What Is In My Attic? Working It Out From the Noise
Scratching, thumping or scampering overhead. Use the time of day and the weight of the sound to identify squirrels, rats, raccoons or bats before you call anyone.
Start with the clock
When you hear it is more diagnostic than what it sounds like. Squirrels run at dawn and again a couple of hours before dusk, then go quiet overnight. Rats and mice move after dark and often pick up once the household settles. Raccoons arrive in the evening and leave before first light. Bats are the quietest of the four and the giveaway is usually a rustle around sunset rather than anything in the small hours.
Then judge the weight
Light, fast scratching that changes direction is a rodent. A slow drag, a thump, or something that genuinely sounds like a person shifting a box is a raccoon. A rolling sound, as though something is moving a nut across the ceiling, is a squirrel signature. If it sounds like it could be a cat, it is almost certainly a raccoon or an opossum.
Walk the outside in daylight
Look up from the ground and go round the whole building. Squirrels cut neat round holes at fascia corners and gable vents. Raccoons tear rather than cut, so look for lifted shingles, a pushed-in soffit panel or a bent roof vent. Bats leave dark greasy staining around a gap you could miss entirely. Rodents leave rub marks, usually where a pipe or cable enters the wall.
Why the wrong guess costs money
Each of these animals carries a different method and a different legal position. Bats are protected and have a maternity window during which exclusion cannot be carried out. Raccoons in spring are usually mothers with young, and taking the female alone leaves a litter to die in your insulation. Sealing a hole with squirrels still inside sends them out through drywall. A misidentification usually costs more than the original job.
What to do tonight
Do not seal the hole. Do not put poison in the attic. Keep pets out of the space, write down the times you hear activity, and photograph any opening you can see from ground level. Then call (877) 875-5384 and describe the timing and the weight of the sound, which is normally enough for us to name it before we arrive.
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