But most of the time it s an animal and it s pretty easy to tell when the noises are coming from something living.
Scratching in my attic at night.
Day and night we hear loud cracking or popping sounds usually three or four in succession.
Raccoons make very loud noises too.
What is scratching in my attic in san diego this is a common issue that comes up in the wintertime.
Bat sounds as mentioned if the scratching sounds are typically at sunset then you probably have bats although that is not always the case.
Raccoons can enter your attic through loose shingles and or openings the roof and eaves.
Sounds coming from your attic could be from a number of causes pipes settling wind but the most common cause is the presence of an animal or animals in the attic.
If you are hearing scratching noises specifically as well as scurrying sounds.
With rodents you ll usually hear them around bedtime and late at night.
Occasionally when the house is very quiet you will hear them during the day as well.
Regarding my case matusiak explained it would be very rare for a mouse to be inside an interior wall but as he questioned me further we hit on a possibility.
Mice or rats are your likely culprit.
Scratching type noises can be anything from mice and rats to a large nest of carpenter ants communicating back and forth to wasps hornets and yes larger rodents such as squirrels.
You are asking yourself.
Our house was built 10.
But attics are the favorite spot for wild animals.
It could even be from the heating cooling system or branches of a nearby tree scraping against the roof.
Read my animal feces identification in the attic guide.
They are also nocturnal animals and it is common to hear them running back and forth in the attic at night and scratching the ceiling boards.
Both mice and rats make scratching sounds in an attic.
Rodents are attracted to the warmth escaping from under doors or through cracks or holes in the walls.
The bats will make scratching noises if they come into contact with walls in your attic or as they try to get out of a wall that they have gotten stuck in.
Squirrels typically live in trees but once they gain entrance into a home they go ahead to get comfortable in the attic.
Critters just love to live in the attics of homes and the walls ceiling gaps crawl spaces etc.
So scratching sounds in the attic at night could be from a number of different nocturnal animals.
By turning on bright lights and a radio you can make your attic an unpleasant environment to encourage raccoons to leave on their own.