Hearing strange noises coming from your ceiling can be a terrifying experience. Knowing that there is wildlife living in your home, and potentially doing damage to your house, is incredibly discomforting. There are a few different animals that could be living in your ceiling, and you should be able to discern which is making the sounds you’re hearing based on the time of day they are making noise, and the sorts of noises that they’re making. If you hear strange noises, here are some of the animals that could potentially be in your ceiling.
1. Squirrels
Squirrels are pretty industrious; once they’ve established a den, they’ll spend a lot of time going back and forth between your ceiling and the outdoors, foraging for food and bringing it back. They maintain a strict schedule, so if you hear a lot of scratching in the morning (shortly before dawn), and again in the evening, as they return for the night, then you’re probably dealing with squirrels. While you’ll hear a larger concentration of scratching in the morning and in the evening, you might notice that the noises you’re hearing are quite erratic as well, which is due to the fact that squirrels are known for their unusual behavior and patterns of movement.
2. Mice
Scratching noises that are emanating from mice will be much quieter and softer. You’re more likely to notice these scratching noises late at night, or during the day, when there is relatively little noise.If you’re hearing faint scratching noises from above, it’s most likely the sound of mice chewing or digging, as this is when they make the most noise (it’s also the reason you’ll want to address the sound as soon as possible). If you’re still unsure if what you’ve heard is a mouse or a squirrel, tap on the ceiling where you’ve heard the sound: mice will keep still until they believe it is safe to move somewhere else, whereas squirrels will immediately take off.
3. Bats
You’re more likely to (literally) run into a bat in your home than you are to hear one, as they don’t make a whole lot of noise. There are certain occasions, though, where the scratching noises you’re hearing might be a bat. If a bat accidentally falls down the inside of your walls, you’ll hear scratching noises that sound like an animal going up and down. This sound also means that the bat is likely stuck in the walls, and as bats are easily distressed, you should call to have the bat removed as soon as possible.
4. Birds
Birds will be fairly quiet for long periods of time, especially when they initially move in, meaning that it takes some homeowners quite a while to detect that they have birds living in their ceiling or attic. If you are hearing scratching noises, they’ll be accompanied by other recognizable bird sounds, such as chirping, making it fairly easy for you to detect what kind of animal you’re dealing with.
5. Raccoons
Hearing scratching noises from your ceiling might be an indication that you have raccoons living in your attic, especially if those sounds are fairly loud, like the sound of a person walking heavily or thumping around upstairs. The sounds made by raccoons in the attic are characterized by heavy thudding and slow movements.Raccoons are also nocturnal, so they will be heard mostly at night-time. If this description fits the sounds you’ve been hearing, we can pretty much guarantee that it is raccoons.
If you believe you have wildlife living in your home, you should contact wildlife removal experts immediately. The last thing you want to do is leave it too long; animals living in your home can be dangerous and can do serious damage to your property.