Are you hearing thumps above your head at night? Maybe some chewing noises in the attic or walls of the house? Perhaps even scampering of little feet or scratching above you in the wee hours of the night? Well, you’re not alone. If you’re in Polk County, Pasco County, Hillsborough County, Orange County or Osceola County Florida, noises in the attic are not an uncommon occurrence and are usually attributed to raccoons, squirrels or rodents in your attic. Occasionally, opossums may also gain entry to your attic, although, it is considerably more rare than the other three culprits.
Noises in the attic are the most common reason for Nature-Tech Wildlife Solutions LLC to receive phone calls from our customers, and for good reason. Noises in your attic can be rather unsettling and can prevent you from getting a well deserved and much needed night of rest. Thankfully, Nature-Tech Wildlife Solutions LLC has your back.
To resolve these issues, we must first conduct an inspection to determine exactly the type of wildlife you have in your attic. There are several methods that we employ to do this:
1.) Physical sighting of the animal – While this isn’t always plausible due to the structure of the attic or the type of animal and their natural behavior, in about 25% of cases, this is our primary method of determination. (Seen below: Female raccoon with babies stares back at us from her safe space in the soffit of a home in Hillsborough County, Florida)
2.) Fecal matter in the attic – Fecal matter in the attic is likely the largest indicator of what we’re dealing with. An experienced wildlife technician can review the fecal matter and determine what species we’re dealing with, as well as likely how long the issue has been present due to quantity and condition of the fecal matter. (Seen below: Raccoon fecal matter in an attic in Hillsborough County, Florida)
3.) Physical activity in the attic – Attics are far and varied in their construction. Even different insulation types are used from attic to attic based upon the contractor or home purchaser specification that they wanted from their R-value. With those types of insulation can come different pathways, tunneling and other physical evidence that can be indicator as to what type of animal you have in your attic. (Seen below: A combination of physical trails through the insulation as well as an abundance of rodent fecal matter in an attic in Pasco County, Florida)
4.) Hours of activity – Squirrels are not nocturnal animals as they have difficulty seeing at night, which makes them vulnerable. As such, a lot of physical activity during the late night hours is an indicator that you’re contending with a more nocturnal animal such as rodents, raccoons or opossums in your attic. If your nighttime hours are quiet, but you’re hearing a lot of activity during the day, this is often an indicator of squirrels. However, it needs to be known that most nocturnal animals will also be active during the day, so this method isn’t always strictly reliable as a primary method of identification.
5.) Exterior entry points – Different wildlife will gain entry to attics in different ways. Also, different sized animals will require different sized entry points. A smaller entry point indicates that you’re dealing with either squirrels or rodents, while a larger entry point is an indicator that you’re dealing with raccoons or opossums. However, it is also plausible to have more than one species in your attic at a time or to have an entry point breached by one species of animal, but another species is what took it over after the other animal decided they didn’t want to stay there. (Seen below: This large breach in this roof return in Polk County, Florida is clearly caused by a larger mammal. Raccoon was the culprit)
6.) All of the above – While generally it only takes a couple of the above methods to positively identify the what is causing the noises in your attic, we employ using all of this information to ensure that we have fully grasped your situation and can properly formulate a custom resolution to your problem with nuisance wildlife in your attic in Central Florida.
If you live in Polk County, FL and you’re hearing noises in your attic, it’s time to call Nature-Tech Wildlife Solutions LLC. Let us get to the bottom of the situation so that you can go back to getting a restful night’s sleep! Proudly serving Winter Haven, Haines City, Lakeland, Davenport, Lake Wales and all other areas of Polk County, FL.
Schedule an appointment with us today by calling 813.699.9079 or 863.345.2547!