A Pine Marten Moves In

We have a new lodger, a pine marten who has moved into our roof space. We're not sure what proportion of his time he spends there as he is also making his presence known in the roof of the house next door.

The trouble with pine martens as lodgers is that they have slightly different rules from all the rest of the household. For a start, their favourite time to have noisy fun is the middle of the night when everyone else is trying to get some sleep. Toilet etiquette is another. While they do have a toilet in one spot, their version isn't attached to the house plumbing system, so the first the other house occupants know of it is a brown and rather smelly stain spreading across the ceiling.

We enjoy having pine martens around even though, as members of the weasel family, they are a threat to our two cats - if a cat has an argument with one, the cat can be severely injured. Along with wild cats, sea otters, golden and sea eagles, they're part of the wonderful wildlife of this area.

We're not alone in our problem. It seems that many local residents have had martens as visitors, and have interesting tales to tell of how they managed to move them on. The problem we all face is that pine martens are protected by being listed under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 - full details here. While it's clear that some sections of the Act are waived if the animal is causing a nuisance in a 'dwelling house', there are strict rules governing what we may or may not do.

We've started by trying to block all exterior entrances to the roof. This is a new house, so there aren't many, though we've been warned that a pine marten can slide in through an unbelievably narrow gap. The other night he woke us at 3 in the morning. In an attempt to find out where he's getting in and out we pushed a radio playing Radio 1 at full blast into the roof and rushed round the outside of the house house hoping to see him making a hasty exit. It was a freezing cold night, and a futile search, made memorable by the most magnificent shooting star we've seen in years, which crackled across half the sky leaving a trail of sparks.

Following research on the internet, the next stage is moth balls which, if scattered in a confined space such as an attic, are said to discourage them. They're sold on Amazon, at £2.20 a packet, so they're on order.