I know it seems unlikely but…I leave bottles of water and a single small individually wrapped chocolate for guests. Some of them don’t even take or use those.
I also leave a lot of things out on the honor system (granola bars, toothbrushes, razor blades, toiletries, etc) and as of yet haven’t noticed an issue.
We have a fully stocked Bar and we leave a sign that explains the Honor System, we have only had 1 or 2 abusers
@barefootNM
A used sanitary pad…And INSIDE a drawer? All sorts of ICK!! I would be mortified if my guest sent me that photo and text. What an unwelcome discovery to be made. 
Definitely a WTF moment.
@KKC @SandyToes
They stole the Duracell batteries to take back home because they were a good brand and are more expensive/reliable than the Asian dollar store batteries. And yes, if they are fine using the cheapo batteries they could care less or are unaware about the importance of the charge left in those better batteries. Stayed in a hostel once and the remote controls were literally duct taped at the back! Hahaha!
Guests that think it is ok to take the batteries from inside the remote control or other device are probably not going to pay for the batteries on honor system. In both your cases (k9karmacasa & sandytoes), they were probably deliberate switcheroos. To give some perspective as to why someone would take batteries but not chocolate or water: in some countries two Duracell batteries cost as much as a full meal with a drink. Some guests would think: “You can afford to put Duracells in your remote control? I’m paying for this rental, so I’m entitled to the good batteries. I’m swapping them anyway with these new Asian ones so it’s not that bad.”
Hehe…Sorry I’m so jaded. Good guests might do well with the honor system though. 
Have also had guests steal random things. Batteries, yup! USB dongles. Decorative items, think small knick knacks, but also a large ceramic bird (why would you take that? And then have to pack the bulky thing in your suitcase?). Towels (a big pet peeve of mine!!). And same here with the whole bottles of shampoo. We use those refillable pump dispensers. We have 4 bathrooms and each has a bottle. A guest one time took all the bottles plus the spare in the cabinet. And these were heavy bottles coz we fill them up before each guest checks in. I know it’s just shampoo but I’m just appalled sometimes at what guests think they are entitled to take. Extra rolls of toilet paper and boxes of facial tissue. One time, a power adapter for our media player (rendering the device useless)…I don’t know what he was going to do with JUST the adapter.
The “biggest” theft we’ve experienced happened pretty recently: a guest with a big group of rugby teammates with him. Apparently one of his mates thought we wouldn’t notice if he took our media player and the remote control. He left the AV cords though. (Rolling my eyes) The guest who booked was super apologetic though and paid for a replacement.
Overwhelmingly good guests here and even the two sets who switched things out didn’t make me cynical, more mystified. I know my time is coming though, I’m way overdue for a reversion to the mean.
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I also remember Ross saying that lamps would be wrong to steal, but the light bulbs would be ok. Luckily I haven’t that happen.
One of my recent guests wiped a huge booger on my crisp white bedskirt!!!
So gross but so glad I found it upon final inspection of same day turn around. Would have been easy to miss but if the next set of guests came across it that would have been awful! Had to spot wash it as there was zero time to change the bed skirt out. GROSS
3 bedroom house.
3 couples in their late 20s.
1 box of kleenex in each bedroom - I guess it was on the wrong side of the bed
Is it wrong for me to assume it was the dude who contributed his DNA to the accent linen?
It could have flown out with anyone’s sneeze.
All on the scene forensics indicate it was clearly smeared and pressed in. Not a wayward sneeze.
Yes it is, women can be disgusting pigs as well just re read the first post in this thread that was not left by a man.
RR
The grossest item left by one of my guests was an excrement-covered pair of men’s underwear pushed down the back of the sofa seat cushions. I found it when rearranging the cushions, and had to strip and wash all the sofa covers, and spray the sofa itself with disinfectant spray.
As for stealing, I have learned the hard way not to leave too many amenities for guests. I even had one guest take all the spare rolls of toilet paper with him when he checked out. Talk about cheapskate!