Unidentified droppings in my loft

[PaleSnail]

Hello and seasons greetings!
I am seeking a little help from forum users after discovering a small number (only 4!) of droppings in my loft whilst getting my Christmas decorations down They are only about 8mm long and a bit pointed at the end. I have attempted to post a photograph but I am new to the site, so apologies in advance if this doesn't work. I thought maybe a bat to begin with but now I am a bit worried they are more like rat droppings... but why then so few? Strange and mysterious If anyone has any ideas then they would be much appreciated
Thanks
PaleSnail

[Littlesparrow]

They look about the right size for rat droppings, I would keep a very close eye on the loft in case anything returns.

[Wild-Woman]

They look too small for rat droppings. If they crumble to dust between your fingers they may be bat. If not, mice looks most likely candidate to me.

[artdemole]

I would say mouse,possibility of wood mouse.

[Dogghound]

Yes these are mouse droppings, to small for Rat. They lack the texture of bat. Telling Apodemus (wood/yellow necked mouse) from Mus (house mouse) is tricky. I dont think these are 8mm in length they look smaller. Mus droppings are slightly smaller and thinner than Apodemus and tend to be a little darker.I would'nt put any money on it but they look more like Apodemus which also tend to scatter them around more in small clusters like this.

I would not worry too much as mice often move into buildings during the winter, this is often only for very small time periods. However it must be mentioned that they can cause damage. I would assess what impact they are having and if there are any hygiene issues before deciding on what to do.

[PaleSnail]

Many thanks for everyone's responses I'm feeling reassured now that it is a wood mouse and not a rat. I have had another good search of the loft and have not managed to find any more droppings (they were hard not crumbly so the bat is definitely ruled out!), so perhaps it was just a solitary guest who has now moved on... probably into my hedgehog / mammal house in the garden
Happy New Year to you all!

[bigdave60dog]

I seem to keep on putting a spanner in the works on WAB these days. Are those pellets really nearly 9mm in length and nearly 5mm in diameter with a "tail"?

[PaleSnail]

I think one was just about 9mm and nearly 5mm in diameter and they definitely have a pointy tail bit on the end... why bigdave... do you smell a rat?

[bigdave60dog]

No, I smell a squirrel. (Just "Google in" Squirrel Droppings.) I haven`t done this yet but I bet that you get +ve id.
There is no British Mouse has a bowel of the dimensions to cope with feces of that calibre
Dave

[Dogghound]

These droppings are around 6-7mm in length pretty much spot on for apodemus. Squirrel droppings are far larger. You can see the size next to the ruler.