How do you know if you have a wild animal in your attic?

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You’ll know if you have a wild animal such as a squirrel in your attic because there’s a good chance you’ll hear it. Many of the animals that have a habit of living up there are nocturnal, so when you go to bed at night, ready to close your eyes and dream the long day away, these creatures will be waking up. They’ll be getting ready to leave your house to find food, a mate, and hang out with buddies. This is the time that most critters will make the most noise.



Thankfully, although a real pain in the backside for most homeowners, the noise these animals make can actually be a good thing. It can help you to pinpoint the exact source of a problem, as well giving you the opportunity to protect your home when you realize the pattern and know that the animal has left your home for a few hours. Rather than sticking a pillow over your head and praying for the problem yo go away, you should grab your flashlight and start investigating.

Louder noises mean larger animals normally, but louder noises could also be a sign that you have a much greater infestation on your hands than you first thought. A large nest of bats can make quite the racket when they're flying in and out of your home, chirping and flapping. You'll likely hear this, and you'll also likely hear the chewing and scuffling sounds of small rats and mice moving around above your head in the attic, and also in wall cavities right next to your head.

Once you’ve heard an animal, it’s then time to work out what’s going on. When you start looking, you’ll probably find other signs. Feces is a great feature to start looking for, and with some animals, it’ll be there in abundance. The average mouse can leave up to 100 tiny little parcels around your home for you every night, and rats will leave considerably fewer, but they’ll be larger in size. The smell might give the game away also. Raccoons use latrines, and this means that that all the waste matter will be in one place. After a while, the smell will get so bad you won't help but notice it. It won't be long before you go investigating.

When you set outside your home, you’ll likely find more evidence of an infestation, and this will come in the form of damage to the exterior of your property, holes dug in the lawn, flowers and plants being demolished, and maybe even signs of scuffles - fur, feathers, animal carcasses, or garbage strewn around all over the place.

These wild creatures really don't care much. They certainly don't tidy up after themselves, and they're not quiet.

If you have a wild animal infestation, it won't be long before you hear all about it. Or maybe you'll spot a rat or mouse dropping on the floor and decide to take a closer look. Whatever you do, you shouldn't ignore the signs. It’ll be a costly mistake if you do …

For more information, you may want to click on one of these guides that I wrote:
How To Guide: Who should I hire? - What questions to ask, to look for, who NOT to hire.
How To Guide: do it yourself! - Advice on saving money by doing wildlife removal yourself.
Guide: How much does wildlife removal cost? - Analysis of wildlife control prices.
animals in the attic
noises in the attic