My only advice would be what I'd do, call an exterminator! LOL

Good Luck Jamie, I hope its an easy catch! Be sure to find the hole where it got in and plug that thing!

Good luck. We used to have bats in the attic when we lived in Iowa. I guess it is common in the area we lived. Twice, bats got into the house. GAWSH!!!!!!!! It was sick. Once Gordy happened to be gone. It was awful. I couldn't retrieve the trap either.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our journey with autism

You might consider buying a Havahart Trap. They come in several sizes and are available at the hardware store. For what you would pay an exterminator, you could buy a couple of different sizes maybe.

Every single woman living alone shouldn't be without one (or more). Possibly you even know someone who has one.

Good luck. I'm sure there have been harder things you have had to do. You can do it! Just don't forget to run your trap (s) regularly, since it is so warm out. I forgot to run one in my Jeep, and sure wished I wouldn't have forgotten it.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Live Animal Trap Guide

Jamie, I'm sorry I don't have any advice for you, but wanted to mention that it could possibly be a raccoon. Several of my co-workers in North Mississippi and in Memphis had them in their attics.

Linda

Had tree rats, that often invaded my attic.
We have Critter Control, here, that does the trick, but expensive.

Now, I don't dwell in that house, and DS has to deal with them. Thank goodness.

I'll 2nd the raccoon. I had one in my trailer/cabin. Two winters. It ruined my trailer. Get a good sized Havahart trap, and use some chicken bones for bait. Good luck. Then find someone to release it for you, miles away from your house. Don't flame me. It'll ruin your home.
Leslie

If it's a raccoon it's probably not alone. There are lots of Moms with babies around now. We had some little guys up our Cherry tree the other night gorging themselves! They could care less about us! They just turn their backs and fill their faces with cherries! They can be nasty if cornered. I'd call an exterminator to move it. They can do alot of damage to an attic so don't wait too long.

My advice? Be very careful, no matter what you use.

We had the same problem 3 years ago, except it was in crawl space. Turned out to be raccoons. Then we saw where the vent was chewed open and that's how they were getting in and out. We bought one of those traps and only caught possums, not the raccoons. Finally, one day we saw the raccoon come out and survey our yard. She walked all the way around it. Then she returned under our house and brought out 3 baby raccoons. She pushed each of them up the fence post and escorted them out of our yard. We never saw them again and sealed the hole. They made a mess of our crawl space and DH had to go down there wearing a mask and protective clothing to remove the feces and garbage.

I'd hire someone if I were you.

After you have removed the varmit, survey the outside of your house for entryways. And by all means, look for possible paths to your roof and gable end. A typical path for a squirrel is an overhanging limb that is within a couple of feet from the roof. Trim these back. If you have vines covering a wall, these are critter ladders.

Common invaders at my location are rats, squirrels, and raccoons. Squirrels and raccoons are the most common. Raccoons are active at night, and on occasion, squirrels are too (during the breeding season and while rearing their young).

OMG! That creeps me out. I've been hearing creaking in my attic. I don't see how anything could get up there. Whatever it is it sounds heavy.

Jami, I would call an exterminator. They are the professionals and may be able to tell you what it is just by looking for signs in the attic, particularly if they find some scat. They will also find the entry point and will be able to tell you how to secure the attic.

Live traps are worth their weight in gold. I've also heard that putting a playing radio up in the attic will help keep critters away.

Good luck catching whatever it is, Jamie. Don't be scared, it's just a critter that needs relocating, but do be careful, don't corner anything.

Have you determined how the creature is getting into the attic? Unless it has a food supply inside it has to go out. If you can block the access point you can keep it out!

I had squirrels in my attic. They made a huge mess of the insulation, tearing it up and nesting in it. I had a wildlife trapping service guy come out and set traps. He blocked off the holes the squirrels had made under the awning, then he put a one way trap in a drainpipe they were using as an exit. He also put traps on the roof. One day the "crazy leader" of the rouge group of squirrels got caught in one of the roof traps. We watch his shake the cage with his little squirrel paws with such force he actually bent the cage! He was removed and released somewhere far from my house!

This was several years ago, and although I have squirrels in my yard none have entered my attic.

In another attic invasion, my mother had an opossum in her attic. We actually stood watch until he left the attic and then blocked his entry point!

I would not recommend exploring your attic with this unknown creature in residence. Best to call a pro or thwart its squatter's status w/o any personal contact!

Elizabeth

Jamie, I work for a small pest control company. While you can trap the critter yourself, that is only half of the problem. As many others stated, you must block any and all access the critters have to your attic. A professional can do that for you. They can also do it humanely and relocate your visitor.

I'll go with call your pest control services. I have quarterly service, there also can be a one time only. Anything in the attic I don't want to see! We had a wood rat in our garage one summer, I was on the phone the second I came in the house! Kathy

Do you have a friendly neighbor who might be able to help you out with this?

The issue is, of course, that you need to find where "it" is getting in.

I admire your courage as a single woman. Hang in there!

Jamie, please don't do it yourself. The very thought scares the waddin out of me! LOL

There is a great website that offers nuisance animal sounds for raccoons, squirrels, birds, bats, opossums, chipmunks, groundhogs, skunks, etc. You can click on the sounds to see if that is what you are hearing. Gives a wealth of information on these animals with pictures of the damage each of them do. Even shows footprints! The company is a humane wildlife removal service and their website can be found at http://www.bbwildliferemoval.com

Hope this helps!

Here is a link that might be useful: Wildlife animal damage control and prevention