Pest in the attic

[xfactor9]

For the last month, I've been hearing noises in the attic. The noise is usually from 11PM to 6AM. It sounds larger than a mouse, so I'm guessing it's a squirrel, raccoon or possum.

What DIY method is good at removing them? I know there are many ultrasonic products; do any work? I don't have any pets.

 

[PandaBear]

First of all, you need to plug all the holes coming into the attic and the house. This is particularly important if you have Spanish tile roof, there will be lots of holes and opening that you need to plug up with concrete and wire mesh.

Then you need to clean out any dropping left behind so the smell doesn't attract additional ones.

Are you in Nor Cal? Locally there's a company called Bay Area Rodent Solutions and I've used them with great success. Many companies refuse to work with Spanish tile roof and refer BARS to me.

 

[SuperDave456]

Get them out, then seal it up.
Yes ultrasonic works. Like you said there are lots of them.
Also, mothballs can work too.

I've done poison too, attics here in Tx mummify them pretty quick.
But if they die in a wall it can get bad.

You need to find out how they are getting up there before you take any action so that once gone you can seal it up.

 

[Skid]

I live in Southern California (Los Angeles), and I've had roof rats in the attic. The only solution was to seal them out. I tried the rat traps, and though it worked, new rats kept coming in.

I couldn't tell where they were coming in from, so I set up a wildlife camera and finally figured it out. It was from a remodel and intersection of two roofs, a portion of which was not visible from inside or outside. Anyway, I stuffed the area with steel wool and expanding foam sealant (pestrid) and problem solved!

Rats will chew on wires and stuff (best case, just an open circuit, worst case, causes a fire), so you do need to take care of this right away.

 

[dlundblad]

It might be your mother in law.

Have your wife call her and tell her to stay out.

 

[Donald]

Get a Havhart small rodent trap and keep trapping until you do not get any. Put down a couple of mouse traps also.

 

[Kestas]

I've had experience with mice, squirrels, and raccoon.

It doesn't sound like a raccoon. They make noise as they're leaving the house at nightfall, then again when they return at daybreak. They leave large holes in the house.

Squirrels bed down at nightfall and don't make noise through the night.

Mice make noise all night, starting shortly after you settle in for bed.

Don't know about other critters.

Ammonia smell will drive them out. Soak rags or tennis balls in an ammonia compound and toss them in the attic.

You still want to see where they come in and take care of their ingress/egress. I usually perch myself outside when I know they are the noisiest, and watch where they come in (or go out). Besides cheap entertainment, it lets me know exactly what I'm dealing with and where.

If you can narrow down which critter, we can help further.

 

[ryan2022]

Originally Posted By: SuperDave456
Get them out, then seal it up.
Yes ultrasonic works. Like you said there are lots of them.
Also, mothballs can work too.

I've done poison too, attics here in Tx mummify them pretty quick.
But if they die in a wall it can get bad.

You need to find out how they are getting up there before you take any action so that once gone you can seal it up.


Mothballs definitely work, but don't overdue it like I did....that smell really lingers. lol

 

[patfan]

I had a Squirrel in the attic that was making a huge mess it came in through eating through the vent. Played the beginning of saving Private Ryan and it went flying out the hole that it had made. Covered hole up with hardware cloth But it went to the other side and ate threw thaT side finally caught it with have a heart trap brought it 2 hour drive away released in the middle of nowhere.

 

[DB_Cooper]

"Ammonia smell will drive them out. Soak rags or tennis balls in an ammonia compound and toss them in the attic."

Ammonia works very well. Much better and safer than mothballs.

I had a big squirrel problem in the attic. I tried the ammonia soaked rags trick and it was not effective enough.

I got the one gallon jugs of ammonia floor cleaner from Ace hardware and an old hudson sprayer. I went into the attic every couple of afternoons as the squirrels were migrating home to nest and sprayed with particular attention to areas that the creatures were building nests with the insulation material. Took about two weeks this fall and the critters have abandoned my attic.

I think the ammonia is very hard on the squirrels sense of smell..being very acute and sensitive. The residual ammonia odor may smell like predator urine too..double trouble for the squirrels.

Use caution when using ammonia..it can be hard on you too. I never smelled any ammonia in the house after spraying..but I would leave the attic quickly due to the strong odor.

Mothballs are toxic..so that remaining mothball odor is not good for you.

 

[caravanmike]

I had a squirrel over the summer (in the attic). I used a, have a heart trap with peanut butter and sunflower seeds as bait. Make sure you secure the trap to the roof (ask me how i know), because once you catch them they thrash around.

 

[AZjeff]

Roof rat. My daughter had them twice last year in Orange Co, south of LA. They'd hear it at night. Had to get an exterminator to catch it and fix the hole it was using. Apparently another one chewed a new hole. Yuck.

 

[The motor guy]

I have that problem too. When it gets cold I hear it thrashing around upstairs. usually around 2am

 

[DoubleWasp]

T-Rex urine.

In all seriousness, you have to initiate a critter evacuation via ammonia, and then seal up any holes.

Treat the real vulnerable areas with ammonia too.

I'd you use expanding foam, make sure it has a bittering agent so they can't just eat through it.

I got so fed up one time that I just left bowls of engine coolant out for whatever it was. That got one of the possums, and my pit bull took care of the other one. Don't know why any animal would be stupid enough to tread on his turf, but they did.

 

[Virtus_Probi]

We had a squirrel in our attic in Elgin and I found the hole he used to get in, there was a meeting of odd roof angles that hadn't been built quite right and he widened an existing gap with his great nasty teeth. The little bugger lived right above our bedroom and would start chewing and scrabbling around right at sunrise. I bought a plugin ultrasound source and found that I could chase him around the attic with it...one day I thought I had chased him out and rushed up to patch the opening. Used a piece of aluminum siding that I nailed into place and then caulked all around it.
As it happened, my wife and I had a small vacation planned and we left the next day. When we returned, the next door neighbor rushed over and told me there had been a big ruckus in our attic while we were gone! I trapped the little turd in there...got the ladder out to examine my patch, some of the aluminum had been chewed back to make a narrow slit less than 1/2" high and that jagged opening was all covered in blood and fur. That little rodent must have been incredibly desperate and I would guess that it probably died...patched over the patch and never had a problem again.