I Heard Noise in the Attic or Wall…Is There an Animal Problem?
This is a question we get a lot from homeowners who suspect they have a raccoon or squirrel problem but aren’t quite sure.
Sometimes, the problem is very obvious.
Other times, quite honestly, it takes a bit of detective work to figure out what’s really going on.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the idea of being a nuisance animal detective.
What It Takes to Be a Nuisance Animal Detective
Here’s a cool image:
A professional from Frontline Animal Removal crawls off a roof with deerstalker cap on head, pipe clenched in teeth, and magnifying glass in hand. With a cool British accent he declares, “It’s elementary, my dear Homeowner”. Then he proceeds to explain exactly what type of animal has been making the worrisome noises and what shall be done about it.
As you may suspect, we don’t dress or talk nearly that cool. But, after making some of our own Holmesian observations we can often come up with the answer to what was making the noise and suggest solution options.
Here’s how we play the part of nuisance animal detective:
- Ask lots of questions: This is pretty obvious but learning as much about the problem is the important first place to start.
Things we’ll ask about:
Frequency, time, general location, and quality of the noise.
Previous animal problems and efforts taken to combat them.
- Take a look: Again, this seems obvious, but a thorough inspection is the bread and butter of gaining nuisance animal problem knowledge.
A good inspection requires time and effort, especially when the problem isn’t so obvious.
Often, the ladder must be deployed and time must be spent on a roof trying to find trouble spots. Points of entry, animal damage, feces, food stuffs, and hair bits found all help to create a picture.
For example, this flying squirrel entry point could never have been seen from the ground. The flange damage is on the upslope side of the roof; from the ground it looked fine. The homeowner heard noise and suspected a problem, but visual evidence directs what needs to be done.
- Use Some Tools and Tricks: Most of the time asking the questions and performing an animal inspection will provide enough evidence to conclude what the animal problem is and what should be done about it.
But, believe it or not, sometimes we need more information. We still may have unanswered questions.
Is the problem just squirrels or is it raccoons too? Or birds? Or mice?
Is this suspected point of origin active now or was the noise the homeowner heard an isolated event?
There can be many unanswered questions and when we need more information we often turn to using a roof mounted camera (tool of the trade) and the soft-blocking of entry holes (trick of the trade) to actively seek answers to our questions.
Use of a Game Camera in Nuisance Animal Removal
Seeing is believing!
A game camera (or trail cam) is an indispensable tool for acquiring hard to get information about nuisance animals.
Basically a water-proof camera/video recorder with a triggering mechanism, game cameras are deployed to monitor spots we want to learn more about.
We’ll pick a suspected entrance, mount the camera, and let it do it’s thing for a few days. When we return and look at the pictures or video: what we see is very valuable evidence.
Check out this series of pictures from our camera.
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In this case, the homeowner had heard noises in the attic and there was a hole in the gable vent. The homeowner had seen birds at the hole but heard “bigger” noises. The hole had squirrel teeth marks and was obviously made by a squirrel, but there was also bird poop and some signs of nesting. To top it off, there were nearby raccoon problems in the neighborhood.
The camera was deployed to determine what was using the entrance to the attic currently.
While the camera was deployed a bird and a squirrel were viewed at this hole. Timing and frequency showed the bird knew the hole was there, but was just a visitor currently. (Maybe, this bird had its nest here earlier in the year.) The squirrel, however, was seen consistently and throughout the day. Squirrels leave their nests at dawn and this timing and frequency indicated an active nest. No raccoons were seen.
Low-Tech Trick: Soft-Block a Suspected Animal Entry
Maybe there was an awful noise in the attic or on the roof a few days ago but you have not heard anything since. You do know squirrels are getting on the roof and you have had raccoon problems in the past. You have a strong suspicion an animal is accessing the soffit or attic at a specific point and you want to find out if the hole is active.
A trick we often use to see if any animal is using an exit/entry hole (besides the game camera) is a “soft” blocking of the hole. Blocking a hole is done simply by putting some material (tape works great) over the entry that must be moved in some way for the animal to get in or out. We call it “soft” blocking because we don’t want the animal to be stuck in or out prior to trapping. After animal removal, the area will be fixed and all further access denied. But, for the time being, covering the entry and seeing if the cover is disturbed is a great way to get knowledge of current use.
Here’s a soffit entry a raccoon had used in the past. The homeowner heard noise here and suspected a raccoon was back. Evidence of pushing the soffit and blocking material (stuff in the gutter) being removed indicated a raccoon had been there. But, the question remained if it was an isolated event or was some species of animal now in the house.
Squirrels use the roof often because of easy access and are notorious for taking advantage of opportunities made by raccoons. Perhaps squirrels had moved in. (We videoed lots of evidence of squirrels being very curious about this spot but not going in)
A block of tape was put in place as the picture shows. Movement of the tape would indicate something coming in or going out. Chewing of the tape would indicate squirrels were moving in and pulling would indicate the raccoons had decided to come back.
The tape block was not moved for several days (and we had the added luxury of video) indicating the noise and damage was a one time event. This would inform a homeowner that a better and permanent repair than what was there before should be made soon while no animals are using it.
Need Our Detective Services?
Does a suspected animal noise in your attic or walls have you worried?
When a nuisance animal problem is not too obvious and you are looking for answers, refer to the above detecting methods to see if you can figure it out.
But, if you are looking for a professional nuisance animal removal company and are in the Canton / Akron / Kent, OH area, please call us at Frontline Animal Removal.
We’ll do our best gather all the clues and come up with an informed solution for your animal problem.
Please visit the rest of our web site for more information.
