We moved into our new home 3 weeks ago and have started hearing noises at night, seem to be from the attic. At first I didn't think much of it, figured it was just creaks from the house or the wind. Now we hear them every night and they get louder. I listened closely last night and it sounded to me like something big scurrying about, like a squirrel. That seems plausible since I see squirrels in our backyard everyday, and one of the bedroom ceiling lights suddenly quit working the other night, so maybe one of the buggers chewed the wires. If that's the case, need to take care of this ASAP before we have a fire hazard from these critters. I haven't been up there since we had the house inspected as I've been busy with so many other things, and even then it was only to take a peak through the access panels, so I'm going to go up there and do a thorough inspection and look for signs of rodents and damage. I guess my next step would be to have an exterminator come out and trap them, and figure out how they're getting in and seal it up, maybe a gap somewhere in the roof and siding? The scurrying noises are one thing, but I could swear that sometimes the creaks are so loud and go across the ceiling like somebody was walking around up there, sure seems like it take more weight than a small rodent to make noise like that. I have gotten out a bed a couple of times in the middle of the night and walked around checking all the rooms to make sure there no one was there.
Squirrels in the attic?
Jay65SS
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We moved into our new home 3 weeks ago and have started hearing noises at night, seem to be from the attic. At first I didn't think much of it, figured it was just creaks from the house or the wind. Now we hear them every night and they get louder. I listened closely last night and it sounded to me like something big scurrying about, like a squirrel. That seems plausible since I see squirrels in our backyard everyday, and one of the bedroom ceiling lights suddenly quit working the other night, so maybe one of the buggers chewed the wires. If that's the case, need to take care of this ASAP before we have a fire hazard from these critters. I haven't been up there since we had the house inspected as I've been busy with so many other things, and even then it was only to take a peak through the access panels, so I'm going to go up there and do a thorough inspection and look for signs of rodents and damage. I guess my next step would be to have an exterminator come out and trap them, and figure out how they're getting in and seal it up, maybe a gap somewhere in the roof and siding? The scurrying noises are one thing, but I could swear that sometimes the creaks are so loud and go across the ceiling like somebody was walking around up there, sure seems like it take more weight than a small rodent to make noise like that. I have gotten out a bed a couple of times in the middle of the night and walked around checking all the rooms to make sure there no one was there.
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284 Posts
It's haunted !!!
I've had both.
Squirrels are active during daylight so if it's after dark ,most likely rats.
Here's what worked for me in a snap trap:
http://www.jfoakes.com/ProPestRodentLures.htm
It's bait ,not poison.
Squirrels are active during daylight so if it's after dark ,most likely rats.
Here's what worked for me in a snap trap:
http://www.jfoakes.com/ProPestRodentLures.htm
It's bait ,not poison.
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487 Posts
i had squirrels in my attic in NY... she ate through the soffett. i saw the bastids up there multiple times. they sell this power that is supposed to smell like fox pee and scare them away. doesnt work. dont buy it. find out where they are coming from and seal it up.
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3,409 Posts
Pest control people have small plastic bags of "stuff" that will take care of rodents. They get curious and chew the thing and they die............ Took care of the ones in my house. We just threw about a dozen bags around the attic.
I bought some commercially available stuff, after having no luck with glue traps ansd "snap" traps...
The poison has netted me 4 rats so far, and for the last 2 weeks, I have seen no signs of reinfestations...
My boss used a battery-powered "zapper"... I was skeptical, but he said he killed 6 in a few days... So I might pick one of those up next time I see signs...
forget calling anyone. Go to Home Depot and pick up a can of Critter Ridder. It's made by Havahart and comes in a blue plastic container. Spread it around the area where they are in the house and where they are getting in if you can find it, and you will never see them again.
My neighbors have been trapping squirrels in their attic with a harmless cage. I went and retrieved a live one last night because the husband was out of town and the wife was afraid if it. They simply puts the cage in the attic and bait it with bird seed. I released the squirrel in a nearby park.
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1,647 Posts
Ghost of Woody Hayes......
I vote for snap traps.
Found peanut butter to be really good bait. On snap traps I put saran wrap over part of trip lever so that the rat needs to chew it off (WACK). On live traps smear a little in a soda bottle cap. Rats/rodents will kill to get it. Possums and raccoon also seem to enjoy Nutty Jiff. Cats don't seem too interested.
My dog, unfortunatly does like peanut butter. He never played with the snapper again. And no it did'nt hurt him physically. He was in the garage sniffing a trap when it snapped. I was outside, heard it snap, him yipe, and dog toe nails going as fast as possible on hardwood floors. Found him hidding under a bed on the other side of the house.
He still likes peanut butter.
Have used the "Rat Zapper" before with the booster battery pack. Warf rats were a little to big. They would squeeze in, the charge goes off, they would scream (a really weird sound), and run away dragging the trap till it fell off or they fell out. It was ok at zapping small stuff like larger bugs and field mice. Downside was resetting and reloading it. We got the remote indicator light for it since ours were used in the attic and under the house.
In the end the best working trap for bigger rodents was the big snap traps. Added a small chain to keep the snapped item from wandering off with the trap as a hat.
Found peanut butter to be really good bait. On snap traps I put saran wrap over part of trip lever so that the rat needs to chew it off (WACK). On live traps smear a little in a soda bottle cap. Rats/rodents will kill to get it. Possums and raccoon also seem to enjoy Nutty Jiff. Cats don't seem too interested.
My dog, unfortunatly does like peanut butter. He never played with the snapper again. And no it did'nt hurt him physically. He was in the garage sniffing a trap when it snapped. I was outside, heard it snap, him yipe, and dog toe nails going as fast as possible on hardwood floors. Found him hidding under a bed on the other side of the house.
He still likes peanut butter.
Have used the "Rat Zapper" before with the booster battery pack. Warf rats were a little to big. They would squeeze in, the charge goes off, they would scream (a really weird sound), and run away dragging the trap till it fell off or they fell out. It was ok at zapping small stuff like larger bugs and field mice. Downside was resetting and reloading it. We got the remote indicator light for it since ours were used in the attic and under the house.
In the end the best working trap for bigger rodents was the big snap traps. Added a small chain to keep the snapped item from wandering off with the trap as a hat.
Had a similiar issue some years back. There had been a fire in the wooods bordering my house. Shortly after that we heard the same noise`s you are hearing. We soon discovered we also had a racoon living up along with the squirrels.The raccon had to be trapped and brought away. Trust me the racoon was persistent we would fix a section of facia to find it ripped open somewhere else.I mention this because coming face to face with a squirrel on a ladder 2 levels up is a little different than a racoon 
Jay,
I went through this a couple of years ago and it was a pain in the rear. You have to get up on a ladder, or stay at home and watch where they are getting in from. The go out in the early morning and go back right at sunset, very hard to see them After you find out where they are getting in, you have to make sure that they are out, then get up there and block off the opening. And believe me they will be pissed when they try to get back and will chew thier way in. They can do some serious damage so dont fool around getting rid of them.
My 5mm Sheridan air rifle was the final solution
By the way, bats dont do that type of damage.
I went through this a couple of years ago and it was a pain in the rear. You have to get up on a ladder, or stay at home and watch where they are getting in from. The go out in the early morning and go back right at sunset, very hard to see them
After you find out where they are getting in, you have to make sure that they are out, then get up there and block off the opening. And believe me they will be pissed when they try to get back and will chew thier way in. They can do some serious damage so dont fool around getting rid of them. My 5mm Sheridan air rifle was the final solution
By the way, bats dont do that type of damage.
If the noise is at night, its probably mice or rats. Put some mice and or rat traps along the outside wall at night in the approximate area you are hearing the noises. Make sure the trap is right next to the outside wall. Then once you catch them and you dont hear the noise anymore, you have to figure out how they got in. I had the same problem about a year ago. It was mice getting in by the dryer vent in a hole in the brick. Caught two small mice, but they sure made a lot of noise at night in the attic!!!
I believe I found their entry/exit points, at least the visible ones. Looks like they got under the siding and chewed holes through the wood at the corners of the roof at both ends of the house, and at the third corner above our bedroom. Mice or rats maybe? I didn't see much of anything on the floor with all the blown insulation, but there were a couple spots by the eave that looked like something had been nesting in the insulation, there was some gray stuff and black specks mixed in with the snow white insulation there. Picked up some Critter Ridder from Home Depot as Andy said and set up some traps and poison. Got some sheetmetal to patch over the holes. Home ownership, ain't it great.
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