If you see squirrels running around on your roof more than you see them on your neighbors’ homes, it’s very likely the animals in your wall are squirrels. Is it between March and October? Are the noises varying and strange? If the answer to both is yes, a mother has probably set up shop with newborn squirrels. They’ll probably leave on their own in a few weeks. The best way to prevent squirrels is to get rid of branches or wires that hang over your roof.
Mice will be most active at night, so if the sound in your walls pops up after you’ve gone to sleep, it’s probably mice or rats. You can tell if you have rats or mice versus squirrels by knocking on the wall with your knuckle when you hear scurrying. Rats and mice will freeze in place and make no noise. Squirrels will scurry away. Minimize how attractive your home is for mice by keeping food inaccessible and the floor clean. Rodents are all looking for food, so don’t give it to them to keep your living space rodent-free.
If you hear noises in your pipes in addition to your walls, it’s almost positively rats. Rats can swim and climb through pipes.
When you hear the noise in your wall, try knocking on some nearby drywall. If you don’t hear the animal flee, move quickly, or freeze in place, it’s probably raccoons. [5] X Trustworthy Source The Humane Society of the United States National organization devoted to the promotion of animal welfare Go to source Raccoons will chew on drywall, but they won’t gnaw on electrical wiring. If you see chewed-up wiring, it’s probably squirrels.
If you can access your attic, you may also see bat guano (droppings) on the floor. Bat guano will dry out and become powdery when it gets old, which is a giveaway. Go outside when the sun is going down. If you have bats, you should be able to see and hear them exiting your home to go out and look for food. You may be able to entice bats to leave by setting up a bat box in your yard or putting a noise machine in your attic.
Opossums are especially drawn to cat food. If you notice something keeps tearing into the cat food in your basement or garage, it’s likely an opossum. Removing access to food by keeping the area around your home clean is one of the best ways to deter opossums.
Chipmunks will also occasionally make high-pitched chirping sounds inside of your walls. It can be tough to tell the difference between squirrels and chipmunks in your walls, but squirrels will prefer to stay high up. Chipmunks will go all over the place. Chipmunks love berries and nuts. If you happen to be growing food in your yard, removing whatever falls to the ground can help deter chipmunks.
If your drywall or flooring starts to randomly appear damaged, you may have termites. The exception here is ants. Ants are extremely unlikely to make noise, but you’ll see them inside of your home.
The one exception is raccoons. If you’ve got raccoons frequenting an area in your walls, you may be able to get rid of them by making a lot of noise to scare them away. The only animals you can probably leave alone (if they aren’t causing damage) is squirrels. They may spend a season in your walls, but they won’t stick around forever.
As fun as it can be to watch birds in your garden, bird baths and bird feeders attract raccoons, squirrels, and other wildlife. The animals that might end up in your walls are all creatures who prefer the path of least resistance. If getting into your home is difficult, they aren’t going to bother.
The type of sound is important, but when you hear noises is a great way to narrow down the animal. Chipmunks are only active during the day, for example, while mice are nocturnal.
Soft, dusty droppings in the attic are almost positively bats. Rice-sized droppings along the baseboards are likely mice or rats.
Rotten smells are likely to be opossums, who are notorious for their stench.
