Things in the roof that go bump in the night

boombap

Hi,

I was woken at bout 3.00am this morning by quite a loud noise coming from the roof above my bedroom.

It was scratching and scuffling noise and I can only presume that it would be a mouse / rodent of some sort.

The part of the roof that the noise was coming from is slightly sloped and the noise was loud enought to make me assume that the creature is in the cavity just above the plaster of the roof / top of wall.

Unfortunately there is no attic so to speak of in the vacinity so I don't really know how I can get to the spot to investigate.

We used to have bats visit and fly around the part of the roof where the noise is coming from so I'm a bit anxious that it could be those.

Does anyone have experience of bats in the roof? Do they hibernate?

I'm quite puzzled to be honest as if it is a mouse then I don't know where it would be getting food from.

Can anyone offer any advice on the matter?

Sorry if I've rambled but that's what getting woken up at 3 in the morning does to me!

Thanks in advance,

S.

latecomer

Bats do hibernate in the winter.

I'd guess its far more likely to be a mouse than a bat but if you've had bats before then maybe not. If you cant get access to that area you could try laying traps as near to it as you can.

It might be checking the outside of the roof near the area to see if there are any signs of a place to get in.

ic

I used to live in a flat with a pitched roof, and the magpies dancing on the roof used to make loads of noise.

Pretani

Hope their not vampire bats. They have a habit of crawling into warm places like your bed. Make sure you wrap the quilt up well at night.

greyteam1959

Could be a grey squirrel.......

Blue_Diamond

I would call the your local pest control from the counsel as it could be a mouse / rat. Bats do hibernate in the winter.

boombap

Thanks for the advice all.

I reckon I'll have to get some traps and lay them as near as I can as advised. Me being a soppy sort though I'll have to get the ncie and friendly human ones.

We have got a couple of cats but they're useless workshy fops that wo't be of any use at all!

Cheers again,

S.

Suzy_M

At that time of night could it have been an owl on the roof. - Always amazes me just how much noise a bird on a roof can make.

LandyAndy

Whenever we've had scratching noises in the attic it's been birds getting in under the tiles. Much more likely than mountaineering mice.

superstylin

I'd think yourself lucky since we just found that rats are climbing up our waste pipe behind the toilet and gnawing away at it! I'd rather have a rat in the roof than a rat in the wc!:eek:

on_a_money_mission

When we've had to have pest control in, they advise looking for droppings to help ID the animal. Cue Ray Mears impersonation.

WARNING gross advice to follow:

House mice poo looks like black uncooked rice;
Field mice poo is about half the size of house mice poo;
Rat poo (yes you can get them in the loft - they like tunneling up cavity wall insulation) is about twice the size of house mouse poo.

I've no idea about bat or squirrel muck though

Rats, squirrels and occasionally house mice can gnaw wires and pipes so it's wise to exclude them first.

HTH