Holes in the Attic- animal or there for a reason?

Hi,

I see these holes in the attic. Is there a reason for these or do I possible have an animal that chewed through in the corners? Pictures below.

Pictures by RTG37 - Photobucket

 

What wildlife do you have in your neighborhood?

I would guess either squirrel or raccoon. Judging from the size of the holes, I would lean toward raccoon. Bait a live trap in the attic with chocolate chip cookies and see what you catch. Once you have caught the critter, handle the the trap carefully to avoid being bitten. Post back and tell us what it was.

Are there any signs of wildlife such as droppings or claw marks?

Having said all of that, another possibility would be that the holes were made to facilitate hoisting the end trusses into position with a crane when the house was built.

 

I would guess not a raccoon, or maybe the raccoons in my area are just too weel fed, they would never fit and rarely climb that high on those surfaces.

Tats like to stay low so I would go for a large squirrel. A careful look might show some fur on the opening or floor below. As wirepuller said, a live trap is the way to go, just might use a variety of bait.

Next step would be to locate the outside entrance.

Bud

 

I'm going crazy. I can hear what sounds like tapping inside the walls. It sounds like sombody taking a fingernail and tapping it on a 2x4 goes along one side of the house and sounds like it is right in the corner of the ceiling and wall. I've inspected the attic and put a bait trap up there and got nothing. I don't even see any evidence but everyday there is tapping in the wall. On top of that I don't see how whatever it is could be running back and forth since the wall studs run horizontal. The attic has about 2 feet of spray insulation which I've moved around and see no evidence of anything crawling, running, or living up there. I've inspected the outside of the house as well and can't seem to find an entrance for anything.

 

I'm chuckling and shouldn't be. Many years ago I rented a basement apartment and came out to discover my landlord on a very long ladder trying to patch a hole where a squirrel had chewed his way in. He said the really annoying aspect of his new visitor was him playing hockey every night with an acorn in his soffits. Those overhang areas where the gutters attach. There is often a clear path from one end of the house to the other, just outside of the top of that wall where you hear the tapping.

If you have vinyl siding, the soffits sometimes just rest in place with little holding them. A clever squirrel could push up a corner and slip in. Add a live trap outside and relocate as many as you can trap. Try baiting with apple slices, squirrels love them.

Bud

 

It isn't a racoon but I suppose it could be a squirrel. It's a big hole for a squirrel though and having a similar hole at both gable ends is odd. Are there any wood chips lying around? If an animal chewed it's way through that OSB there would be some traces left around.

My first thought was that maybe the previous owner punched a couple of holes for ventilation. More likely some framer punched the holes to rig the gable end for a lift. It's hard to tell from the photo but it looks like there are strap marks on a couple of the rafters.

 

"I'm chuckling and shouldn't be" you're killing me with this bud!!! lol. My wife is certainly taking this better than I am....probably because she isn't climbing into the attic like I am. I was thinking that they were in the soffits running around as well. I reached into one of them and laid a rat trap with peanut butter as bait but it hasn't tripped. I was hoping it would at least step on it running by but nothing. I also have never seen a squirrel in this neighborhood. I don't know what to do. I think I will patch up the holes I sent pictures of and keep monitoring.

Wayne- It's true, I don't any wood chips from the holes and figured they were probably done during constructions. I'm wondering if the facilitate the 'animal' that could be running around so I will patch them.

Wirepuller- I found what looks like mouse droppings in the portion of the attic above the garage. It's not directly connected to the attic portion where I hear the noise coming from but whatever is in there is definitely heavier than a mouse.

 

I money is on squirrel. This is about the time of year they make a move to find warmer spaces. The height seems about right. You need to seal up any holes on the outside as well. They don't need much to fit in. They will chew the crap outta your place and drive you insane doing it. The longer they are there, the harder it will be to keep them out in the future. And you use cookies to bait your trap, you might find me in your attic.

 

My money says you've got either woodpeckers or flickers. The tap-tap-tap is the clue. Neither mice, squirrels or raccoons tap when they chew, but wood-destroying birds do.

I'm speaking from experience--we have several flickers and at least one woodpecker, and they all are doing their best to drill holes in the OSB sheathing in my shop roof. I can easily monitor their progress, as I had the soffit undersides painted white last year, and now there are at least a dozen partial holes in it, about the size of your open holes. They come from underneath, and apparently think there's food in the OSB, or maybe are getting a high on the glue that holds the stuff together.

 

I've had a woodpecker take a shot at the apartment I was living in that had the squirrel problem. It's really loud. The description of "tapping of a fingernail" sounds closer to a rodent gnawing than a woodpecker pecking.