Something is living in my ceiling and driving me quite insane. plz help


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Old 05-01-11, 04:05 AM
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Something is living in my ceiling and driving me quite insane. plz help

Hi. I am reaching out for some help here from an expert or anyone who has experience or may know.

I will start at the beginning.

For the LONGEST time when I was up late at night 1am-5am ish, in the kitchen, I would hear these weird sounds coming from the ceiling.

It sounded to me like something was moving or crawling around. When I moved, it would move too! And I could hear it moving. It sounded as if it was moving in many different places though at once in the ceiling.

It's been driving me insane, I first thought it was just the house creaking or cracking, but I can assure you it is not! No one else can hear it in my house but me! They just dismiss it as nothing.. It only happens at late at night as well and only in the kitchen usually only when I am awake at these late hours of the night.

We have one of those ceilings that you can lift up a foot or so before the real ceiling.

Now, I am praying to God that it is squirrels. But something else is telling me it is not squirrels. If it is squirrels or birds I can live with that, if it is bats or insects well, I will freak out.

There are a bunch of squirrels next door that my neighbor feeds. They seem to always be around, the squirrels appear outside around 7 am. I don't know if these same squirrels could be living inside the ceiling somehow.

This is what it sounds like as I can best describe it..

I walk downstairs move a couple things around and make some noise, then I hear a sound in the ceiling, like a moving sound. It sounds like something very small, but not just one thing unless it can move rather quick. It is also like whatever is moving up there has a mind because whatever it is I can sense it and it can sense me! I move, and the sound follows me! Like whatever it is is moving around the ceiling with me, following me in the kitchen, making more sounds. Almost as if it's trying to mess with my head. I am not delusional, there is seriously something in my ceiling that is moving around.

Last night I think there are multiple things up there because it made sounds in different spots at once almost like it was choreographed!

Please if anyone knows what it is please help me.
 
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Old 05-01-11, 05:56 AM
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My guess is a squirrel family or mice. Is there an accessible attic space above? If so, try putting some mouse traps around in you cupboards and the attic. You can get a live trap for squirrels at most home centers. One brand is Hav A Hart.

Whatever the critter is, you are going to have to find out how they are getting into your house and block the entrance.
 
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Old 05-01-11, 06:19 AM
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First, stop thinking that the noise is following you-no insects, rodent, birds, etc would do that. You are probably too focused on it and are freaking yourself out. Remind yourself that you are ultimately smarter than whatever is making the noise. At this point we don't know for sure that it is anything alive making the noise. No, it is not ghosts, either! ha, ha. Pardon my joking, I'm in a good mood this morn.

At the time of day you describe, the house and environ is quiet-possibly branches on roof/siding, water in drain from upstairs leaky toilet, drop ceiling tiles moving slightly from air currents from wind or opening/closing doors (this sound would "follow" you). These are simply some examples.

You have to lift the ceiling tiles, look in attic, for any evidence, damage, droppings, etc. Squirrels, at least here in Pa. would make a lot of noise and tear up insulation and damage stored material. Consider setting mouse traps, rat traps, squirrel traps depending on what evidence you find. If you don't want to tackle this, consider asking a friend to look/do it for you. Otherwise, ask trusted people who they've hired for nuisance animal control and had good experience with. Keep us posted with what you find or don't find.
 
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Old 05-01-11, 06:33 AM
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Yes, I agree that you could be over-thinking this problem a bit.

We live in a rural area in a two story house that was moved to our lot and put on a wooden full basement foundation.
There is no indication in the drywall or door alignment of any movement but spring and fall we get occasional random creaking sounds......mostly at night.
In the first few years of our being here we thought someone is in the house.
After awhile our kids would jokingly offer to leave some milk and cookies out so the ghosts might eat and leave sooner.

I don't think you have much to worry about, just do as suggested and everything will be fine.
 
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Old 05-01-11, 03:04 PM
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Originally Posted by GregH
Yes, I agree that you could be over-thinking this problem a bit.

We live in a rural area in a two story house that was moved to our lot and put on a wooden full basement foundation.
There is no indication in the drywall or door alignment of any movement but spring and fall we get occasional random creaking sounds......mostly at night.
In the first few years of our being here we thought someone is in the house.
After awhile our kids would jokingly offer to leave some milk and cookies out so the ghosts might eat and leave sooner.

I don't think you have much to worry about, just do as suggested and everything will be fine.
Hi, thanks for taking the time to respond. I agree I could be over thinking it. And I should really not focus too much on it. For me the creaking sounds are not random (at least for me) because I believe I have found a pattern to them.
 
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Old 05-01-11, 03:10 PM
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Originally Posted by PAbugman
First, stop thinking that the noise is following you-no insects, rodent, birds, etc would do that. You are probably too focused on it and are freaking yourself out. Remind yourself that you are ultimately smarter than whatever is making the noise. At this point we don't know for sure that it is anything alive making the noise. No, it is not ghosts, either! ha, ha. Pardon my joking, I'm in a good mood this morn.

At the time of day you describe, the house and environ is quiet-possibly branches on roof/siding, water in drain from upstairs leaky toilet, drop ceiling tiles moving slightly from air currents from wind or opening/closing doors (this sound would "follow" you). These are simply some examples.

You have to lift the ceiling tiles, look in attic, for any evidence, damage, droppings, etc. Squirrels, at least here in Pa. would make a lot of noise and tear up insulation and damage stored material. Consider setting mouse traps, rat traps, squirrel traps depending on what evidence you find. If you don't want to tackle this, consider asking a friend to look/do it for you. Otherwise, ask trusted people who they've hired for nuisance animal control and had good experience with. Keep us posted with what you find or don't find.
Hi thank you for taking the time to respond.

I will stop thinking the noises are following me, but I cannot help but think they do, when I am in the kitchen. Like I am I am positive I am not hallucinating or anything like that. I will remind myself that whatever is making that noise I am smarter than it.

I take your possibilities into consideration and I do not rule them out entirely. But if it were branches or air current, I think I would know. I understand that air current, when a door opens or closes etc can make it appear as if strange things happen. Like if i open a door in the basement and the window moves in my room, from the air current, etc. I think it could be air current but even when I don't move and I stand totally still, it still happens. And the air current would have to be flowing in such a pattern that I think the chances of air current are ruled out.

Reading the line, 'you have to lift the ceiling panels' , makes me cringe. When I was a young kid I had this dream that all these insects emerged from the ground inside my house, it was a nightmare. However, you are right. The only way to know for sure is to lift up those ceiling tiles and do some investigating. If it is squirrels I don't think they are chewing the electrical because they have so many nuts that my neighbor gives them I doubt they are hungry.

I will investigate this matter, or get someone to investigate and I will post back what I find just in-case someone else has a similar problem maybe my findings can help them!
 
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Old 05-01-11, 03:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Wayne Mitchell
My guess is a squirrel family or mice. Is there an accessible attic space above? If so, try putting some mouse traps around in you cupboards and the attic. You can get a live trap for squirrels at most home centers. One brand is Hav A Hart.

Whatever the critter is, you are going to have to find out how they are getting into your house and block the entrance.
Hi. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

There is an attic space in the other room, nearby. It has not been touched or opened in several years. I always asked my dad to lets go in there and explore and he would always say no. He may have even said there was a bee nest in there to scare me from going in there.

The traps sound like a good idea. I don't like to hurt any animals I just really want whatever it is out of the ceiling. There was a mouse living in the garage a long time ago so maybe they somehow got into the ceiling.

I would be sooo utterly relieved if I find out it is squirrels or mice. That I can handle. Even birds and i'd be 'happy'. I think it could be a squirrel or mice family but out of all this time I would think I would hear a squirrel or mice kinda sound, accompanying the movement, but I don't. Unless they are good at being really quiet. I do notice that these squirrels, about 5 or so of them that look exactly the same are always near my neighbors house because they feed them nuts.
 
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Old 05-01-11, 04:35 PM
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If you are uncomfortable investigating these noises, hire a pro. They do this sort of thing for a living and the reputable ones are very good at what they do.

The important thing to remember is THERE IS NOTHING SPOOKY IN YOUR HOUSE! There may be unidentified noises but they can all be explained.

Several years ago we were hearing strange scratching noises in the attic above our bedroom. I investigated several times and I could find nothing. The noises weren't my imagination but there was nothing there. One morning I was lying in bed and I looked up at the ceiling and a small area of the ceiling was moving! That sort of freaked me out. While I was watching, a small hole magically appeared in the ceiling. That also freaked me out. Then about a dozen paper wasps crawled through the hole onto my bedroom ceiling. They had actually eaten all the way through the sheetrock. I didn't know wasps would do that, but I sure knew how to fix it.

Just this winter my wife complained that she was hearing strange noises in the kitchen wall and when I went into the basement to investigate I noted some things were moved or tipped over but I found nothing. My wife kept complaining but I heard nothing so I chalked it up to wifely nerves. Then one day I opened the cellar door and a squirrel was sitting on the steps looking at me. Within a couple of hours he was in a trap. Noise problem solved.

The point is, household noises are common and they are explainable. It's just a matter of identifying the source so that you can fix it.
 
 

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