Noises You Can’t Explain? Spot the Signs of Pests and Wildlife

If you’ve ever frozen in place after hearing a faint scratch or odd thump somewhere in your home, you’re not imagining things. Homes throughout Georgia often carry mysterious sounds that can leave anyone curious or uneasy. You might find yourself wondering if it’s just normal settling or something wandering around.

As small as these noises may seem, they sometimes point to animals or pests making themselves comfortable. Creatures like raccoons, mice, squirrels, and birds announce their presence long before you spot them directly. These sounds may even change depending on the time of day or the animal’s activity.

This guide from Active Pest Control walks you through what to listen for. Paying attention to location and timing often reveals what’s behind the noise. Once you identify the source, you can decide on the right steps to take next.

What Kind of Noise Are You Hearing?

To understand those mysterious sounds around your home, it’s important to begin with the basics. Consider what the noise sounded like and where it came from, since these details can reveal a lot. Even small clues can help narrow down the possibilities. Let’s take a closer look at what different noises might mean and where they typically originate.

Sounds You May Hear Coming from Inside Your Walls

Walls often become hiding places for all kinds of pests and animals, from ants and mice to larger wildlife like raccoons. Bigger creatures may get stuck or create a lot of noise as they squeeze through the narrow space. Here are the common sounds you might hear coming from within your walls:

• Gnawing or Grinding in Walls

To keep their teeth from overgrowing, rodents gnaw on whatever hard material they can find, such as wood, plastic, or wiring. These noises are usually rhythmic and happen when the house is quiet at night or early morning. Likely culprits include:

• Squirrels: Often heard during the daytime as they race along walls or enclosed spaces.
• Mice and Rats: These rodents often make faint nighttime movements, with mice lightly searching for food and rats chewing or scurrying through hidden areas after dark.

• Scratches in Walls

Scratching noises can be alarming, but noting where they come from and how they move can reveal important clues. Do the sounds stay in one place, or do they shift along walls and ceilings? These pests or animals are often to blame:

• Carpenter Ants: Soft rustling or intermittent ticking can be heard from inside wooden beams or structures.
• Raccoons: Loud, heavy thumps and deliberate scratches are often heard at night as they move around.
• Squirrels: Fast, frenzied scratching and running noises occur during the day in attics or walls.
• Mice and Rats: Tiny, quick sounds at night, along with gnawing and scurrying in hidden areas, often signal the activity of these nocturnal rodents.

• A Buzzing or Humming in the Walls

Persistent buzzing sounds are a common sign of nearby stinging insects. The noise comes from the fluttering of many wings, often growing louder during hot, sunny afternoons. These insects may include:

• Wasps: A sharp, continuous hum often signals wasps constructing a nest inside your walls.
• Hornets: Loud and aggressive buzzing can indicate that hornets are active within a wall cavity.
• Bees: A steady, low-pitched buzz usually points to a bee colony hidden in a wall or attic.

• Ticking or Clicking Inside Walls

Repeated, subtle clicking or ticking noises from within your walls may signal insect activity harming the wood. Potential pests include:

• Carpenter Ants: Soft, irregular ticking or rustling coming from wood structures often signals carpenter ants at work.
• Termites: Small, steady clicking or tapping sounds inside walls can indicate termites feeding on the wood.

• Heavy Dragging Sounds in the Walls

When you hear steady, weighty shuffling or dragging noises from the floors or ceilings, it often indicates a sizable animal is on the move. These sounds are much more deliberate than quick squirrel movements. Likely pests include:

• Raccoons: Loud, heavy thumping and scratching noises are common when raccoons move or forage through walls and ceilings.
• Opossums: Opossums make slow, deliberate thumps along with occasional scratches as they travel through attics or walls.

• Thumps on the Roof

Thumping sounds from above, whether sharp or faint, often indicate animals are on the move. Roofs are common paths for creatures seeking food or shelter. Possible culprits include:

• Cats: Quick, light footsteps often heard at night or during dawn and dusk. Occasional meows or purring may also be audible near entry points.
• Squirrels: Fast scampering sounds and the occasional thump of nuts dropping or rolling, usually during the day. These noises are lighter and quicker than those made by larger animals.
• Tree Branches: Branches rubbing or striking the roof can create noises similar to animals, especially on windy days. This is a frequent non-pest cause of rooftop sounds.
• Raccoons: Heavy, deliberate footsteps or thumping sounds, typically heard at night. Their larger size makes movements on the roof more noticeable.

• Bumps in Your Attic or Crashes in the Garage

Attics and garages often attract larger wildlife looking for shelter or a food source. Because these areas have less insulation and more open space, sounds carry more clearly. Animals may bump into stored items or graze along walls as they move. The wildlife responsible might include:

• Birds: Trapped birds often flap and crash into objects, creating chaotic sounds as they try to escape.
• Opossums: Clumsy movements make it easy for opossums to bump into or knock over stored items while foraging at night.
• Mice and Rats: Agile and quick, rodents scurry and climb, sometimes causing small items to fall and producing loud clattering noises.
• Raccoons: Nocturnal raccoons frequently knock over tools, bins, or boxes, and their size and curiosity make the disturbances loud and noticeable.

• Rustling in Vents or Chimneys

If you hear rustling, flapping, or erratic fluttering, it’s often a sign that a bird or bat is stuck indoors. Chimneys and vents can trap them, producing these irregular sounds. Likely wildlife causing this includes:

• Birds: When trapped, birds often make frantic flapping and crashing sounds, hitting walls, vents, or chimneys as they try to escape.
• Bats: Bats may emit rapid fluttering or high-pitched squeaks while struggling to exit confined spaces such as attics or vents.

Strange Noises Keeping You Up? Reach Out to Active Pest Control

Soft rustling or loud banging in your walls can be unsettling, but we can determine what’s behind it and take care of it. A thorough inspection helps us identify the exact source and the type of animal causing the disturbance. Seasonal shifts often make wildlife activity in Georgia more noticeable. Our wildlife exclusion services are designed to stop these intrusions from happening again.

Don’t hesitate! Contact Active Pest Control and restore peace to your home.