Scratching Noises in Your Walls or Ceiling

You're lying in bed and you hear it: scratching inside the wall, or something moving across the ceiling. It stops. Then it starts again.

Before you start pulling down drywall, pay attention to two things: when you hear it, and what it sounds like. Those two clues narrow it down fast.

Quick guide: what's making the noise?

Mice

Mice are small and light, so the sound is small too. You'll hear quick scratching and scurrying, usually inside the walls, under the floor or above a dropped ceiling. They're most active at night, and most noticeable once the house is quiet.

In New Jersey, mouse noise picks up in October and November when mice move indoors for the winter. If you hear them, check for droppings under the kitchen sink, in the back of drawers and behind the stove. See how mice get into your house.

Rats

Rats are bigger, and the sound is heavier: louder scratching, gnawing, and sometimes something being dragged. Like mice, they're mostly active at night. Rats in walls and ceilings often come in through a crawl space, a garage or a gap around a pipe at ground level.

Not sure which you have? Our mice vs. rats guide compares droppings, size and signs.

Squirrels

The big clue with squirrels is timing. They're active during the day, so the noise comes in the early morning and late afternoon, when they leave the attic and come back. You'll hear running across the ceiling and sometimes a rolling sound.

Squirrels are a growing problem from December through February, when they mate and look for a warm place to have their young. More in our post on squirrels in the attic.

Raccoons

If it sounds like a person walking in your attic at night, it may be a raccoon. Heavy thumps, chattering and growling are the giveaways. Raccoons can tear open soffits and roof vents to get in, so look outside for damage. Don't try to handle a raccoon yourself. They're a rabies vector species in New Jersey. See raccoon removal.

Bats

Bats make soft rustling and squeaking sounds, usually right at dusk when they leave to feed. In New Jersey, bats can't be killed or controlled with lethal methods. They have to be excluded, meaning one-way doors that let them out but not back in.

It might not be an animal

Ticking, popping or knocking that happens every time the heat comes on is usually metal ductwork or pipes expanding. If the sound lines up with your furnace or water heater, it's probably not a pest.

What not to do

• Don't seal up holes until you know nothing is inside. You can trap an animal in the wall, and that turns into a smell problem.
• Don't put poison bait out for an animal you haven't identified. A poisoned rodent can die inside a wall.
• Don't open up the wall to look. Most of the time the answer is outside, at the entry point.

When to call

If the noise keeps coming back, it's time to have someone look. We'll inspect the outside of the house, find where the animal is getting in, and tell you what it is before anything gets sealed. See rodent control and squirrel removal, or call (732) 527-5770.