mod must have moved it here - but they should have closed it, because OP opened another post in gardening.
Get your self over here for the real action:
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057876630&page=6