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Help me diagnose this! #3130351
04/21/12 04:28 PM
04/21/12 04:28 PM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 23
Georgia
B
Barehunter Offline OP
trapper
Barehunter  Offline OP
trapper
B

Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 23
Georgia
I've got a good idea what this is but would love to hear your opinions. Pre-civil war home in middle GA. Customer (actually a nonpaying relative) hearing noise at night in the wall on an exterior corner. Blown in insulation in attic has a moderate amount of distinct trails. Was not able to find any scat at all. When I banged on the wall at mid-day there was a distinct brrrrrrrrp sound and a little scuffling. Siding on outside is asbestos and interior wall is very old heart pine. Opening the wall is not a viable option. Could not find any obvious access point...that is obvious from the standpoint of any sign. There are several nonpowered roof turbines, 2 metal vent pipes with caps that are wide open and a gable vent with no screens so plenty of possibilities.

So what is it and what is the approach?

Many thanks....

Re: Help me diagnose this! [Re: Barehunter] #3130517
04/21/12 07:43 PM
04/21/12 07:43 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,808
Lower Alabama (Daleville)
L
LAtrapper Offline
"Professor"
LAtrapper  Offline
"Professor"
L

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,808
Lower Alabama (Daleville)
My first presumption is a gray squirrel entering through the gable vent. Probably a female with a litter of young in the wall where the noises are being heard. Of course, it could be flying squirrels, rats, mice, or even an opossum. I have found that the Lohman Mr. B's Distress Squirrel Call is a very useful tool to verify the main entry point for gray squirrels with young. It is most successful during the early morning and late afternoon feeding period times of the female. You want her away from the nest when she hears the distress call. It usually takes her only a couple of minutes to return. Usually she will go directly to the entrance into the home. However, sometimes she will first go to the source of the call. I have them approach to within a few inches of my feet. Haven’t had one climb my leg yet though! cool

Is the wall noise below the ceiling between the studs? Most of the young squirrels, around here, are mobile now; so can be trapped at the main entrance.


Note to self- Engage brain before opening mouth (or hitting the ENTER key/SUBMIT button).

Ron Fry

Re: Help me diagnose this! [Re: Barehunter] #3130579
04/21/12 08:40 PM
04/21/12 08:40 PM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 23
Georgia
B
Barehunter Offline OP
trapper
Barehunter  Offline OP
trapper
B

Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 23
Georgia
Thanks LAtrapper. Based on what I gave you I expect you would be correct (and you may be). However, the two metal roof vents have zero scratch marks inside or outside. The gable vent has fairly small gaps and there is no evidence of chewing on the vent or anywhere in the attic that I found. I could not locate any other squirrel size holes which is surprising for a house that old.

I took you up on the distress call and ordered one immediately. Where do you usually set up to call?

Hoping for some more input. For now I put two baited cage traps on a ledge outside the gable vent and a trail cam in the attic on the most heavily used insulation trail. I usually prefer not to go in the attic initially but did this time. Good house to experiment on as it is not a paying job. My wife's old maid aunt lives there...just trying to help her out. It is close to home so no big deal.

Any thought on the brrrrrrrrp sound?

Re: Help me diagnose this! [Re: Barehunter] #3130705
04/21/12 10:28 PM
04/21/12 10:28 PM
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 0
Worcester County, MA
Dave Shumway Offline
trapper
Dave Shumway  Offline
trapper

Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 0
Worcester County, MA
If the noise is coming from the walls, vs the soffit area,I wouldn't be looking for anything larger than a grayer. My bet is a flyer and litter if they're in your area. They don't need a large gap to sqeeze through, look real close at the gable vents.

Re: Help me diagnose this! [Re: Barehunter] #3130715
04/21/12 10:36 PM
04/21/12 10:36 PM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 23
Georgia
B
Barehunter Offline OP
trapper
Barehunter  Offline OP
trapper
B

Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 23
Georgia
Yep...flyer was my best guess as well. There is plenty of gap in the gable vent for flyers for sure. Hope to get proof on the camera tonight and get some snap traps working.

Re: Help me diagnose this! [Re: Barehunter] #3131190
04/22/12 11:01 AM
04/22/12 11:01 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 62,658
Minnesota
330-Trapper Offline
trapper
330-Trapper  Offline
trapper

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 62,658
Minnesota
Take some Pictures ... that would be nice! smile


NRA and NTA Life Member
www.BackroadsRevised@etsy.com




Re: Help me diagnose this! [Re: Barehunter] #3131532
04/22/12 04:11 PM
04/22/12 04:11 PM
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 30
St. Louis area
D
Dave Schmidt Offline
trapper
Dave Schmidt  Offline
trapper
D

Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 30
St. Louis area
Curious situation. LA, I wouldn't expect an antebellum house to have studs.
Grey squirrels growl with a high-pitched note,often followed by a short squeal/whistle.
How wide are the attic trails?
How long has the sound been in that spot?


ALL OUT Wildlife Control
Re: Help me diagnose this! [Re: Barehunter] #3131584
04/22/12 05:14 PM
04/22/12 05:14 PM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 23
Georgia
B
Barehunter Offline OP
trapper
Barehunter  Offline OP
trapper
B

Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 23
Georgia
I will be back over there tomorrow to check the camera etc and will take pics although there really isn't much to take pics of. That end of the house is not occupied. She had company a few days ago that slept in that bedroom and heard it. She is about deaf and wouldn't hear it if it was in her bedroom so who knows how long it has been going on. I will try to get a better feel for the width of the trails when I am there. Off the top of my head I would say they are borderline wide enough for gray squirrels. Also there aren't many trails in the insulation. I just really feel like the spacing of the louvers in the vent are close enough that there would be chewing if a gray was going thru it. I'm not saying a gray couldn't get thru but from my experience I would expect to see a chewed out area. Another thing is that the outside of the vent has peeling paint that you would expect to see an area where it was cleaned off due to frequent entry. May be some hole somewhere that I've missed but house is surprisingly tight for an old house. It was amazing to see the huge hand hewn beams in the attic and crawlspace.

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