Something in Your Attic? Here’s What It Probably Is and What to Do.
You don’t need to know what it is to call us, but if you’re trying to figure it out at 2 AM, this page will get you close. Then we come out for free and confirm.
What it probably is, based on what you’re hearing
Most attic-animal calls come in between 10 PM and 6 AM, and the homeowner usually knows the time, the location of the noise, and roughly how big it sounds. That’s often enough to narrow it down before we even pull up. Here’s the breakdown by species.
Raccoons
Heavy thumps. Loud enough that you wake up wondering if a person is up there. Most active right after sunset and again right before dawn. You may hear chittering or growling between mom and kits in spring. Raccoons are the only attic animal that consistently sounds like something the size of a small dog, because that’s what they are. More on raccoon removal →
Squirrels
Scrabbling, scratching, and small thumps right at dawn and again at dusk. Quiet during the middle of the day and middle of the night because they’re sleeping. If you’re getting woken up at 6 AM by something that sounds like it’s wearing tiny boots, that’s a squirrel. More on squirrel removal →
Bats
The trickiest to hear because they’re mostly silent. The giveaway is squeaking or chirping around dusk as they emerge, and the sound of soft flying inside walls or above the ceiling. You may also see a small dark animal flying around the yard at sunset. Bats in Indiana are federally and state-protected during maternity season (May through August); exclusion timing matters. More on bat removal →
Mice and rats
Light scratching, often in walls rather than open attic. Sounds like fingernails on drywall. Continuous, can happen at any hour, but you’ll hear it most at night when the house is quiet. Mouse droppings show up first in the pantry or under the sink; attic activity is usually secondary.
Possums
Slow, heavy shuffling. Possums are clumsy and not bothered by being heard. They’re less common in attics than under decks or in crawlspaces, but it does happen. Look for a strong musky smell along with the sound.
Flying squirrels
The one nobody guesses. Small, fast scrabbling between 1 and 2 in the morning. Different timing than gray squirrels - flying squirrels are strictly nocturnal. Often mistaken for mice until we get up there and find the actual animal. They’re communal, so where there’s one there are usually six to twelve.
Things that make the problem worse
We get called in to clean up after a lot of well-intentioned DIY attempts. Here’s what to skip.
Don’t use poison. Not for squirrels, not for raccoons, not for bats (you can’t anyway, they’re protected), not for anything in your attic. The animal dies in the wall or insulation, and you live with the smell for six to eight weeks while flies hatch. Poison also doesn’t solve the entry-point problem - something else will move in through the same hole within a month.
Don’t use smoke bombs or sulfur cartridges. They’re sold for groundhogs and woodchucks and they’re ineffective even there. In an attic they’re a fire risk. We’ve seen one set off a smoke alarm and one set off a sprinkler. Neither helped with the animal.
Don’t use mothballs. The chemical (naphthalene) is regulated for fabric storage, not for animal repellent. It does not move animals out reliably, and the off-gassing is bad for you to breathe. If mothballs worked, this would be a one-page website.
Don’t set DIY traps without sealing the entry. You catch one animal, the entry is still open, the next one moves in. We’ve been called to homes that have caught five raccoons in three months because the homeowner trapped without excluding. The trap is fine; the missing step is closing the hole.
Don’t wait through nesting season. If you hear something in spring, the animal is almost certainly raising young. Waiting until the noise stops on its own usually means waiting until the young are old enough to chew their own exit holes - which means more damage, not less.
The process
Attic FAQ
Get a free inspection
We’ll come out, figure out what you’ve got, and tell you what it’ll take to handle it. No charge to look.
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