Rat-ling my cage

Encouraged by friends at dinner assuring me that Basil was best dealt with by employing traditional measures so when I got home last night I decided to find the trap and lay it. I put peanut butter (as recommended on the box) and placed it by what I figured was the hole in the side of the kitchen cupboard which Basil must be using... Went to bed. Heard no rat like sounds during the night. This morning I woke up and came to see if there was a Basil-no-more. Alas, no rat. But, also - horrors - NO TRAP!!!!! Where is rat? where is trap? What to do next?

A couple of coffees for courage and I poke a broom handle into the hole to test the lie of the land - the trap is there! Cautiously drag it back into sight but the only thing that has been caught in it is a GIANT whisker... eeek!

Repair to Homebase for assistance. Am infomed that the best non-toxic, environmentally friendly solution (aka most expensive item on shelf) is electronic scare device which will make Basil and any nearby buddies leap from their underfloor beds and head screaming for the exit...

Return to house to devise plan which will avoid seeing me switching on device and simultaneously getting crushed in rodent stampede for the door...

Watch this space for further developments as they happen!