A guide for discovering what type of animals are in the walls of your house 

animals in walls

When it comes to home invasions, animal invasions are some of the worst. Why? They stick around. If you are hearing noises in your wall or ceiling it could be serious. Either you have a stowaway college student, or it’s highly probable that you have a rodent or animal in your wall. 

The first step is the most difficult: identifying what type of animal is in your walls. We thought we would help. Here are a few steps to determine what type of animal is in your walls…

1) Where Is The Noise Coming From?

 

Animal Noise In Ceiling

It is best to start with the location of the noise. If you are trying to figure out what is going on in the walls of your house, follow the noise. Why does this help? Well as you can guess, animals have to be a under a certain size to fit into the walls of your home. So knowing where the noise is coming from helps eliminate the possibilities (most of the time) of what it’s not.

For instance, if you are hearing a little scratching going on in your ductwork, it is unlikely that you have a 15 lbs raccoon. If you have a bunch of scratching going on at different locations it is likely you have a maternal family of some sort. At that point we can do things such as predict which animals are most likely having babies at that time.

The location of the noise is also important because it may indicate the entry point locations. Where is this animal getting in? Do you hear it in the same place? Note the location for more accurate ways of removing the animal in the future. Does it move from one side of the ceiling to the other? These questions will help pinpoint the entry point and how to prevent them from getting back in. 

2) How Long Has The Noise Been Going On?

 

Animal Roof Entry

Determining how long the problem has been going on is helpful when determining long term solutions. Listen, if you have had bat noises in your attic for 10 years and all of the sudden you hear one in your wall, you do not have a one bat issue. More than likely you have hundreds of bats in your attic. Yet if you have never heard a noise in your life coming from your wall or attic and all of the sudden you see one fly out a vent, it may just be a fluke.

Often just knowing the duration of the problem will help you gauge the size of the problem. 

3) What Sound Is The Animal Making?

 

Noises are an extremely helpful indicator of what type of rodent or animal is in your wall or ceiling. Is it screeching, chirping, gnawing, scratching, chewing or perhaps performing a bagpipe solo?

Either way, the objective is to either begin collecting rent from them or to remove them before they cause more damage. Here is a video of some raccoon babies (and mom) we recently found making noises in a ceiling. 

Different sounds indicate different animals. Fluttering sounds with chirping, indicates a bird. Running back and forth usually indicates a small rodent. At the end of the day, call a local professional wildlife company and hold the phone up to the wall. If they are good, they can take it from there.

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