OT: Need help with noise in the wall

Jtung230

Heisman
Jun 30, 2005
18,798
12,014
82
Think we have some type of animal in our wall. Heard scratching sounds yesterday. Any one have experience? Who to call for this? Thanks in advance.
 

gef21

All-American
Jan 25, 2005
4,575
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Exterior or interior? What time of day? Do you have an attic and or basement?

Calling a pest control company is probably first step. I would avoid poisons but that is just my belief system.
 

Jtung230

Heisman
Jun 30, 2005
18,798
12,014
82
Exterior or interior? What time of day? Do you have an attic and or basement?

Calling a pest control company is probably first step. I would avoid poisons but that is just my belief system.
It’s in the walls and we heard it last night. It’s a 100+ year old house with attic and basement. Any reference in a pest control company? The reviews on the chain like Terminix is not great. Local guys are just unknown.
 

dfr1966

All-Conference
Feb 1, 2006
969
1,089
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It’s in the walls and we heard it last night. It’s a 100+ year old house with attic and basement. Any reference in a pest control company? The reviews on the chain like Terminix is not great. Local guys are just unknown.
We use A-Academy of South Jersey for termites, carpenter ants, etc...not sure if they handle other animals but we have been satisfied with their service.
 

RU_87

Junior
Aug 19, 2001
273
258
43
Think we have some type of animal in our wall. Heard scratching sounds yesterday. Any one have experience? Who to call for this? Thanks in advance.
most likely a mouse...every couple of years, I hear one in my attic. I set up a few traps (wooden traps you can get at home depot with some peanut butter on it). However, I'm not sure what to do if it's in a wall. I guess i would try to determine which wall / between which set of studs and then try to locate any potential access points from outside (top or bottom, etc.) to seal them in future (after getting rid of it). If it's 2nd floor wall, there's a good chance you can place the traps in the attic near that wall. However, I am interested in any experience you have if you employ a pest control service, ala terminix.
 

dconifer0

All-Conference
Oct 4, 2004
4,232
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Exterior or interior? What time of day? Do you have an attic and or basement?

Calling a pest control company is probably first step. I would avoid poisons but that is just my belief system.
I'm the same. I catch and release two or three in my Atlantic City place a year. Ha ha, it might be the same guy every time. It seems foolish, but I just don't want to kill a mouse...
 
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Joey Bags

All-American
Sep 21, 2019
5,175
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Same thing happened to us a year or two ago. You would be shocked how loud a mouse behind a wall can be, it sounded like someone was going at our drywall with a drywall saw. It ended up dying after a few days in the wall, never had a smell. We had a pest control service under contract, the guy figured out it tightroped a romex in our basement and forced itself through the gap where it went directly into the wall cavity under the wood (you could see the hair trapped around the hole). Put a trap on the basement wall where the romex gets close to the outer wall, never had a problem since.

We use On The Spot pest control, they’re a great local company with very solid reviews. Not sure where you are, but I think they serve a good chunk of north/central NJ.
 

HPNJRUfan

All-Conference
Mar 6, 2003
11,218
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Had a raccoon in my attic over the winter - broke through a gabel vent and got in. Would have to look it up, but used a local company that installed a one-way door, then came back in about a week and sealed it up. A few hundred bucks, but no complaints
 

koleszar

Heisman
Jan 1, 2010
35,465
55,109
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Think we have some type of animal in our wall. Heard scratching sounds yesterday. Any one have experience? Who to call for this? Thanks in advance.
It got in somehow and it's got to eventually eat and drink. So, it can't stay in the wall forever, probably just where its burrow is. A thorough inspection of the attic and basement near the area inside and out might reveal their entry point. Set traps with peanut butter, squirrels and mice both like it.

Through experience with the farm, I've become somewhat of an expert on these two nuisances. These two will carry fleas, mites and various diseases so best to get rid of them for good.
 
Last edited:

RU05

All-American
Jun 25, 2015
14,427
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The potential problem with poison is if the critter then dies behind the wall. It can omit a terrible smell for weeks before it goes away.
Bigger the animal, the bigger the smell.

A mouse could die in your walls and you'd might not know.

Poisons will also drive an animal to seek water, so they may leave your house to do so......and then croak.
 

Jtung230

Heisman
Jun 30, 2005
18,798
12,014
82
Same thing happened to us a year or two ago. You would be shocked how loud a mouse behind a wall can be, it sounded like someone was going at our drywall with a drywall saw. It ended up dying after a few days in the wall, never had a smell. We had a pest control service under contract, the guy figured out it tightroped a romex in our basement and forced itself through the gap where it went directly into the wall cavity under the wood (you could see the hair trapped around the hole). Put a trap on the basement wall where the romex gets close to the outer wall, never had a problem since.

We use On The Spot pest control, they’re a great local company with very solid reviews. Not sure where you are, but I think they serve a good chunk of north/central NJ.
We used on the spot before and they were good with bugs but no help with rodents.

My house is 100+ years old. There are too many ways they can get in. This is the first time they got into the walls.
 

FrankZ_RU93

Heisman
Jul 27, 2001
25,545
11,227
113
Going with squirrel. Just the absolute worst - a neighbor helped me resolve last summer after off and on grief for quite some time (April/May was peak frustration). We mounted a camera to confirm what we thought was the entry point and sealed that off (after first making sure we watched it leave).
 

mildone_rivals

Heisman
Dec 19, 2011
55,607
51,271
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It's not an animal. Better call these guys.

who you gonna call videos GIF by AMPYA
 
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ashokan

Heisman
May 3, 2011
25,325
19,686
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Attic mice usually show up in the house - they can squeeze down to nothing.
I think mice might show in the basement first.
I've had squirrels a few times - they stay for winter and then leave.
I only heard them at night.
 

Jtung230

Heisman
Jun 30, 2005
18,798
12,014
82
Going with squirrel. Just the absolute worst - a neighbor helped me resolve last summer after off and on grief for quite some time (April/May was peak frustration). We mounted a camera to confirm what we thought was the entry point and sealed that off (after first making sure we watched it leave).
I don’t think it’s a squirrel. Too quite. My hearing is not great but it sounds like it’s in the floor on the 2nd level. I only have one tree that overhangs the house and it’s probably a good 15 ft drop to the roof.
 

newell138

Heisman
Aug 1, 2001
35,474
44,849
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When I was living at home in Denville we had a similar problem. Left a havaheart trap out in the room and caught a flying squirrel
 

gef21

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Jan 25, 2005
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It’s in the walls and we heard it last night. It’s a 100+ year old house with attic and basement. Any reference in a pest control company? The reviews on the chain like Terminix is not great. Local guys are just unknown.
Where are you located? I am up in Hunterdon and used a great company when we had bats. We also have a 130 year old house.
 
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Jtung230

Heisman
Jun 30, 2005
18,798
12,014
82
Where are you located? I am up in Hunterdon and used a great company when we had bats. We also have a 130 year old house.
I’m in Summit. Do you think the Wildlife Control also deal with rodents or just wildlife?
 

Jtung230

Heisman
Jun 30, 2005
18,798
12,014
82
Your 100 year old home is most likely a balloon frame, allowing unimpeded access from basement to attic. Odds are its a mouse.
I think I am partially to blame. I did some prevention by plugging a lot of the easy access areas and that may have redirect it into the walls. 😟
 

Leonard23

Heisman
Feb 2, 2006
29,385
11,676
113
Where are you located? I am up in Hunterdon and used a great company when we had bats. We also have a 130 year old house.

This is who I used.

I’m in Summit. Do you think the Wildlife Control also deal with rodents or just wildlife?
I'd call them and ask, if you don't really know what's in there. They helped a bunch of people remove everything from bats, squirrels, racoons, snakes. They're good at identifying what it is and then getting rid of it. Neighbors thought they had mice but it turned out to be a family of squirrels.
 
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Extra Point_rivals157299

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Aug 9, 2001
13,169
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I get an occasional mouse. Eventually they get hungry and end up visiting the kitchen, which smells of food, and get caught in a trap. I find that black sunflower seeds work best. Can use a dab of hot glue to attach a few seeds to the trap trigger, and leave a couple free seeds near the trap.
 

GoodOl'Rutgers

Heisman
Sep 11, 2006
123,974
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It got in somehow and it's got to eventually eat and drink. So, it can't stay in the wall forever, probably just where its burrow is. A thorough inspection of the attic and basement near the area inside and out might reveal their entry point. Set traps with peanut butter, squirrels and mice both like it.

Through experience with the farm, I've become somewhat of an expert on these two nuisances. These two will carry fleas, mites and various diseases so best to get rid of them for good.
^^ this ^^ remember they are animals. Its like when you see a bug.. well, when you see/kill one there are more.. not only you hunts/kills bugs.. bigger bugs feed on then.. then animals hunt and kill bugs.. in your home. So.. while a mouse might just be a mouse making a nest, getting out of the cold.. it could mean other things inside your walls.
 
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Plum Street

Heisman
Jun 21, 2009
27,306
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^^ this ^^ remember they are animals. Its like when you see a bug.. well, when you see/kill one there are more.. not only you hunts/kills bugs.. bigger bugs feed on then.. then animals hunt and kill bugs.. in your home. So.. while a mouse might just be a mouse making a nest, getting out of the cold.. it could mean other things inside your walls.
Yeah I would think once there is one, there is more.
 

CERU00

All-Conference
Feb 10, 2005
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most likely a mouse...every couple of years, I hear one in my attic. I set up a few traps (wooden traps you can get at home depot with some peanut butter on it). However, I'm not sure what to do if it's in a wall. I guess i would try to determine which wall / between which set of studs and then try to locate any potential access points from outside (top or bottom, etc.) to seal them in future (after getting rid of it). If it's 2nd floor wall, there's a good chance you can place the traps in the attic near that wall. However, I am interested in any experience you have if you employ a pest control service, ala terminix.
Experience this every winter. The mice have to come out the wall to find food so I've always been successful in laying out traps in the attic and spaces adjacent to possible entrances to the wall.
Also, when you find one, it usually means they are a couple.
There probably is no need to hire an outside company.
 

mildone_rivals

Heisman
Dec 19, 2011
55,607
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Also, when you find one, it usually means they are a couple.
This is true.

I've hooked up some UHD video cameras to capture them copulating from multiple angles. Then I post the videos to the dark web where I'm making millions selling the videos. I plan to start livestreaming it, which should increase revenues. Mouse porn is a big thing.

Normally I'd be reluctant to do something like this. But the sheep told me it's okay.