Trust me; it’s not a hippopotamus on the roof eating cake!

Sometimes during the night & even in the day we may hear strange noises coming from the house. Often this can be just the house settling or a branch falling onto the roof. If some of our readers are like me, they probably won’t mention anything to anyone the first time they hear something as to not look like a fool. (Personally it took me 3 days of hearing noises in my roof to mention it to my husband.. and even then he thought I was nuts!)

But what happens when the bump in the night becomes bumps over many nights?

After hearing the same noises, either bumps or scratches over a few nights you really begin to wonder what is going on up there in the dark of the night, and yes I completely understand the thought that something is going to fall down on your head is very common!

Let me explain what happened with me… just so you don’t feel like you’re alone!

It happened in the area I have my home office set up, I starting to hear quite a loud thumping noise in my roof, followed by a scattering and squeaking noise, the first time I heard it, I ignored it, thinking I was hearing things. Then it kept happening so the heroine in me picked up a broom and I banged the roof, when I would do this, things would go quiet!

Whatever it was, didn’t like me banging on the ceiling, I thought I was giving it a taste of its own medicine…. I didn’t like its noises either…

I knew there had to be something up there, but the thought that it could be a rat, scared the living day lights out of me, and to make things worse the area near where the I was hearing the noises there is an air vent in the wall.

I would honestly look up with fear and these horrid visions of a rats head appearing from the air vents or even worse that it would bang hard enough and fall through the roof on top of my head! Little to say, I moved my desk!

After hearing the noises over a few days, I was convinced I was not nuts, but try getting whatever was up there to make noise when someone else was around was a challenge, I needed someone else to hear what I was hearing so they could back up my case that I was not psycho, and the little bugger wouldn’t make a noise when anyone else was around, I was convinced it was out to get me.

Eventually, I spoke to one of our techs and the first thing I said was … I am NOT nuts, I am not loosing the plot, but im sure there is something in the roof! He came out had a look and to my relief it was only some birds looking to build a nest in my roof… I was shocked that small birds could make SUCH a loud noise!

Anyway, the purpose of me sharing my story is so that others can see they are not alone, we understand and we are here to help!

The roof void and wall space is an ideal hiding ground for rodents, possums and even birds. It is best to try to figure out what is happening before calling pest control, because the consultant will ask you what times you are hearing the noises, this is simply just so that we can assist you faster and provide you with a solution that is going to work!

The easiest tool used to figure out what’s going on, is simply the time you’re hearing the noises.

EARLY MORNING

If you are hearing noises early in the morning, listen carefully can you hear chirping, can you see any birds flying near into your roof, go outside early in the morning and observe the area you are hearing noises from, is there birds flying into your roof?

If so, the noises you are hearing are birds looking for somewhere to nest, call us to organize a technician to come out and remove the nest. The last thing anyone wants is a bird lice infestation after the birds have flown the nest!

SUNRISE/SUNSET

If you are hearing noise more at sunrise or sunset, if you can hear loud thumping or bangs and even if you can hear scary hissing and heavy breathing then your roof may be housing a possum or two. If you have someone home who is willing to go up into the roof space and have a look around with a torch, this would be a good idea!

Be weary though, possums can be aggressive! If you suspect you have or know you have a possum in your call us to organise a tech to come out and place a possum cage in the roof space. You will need to check the cage daily and once caught, you will need to call as out ASAP so the possum does not become overheated, dehydrate and die.

Note: it is illegal to kill possums as they are a protected Australian Fauna.

ALL NIGHT

If you are hearing noises throughout the night then it is possible you have a rodent (rat) infestation in your roof. Rats tend to come inside your roof, looking to make nests to have their babies, or to escape the heat/cold. No one likes the thought of having rats in their roof, and rightly so, due to the diseases rats carry.

You can have the man of the house go up and have a look to see if he can see any droppings, Don’t expect to see live rodents, as they can hide really well, especially when they don’t want to be caught. If you suspect rodent activity in your roof call us today as rats have the ability to chew through electrical wiring in your roof as they need to constantly gnaw on items to keep their teeth short.

 If you are hearing noises at night or during the day and are not sure what to do,

don’t delay give us a call on 1800 819 189

and discuss it with a team that understands!