Jenny in Florida Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Please ignore the unintentional (and terrible) poetry of this thread title. My son and I heard some scratching that sounds like it's coming from inside one of the walls off the kitchen. It seems to have stopped for the moment, but we were there talking and moving things around for several minutes. So, anything in there is probably staying quiet for now. We are making a point of shutting up, as well, to see if it recurs. I have a call in to the agency through which we rent the house, asking for advice about who to call. (I'm pretty sure this kind of thing is considered a tenant problem.) But since it's 3:30 on a Friday the week before Christmas, I won't be surprised if it takes a while to hear back from them. So, any thoughts? Is this an exterminator kind of problem or a wildlife removal kind of problem or something else I'm not thinking of at the moment? My son and I are both worried about an animal being trapped in there and would prefer that any potential critters be removed safely. But without any idea what it might be, I have no clue how to proceed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Is it an exterior wall or an interior one? Any holes that you can see where an animal could get in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Well, you definitely don't want something to die inside your walls; however, it sounds like it's probably a mouse. If it were something larger like a squirrel, I am guessing there would be more noise. If it's a mouse, it will be coming out for food, so I'd set out some traps of your choice (either a catch and release or kill trap, depending on your preference.) Baiting it with peanut butter works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Ghost Busters!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Okay. Not helpful I know. You could call an exterminator. That is extremely preferable to it perishing or procreating inside your walls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted December 19, 2014 Author Share Posted December 19, 2014 Is it an exterior wall or an interior one? Any holes that you can see where an animal could get in? Interior wall, and we can't see any holes. However, this is an old house, and my son pointed out that the garage, which is not fully enclosed, provides a variety of possible entry points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Once upon a time, we lived in a garden apartment in a city and a feral cat found itself stuck in our wall. We didn't know what type of animal it was for a long time - can't remember how we figured it out (maybe dh saw it run back in through the water heater closet?). We used to come home finding that something had been through the kitchen trash. We ultimately got a trap from some cat-saving society and caught it. In our current suburban location, animals frequently find themselves in walls and roofs. I'm trying to remember all the various types. Mouse only scratches the surface (no pun intended). Typically, they find a way out by themselves. While you don't want something to die in there, I wouldn't necessarily jump to call the exterminator, whom you may have to pay for nothing. I'd probably wait for a few more observed scratchings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Ghost Busters!!! Hahaha....I swear that was the exact thing that came to my mind when I read the title of the thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I would call a wildlife removal person. I rented a really old house that had furry critters entering through tiny holes around roof and running through the attic. Freaky!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted December 19, 2014 Author Share Posted December 19, 2014 Thanks everyone. The desk on which I keep my computer is pretty close to the spot where we heard the noise. I'm taking this as a sign from the universe that it is absolutely necessary for me to sit here an waste time reading the boards while I wait to hear whether the noise happens again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 My parents used to get chipmunks in the chimney and walls a lot. (Lived in a very wooded area.) They used to call a wildlife removal guy. If it was something small, like a mouse, I'd probably just call Massey Services/Truly Nolen (pest control). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I also vote mouse. Once when we lived in an old house on country property...I had a small group out for a Bible study. During a quiet moment, a mouse got busy scratching inside a wall. I had never heard it so loud before or after. I was mortified. Fortunately there were a couple of other country gals in the otherwise mostly city gals group--each of them remarked about how if you live in the country, you may have a mouse or two from time to time. I'd set traps in the attic or the garage. Peanut butter is excellent. Oh...and I always put traps on layers of newspaper so I could just wrap the trap and mouse up. No emptying traps in my house. They are cheap enough to replace. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 We have mice in our interior walls. We put out traps near the trash, in the pantry, and in the attic. We've also put out some mouse bait (poison) for them. The worst was last year, when they kept popping out of the top off the wall in my bedroom (tin ceilings with crown molding next to an old exposed brick chimney), and crawling down the chimney to rustle around on my night table in the middle of the night! I had many fitful nights trying to sleep with the light on, and a mousetrap behind a little shelf on my night table has snapped a couple of times. They also make a bunch of noise in the interior wall at the head of the bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 A relative had an incident recently with a scratching sound in the walls, followed by a weird discolored bulge in the ceiling... followed by thousands of yellowjackets invading the house when the hole in the ceiling gave way. I still can't even type that without getting chills. Because of that I'd have an exterminator check first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbotoast Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 A relative had an incident recently with a scratching sound in the walls, followed by a weird discolored bulge in the ceiling... followed by thousands of yellowjackets invading the house when the hole in the ceiling gave way. I still can't even type that without getting chills. Because of that I'd have an exterminator check first. :ohmy: :svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammi K Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Ghost Busters!!! Was it bad that this was the first thing I thought of as well? :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Mouse/rat/squirrel -- but I can't imagine this being a tenant issue! We had to squirrel (I'm calling them squirrels, mmmkay?) proof the attic and crawl space, and it was not cheap. It's a modification to the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndTheBoys Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 We have a 2 story house with attics--one attic above the one-story section (kitchen, dining room), one attic above the 2-story part of the house. Anyway--I heard scratching in the wall of my master bedroom, 1st floor in 2-story part of house. Set traps in both attics, and caught a mouse in the attic over the 1-story part of the house. And the scratching stopped. So--set traps in the attic, garage, whatever--a mouse can go all through your house in the walls, and you might catch it nowhere near where you are hearing it. Like others, I used peanut butter in the traps. b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I'm sorry. My first response, too was.... "Ghost Busters." I'd call an exterminator, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I'd set traps in the attic or the garage. Peanut butter is excellent. Oh...and I always put traps on layers of newspaper so I could just wrap the trap and mouse up. No emptying traps in my house. They are cheap enough to replace. :) Totally BRILLIANT! I'm using this idea. (from a country girl who knows that when it gets cold, the mice move indoors.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndTheBoys Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I'd set traps in the attic or the garage. Peanut butter is excellent. Oh...and I always put traps on layers of newspaper so I could just wrap the trap and mouse up. No emptying traps in my house. They are cheap enough to replace. :) brilliant. Yeah, the traps are like $1. DH was out of town when we caught our mouse, but luckily he was coming home in a day, so I left the trap :) I was horrified every time I was in the kitchen that day, knowing there was a dead mouse in a trap over my head . . . I'll remember this trick!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Call the movers. //shudder// Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 I wouldn't call anyone until I tried mousetraps first. That's most likely the culprit, and it's a simple DIY fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 I just stick mouse bait places. The problem is that in the past 4 years I have found dead mice behind the fridge, behind the boy's dresser, in the back or a printer and most recently in a shoe. The good thing is they are small and dry rather than smelling. The rats in the house when ds7 was a baby though ugggh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Mice are seriously cute ... until they poo and pee all over your baking pans and casserole dishes. DH tried the live trap without success. I had to do something as I felt it had become a health issue (it had learned how to climb up onto my stove too). The best bait - partially chewed tootsie roll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Wildlife removal. We had a rat issue a couple years ago and the wildlife removal guy was excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 South Florida means it is a rat nest 90% of the time. BTDT. Call the exterminator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.