What is that Scratching In The Wall?

There is a point in every horror movie when, almost inevitably, there will be a mysterious noise that someone has to go and investigate, and the whole time you want to yell at the screen, "Don't do it, man! This never turns out well!" And, since those horror movies are fiction--we know, spoiler alert--those noises always turn out to be something creepy. Well, almost always. Sometimes they turn out to be nothing. That is so you never know when it is going to turn out to be nothing, or something that will jump you out of your skin. But, if horror movies were based on real life, there would almost never be a satisfying reveal for all of the adrenaline-packed suspense and nerve-tightening musical score. The loud, scary sound effect would play and the shaky flashlight beam would land on a scruffy little mouse nibbling on a scrap of food near the wall--and you'd be like, "I paid $10 for this?" In real life, however, you probably aren't disappointed that you don't have horror movie creatures living in your walls, basement or attic spaces. So, what do you do when you hear a noise? You immediately want to know what it is. Well, you've come to the right place. We're going to give you some quick tips on how to figure out what those sounds might be.

When are you hearing the noises in your wall?

If you're hearing noises throughout the day, the animal living in your wall is a diurnal animal--or a day dweller. These are creatures that spend their days gathering food and spend their nights sleeping. You'll hear these creatures the most in the morning when they wake up to go outside and in the evening when they return. If they have babies, you'll hear a lot more activity during the day. Squirrels are a prime example of a diurnal creature.

If you're hearing noises throughout the night, you have a nocturnal creature living in your walls. The most common nocturnal creatures are mice, rats, bats and raccoons. But, you won't typically hear a raccoon crawling around in your wall voids.

What noises are you hearing in your wall?

If the sounds you hear are fast and frantic and happen during the day, it is likely your problem is that squirrel we mentioned earlier. Squirrels are high strung creatures that can be fast as lightning. They are also one of the heaviest creatures you'll get in a wall void. So, their thumps are going to sound like bumps.

Rats will be the next loudest creature you'll typically find in a wall void. These pests will thump and scratch as they make their way up and down, inside your walls.

Bats are quieter. You won't generally hear bats in your walls unless you have a lot of them. If you're curious whether you have bats or rats, bang on the wall. Rats may stop what they're doing--but not always, and bats may start scratching and bumping rapidly--but not always.

If you're curious about a noise that is coming from your walls, give American Pest a call. You may not have a horror creature in there, but wild animals can bring diseases, harmful bacteria and parasites in with them, not to mention all the damages that they can cause to your home. It is always safer to have a professional remove wildlife from your home as soon as possible.