Hearing any kind of unusual or unexpected noises in your attic can be a terrifying experience, particularly at night. As you listen closely in an attempt to recognize what or who is making the noise, countless questions are racing through your mind. So, if you’re hearing strange noises in your attic, you may ask yourself, “is it a burglar, a ghost, or maybe a wild animal?” Know that you should not feel ashamed thinking like that, as many homeowners are likely to think the same way.
Once, there was an elderly lady in West Palm Beach in Florida, who kept hearing some noises in her attic during the evening and early morning. The thought of having burglars hiding in the attic made her shiver with fear. As she was living alone, she didn’t have the courage to face them and she also didn’t want to risk climbing up the ladder with a flashlight and going into the attic by herself.
Thus, she picked up the phone and called the police. As soon as they came over, they went up into the attic to inspect what’s going on. To everyone’s surprise, and relief, there was no sign of a burglar. Instead, the police officers suddenly started hearing some animal noises around. Looking closely, they noticed some small creatures roosting on the walls and ceiling, and they soon came to realize there were bats living in the lady’s attic.
They immediately called the local pest and wildlife control company, Wildlife Troopers. Jose arrived straight away and after having done an inspection, he confirmed there was a bat infestation in the attic.
“These kinds of stories happen virtually on a daily basis”, explains Jose from Wildlife Troopers. So, if you keep hearing noises coming from upstairs, you can be fairly sure that some kind of wildlife has taken up residence in your attic. Bats are one of the most common animals encountered to be choosing attics as their places of hiding.
When you hear strange noises in the attic, it’s important to remain calm and call a wildlife removal company for an inspection in order to identify the problem.
Can You Hear Bats in Your Attic?
Among all the wild animals typically found in homes, bats are by far the quietest. Even though there are bats living in your attic, you won’t hear them very often.
In general, because bats are nocturnal, you’ll be able to hear them late at night and very early in the morning when they fly out and fly in.
When indoors, their sounds become intensified by the insulation in your house and by the close enclosures they normally find themselves in. Also, if you try to come into physical contact with them, bats are likely to strike making loud noises as a result of being in distress.
What Do Bats in the Attic Sound Like?
One way you can find out if you’ve got bats nesting in your attic is by listening out for the distinctive sounds they produce. While the main noises associated with bats are clicks or chirps that are high pitched, these mammals sometimes make other sounds, too.
Bats that are trapped within the attic will make scratching and flapping sounds. The scratching resembles a lot of the noises that mice do. Bats will flutter or flap their wings when trying to move through insulation in an effort to escape.
Some other sounds that you might be hearing include squeaking, screeching, or squawking. What’s more, a large colony of bats indoors will obviously produce plenty of noises, and the more bats there are, the less space they have. As a result, each individual is jostling for the best spots in the attic, and fights can also break out, which will all cause an uproar.
In addition, a family of bats with pups is also very noisy. The young bats make chirping and squealing sounds to get the attention of their moms, while the males can at times call out to the females using squawking sounds.
How to Tell if There Are Bats in Your Attic?
Besides hearing noises in the attic, there are some other clues that bats leave. Two signs to look out for when checking for bats include their guano and stains.
Guano, also known as bat poop, has a strong odor. You’ll find it mainly near the attic’s point of entry, in piles down the walls near the attic’s entry and exit points, and on the attic floor.
Another tell-tale sign that you have bats indoors is dark brown stains that these animals leave while squeezing through the holes as they are entering and exiting the attic. Their skin secretes an oily substance that rubs off on the walls of the attic and you can spot brown staining around even the tiniest crack or crevice in a structure.
Urine stains on the walls around their hanging spots will also help you locate where the entry points may be.
How Do Bats Get in Your Attic and What Size Hole Can They Get Through?
Bats will find different gaps all over the house and make their way inside by squeezing through various gaps within a house structure. Most bat species are able to push their bodies through a gap of about 1/8 inches in size!
Besides using chimneys or flying through the vent, there are also other common routes that bats use to enter an attic.
They often find their way inside by squeezing through openings in damaged or rotting roof shingles, or even push through rotting wood to create their own holes.
To make their way into your attic, these mammals can crawl up through a damaged soffit and even use holes in your cracked siding.
If your fascia board is warped and damaged, bats may squeeze up and under it to find access points to your attic.
In addition, if your door and window frames are cracked, warped, or broken, gaps between the frame and wall, window, or door will appear, providing perfect access points for all kinds of pests, including bats.
Once you’ve located the bats, or if you think you might have bats living in your attic, call us today at (561) 809 – 4572 to schedule a free inspection. We will show up at your door to provide you with a personalized consultation and will humanely handle and remove the bats from your Florida house.
