If you’ve ever had an animal in your attic, you know it’s true that it’s a space they love to live in! For most small animals your attic will offer a safe, warm place for them to live, nest and survive cold climates. You might be inclined to feel bad for them but having any animal in your attic can mean bad news for your home and family!

Read on as we cover a few signs you might have something living in your attic, the potential dangers and annoyances from your new housemate, and some best practices for getting rid of them!

Signs you might have an animal in your attic:

  • Scurrying or squeaking sounds in the ceiling
  • You find droppings or urine
  • Disturbed or torn insulation
  • Chewed wood beams or electrical wires
  • Damage to your ducts

The potential for damage can vary

  • Damage from droppings and urine: You may encounter mild damage in your attic from droppings and urine, but the severity will depend on how long the animal has been living up there and how many of them there are. Overall this is a pretty basic thing to clean, however you’ll want to make sure you check out the insulation for moistness. Moisture in the attic can encourage the growth of mold which can become a big problem very quickly. But be careful cleaning the waste from animals in your attic because it can be a potential source of pathogens and illness. Especially be careful if you’ve found bats in your attic. Bat guano is poisonous!
  • Insulation: Rats & raccoons like to removing insulation to create their nest, leaving your home susceptible to inefficient heating and cooling systems. This can be an expensive problem to have if you don’t notice it, though not dangerous.
  • Chewing wires: Rodents, squirrels and raccoons might chew the wires in your attic creating a potential fire hazard.
  • Chewing wood & eaves: Some animals need to chew to keep their teeth sharp. This is bad news for the wood in your attic!
  • Ripped ducts: For some reason raccoons are quite fond of ripping apart the ducts in your attic. This can result in poor air circulation throughout your house.

 

How to respond to animals in your attic

Identifying which animal you have in your attic is the first step to removing him. While there are a number of do-it-yourself solutions to deal with animals in your attic, it’s often easiest to call a professional pest removal company. They’ll be able to quickly determine what sort of animal you are dealing with and be able to suggest or perform the best removal possible. They also have all the equipment and protective clothing necessary, depending on what needs to be removed.

At Regional Wildlife Services we’re experts at removing a wide variety of animals from attics, so give us a call to have us remove your pest today!