By turning on bright lights and a radio you can make your attic an unpleasant environment to encourage raccoons to leave on their own.
Identify critter in attic.
Signs raccoons are in your home.
Raccoons are capable of ripping shingles off and chewing holes in buildings.
If you ve got a critter in your attic it s likely squirrels.
What kind of noise do they make.
The animals that are most likely to be living in your attic are squirrels and raccoons.
If you hear noises during the daytime you ve probably got squirrels.
Like raccoons possums should be on your suspect list if you are trying to identify a larger animal living in your attic under your porch or in your garage.
Identifying squirrel droppings since squirrels are among the most common animals to take up residence in your attic you will want to know what their droppings look like.
Their waste looks and smells different than that of other animals and is typically 3 8 of an inch in length with a diameter of up to 8 millimeters.
Animal trails in the attic holes in attic insulation animal hair or fur bird feathers displacement of attic insulation and even dead animals are common clues found in the attic.
If you have experience like me you will actually know right away by the odor in the attic.
Each animal has a trademark scent.
The roof rat is more common in warm areas and more likely to enter the attic.
Most common animals in attic.
Common animal entry points.
Squealing typically a sign of baby raccoons.
Large amounts of plant debris in one spot is usually from squirrels.
The most common critter to enter attics in many areas including where i work in florida is the rat.
An attic is like a big hollow tree to a squirrel a great place to live in raise young in use insulation for nesting material and chew on wood and electrical wires.
This is a good place to start because most of the time that sound is going to be one of these two critters.
Heavy pounding noises in the attic or ceiling.
Rats and mice in the attic.
The two most common kinds of animals that will enter your attic are raccoons and squirrels.
Skunks typically make themselves known with the distinctive smell of their spray but the first sign of a skunk skulking around your property may be its droppings.
Click here for photos of animal damage in the attic to help you identify what critters you have up there.
Damage to electrical wiring.
If you hear noises in your attic at night there is probably a raccoon or a flying squirrel there since they are nocturnal.
If you are hearing animal sounds in your attic at night it is most commonly a raccoon because they are nocturnal animals and thus most active at night.
There are two main species of rats in the us the roof rat and the norway rat.