Animals in my attic????

16 years ago

I have recently checked for animals in my attic but because my house is a split level ranch I do not have access to my lower level attic. I saw no evidence of animals in the attic that I can access, but my wife says she hears running during the day from the lower attic. I have never heard anything. She thinks that it is squirrels in the attic, but since I know that the lower attic if filled with insulation (I did open up the ceiling when I bought the house last year to do add some lights,I suspect that you would not hear them running in the house but rather on the roof.

Does any one have an opinion?

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Comments (4)

angelom
16 years ago
I bet it's animals on the roof. It's amazing how the sound works---I remember hearing animals running and I swore they were directly above the ceiling, but nothing was found. I think the sound carries from the roof to the attic and for some reason, it resonates loudly. Can't be certain, but my guess is animals on the roof.
davidandkasie
16 years ago
unless it is FILLED with spray foam insulation, they can and will still get in there and run around. seal up ALL holes larger than a dime. rodents have to chew to keep their front teeth from getting too long, and they love chewing wires. if you have any access at all, throw in soem mothballs or some d-con. then wait a week before sealing the holes.
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sawdust_maker
16 years ago
You may think they are on the roof, but often they are in there. Yes, I recall my old house, where birds liked to roll in our gutters as a dust bath. We heard them clearly. We also heard running, acorns dropping, etc. These last were inside the roof, although at first we thought they were just on the surface of the roof. And, we had a bat that loved to spend the week in our lake cottage kitchen when we were away. Friday night, we had to get rid of the bat. This took us three weeks to solve, and that cottage was brand new, built by us.

On the current house, we had a squirrel's nest removed from inside the chimney enclosure. We had the house bat proofed. EVERY crack was sealed carefully. We put traps up in the rafters of the garage to catch the mice who want to come in for the winter.

Now we know what to listen for. Whenever we hear a sound up there, new traps get placed/replaced in the garage. A mouse is removed, and the sounds stop.

So, you may THINK they are running around on top of the roof, but animals like that cozy, warm, dry attic space, and they can squeeze through the smallest holes. Unfortunately, they also will pee in the attic, and they sometimes chew the insulation on wires. So you do need to keep them out.

John
batguys
16 years ago
Did you try lifting up some of the insulation? Sometimes animals in the attic will spend most of their time under the insulation and not on top of it. I have been in attics that were spotless and without a trace of droppings but when you listed up the insulation there were droppings everywhere.
Also if you're hearing noise during the day it will probably be either mice or gray squirrels. Gray squirrels need a hole about the size of a tennis ball to get in. Take a good look around your roof and roofline for a hole that size.

Good Luck

Matt