Noises in Your Attic? Here's What's Living Up There

Last spring, a homeowner in Kennesaw called us in a panic. She'd been hearing thumping sounds in her attic for three weeks straight. At first she assumed it was tree branches hitting the roof — her neighborhood is full of mature oaks and pines. But the sounds kept coming, every morning around 6 AM and again around dusk. When she finally went into the attic with a flashlight, she found shredded insulation, droppings everywhere, and chew marks on two electrical wires. A family of gray squirrels had turned her attic into a nursery.

Her story is one we hear almost every week across Metro Atlanta. Attic noises are the number-one reason homeowners call wildlife removal companies in Georgia, and for good reason — those sounds almost always mean something is living up there, and every day you wait, the damage grows.

Identifying the Animal by Sound

The type of noise, the time of day, and the location in your attic all provide clues about which animal has moved in. Here's a breakdown based on the species we encounter most often in the Atlanta metro area:

Gray squirrels are the most common attic invaders in Georgia. You'll hear them during the day — especially in the early morning (5:30–7:30 AM) and late afternoon (4:00–6:00 PM). The sounds include rapid scurrying across the attic floor, rolling or tumbling noises (squirrels cache acorns and nuts), and persistent gnawing. Squirrels are loud and energetic. If it sounds like someone is running sprints in your attic during daylight hours, squirrels are the most likely culprit.

Flying squirrels sound similar to gray squirrels but are active at night. They're colonial — meaning you might have 10–20 in your attic at once. You'll hear soft, rapid scurrying and scratching after dark, often in the walls as well as overhead. Many homeowners mistake flying squirrels for mice because of their light footsteps, but the sheer volume of activity (multiple animals running simultaneously) is a giveaway.

Raccoons make heavy thumping and walking sounds, almost exclusively at night. If it sounds like a person walking around in your attic, it's almost certainly a raccoon. Adult raccoons weigh 15–40 pounds, and they don't try to be quiet. Females with babies create additional noise — chirping, crying, and shuffling. Raccoons also vocalize with growling, purring, and chattering sounds that carry through ceilings.

Bats are the quietest attic invaders. You'll hear high-pitched squeaking and fluttering at dusk (as the colony leaves to feed) and dawn (as they return). During the day, you may hear faint scratching as bats crawl along walls and rafters inside the attic. A large colony — and colonies in Georgia attics can number 50–200+ individuals — produces a noticeable collective rustling sound.

Rats and mice make light, fast scratching and scurrying sounds, most often inside walls and ceilings rather than in open attic space. You'll hear them running along pipes, ductwork, and wall cavities. Gnawing sounds are common — rodents must constantly chew to keep their teeth from overgrowing. Rats are louder than mice and tend to travel the same paths repeatedly, so you'll hear sounds in the same spots night after night.

Opossums occasionally enter attics through damaged soffits or open gable vents. They make slow, heavy shuffling sounds — less energetic than raccoons but still clearly a large animal. Opossums are nocturnal and solitary, so you'll typically hear just one animal moving slowly.

A Seasonal Guide to Attic Invasions in Georgia

Wildlife behavior in Metro Atlanta follows predictable seasonal patterns that directly affect when your attic is most vulnerable:

• January–March (Late Winter/Early Spring): Gray squirrels have their first litter. Pregnant females seek warm, protected spaces — your attic is ideal. This is the busiest season for squirrel calls.
• March–May (Spring): Raccoon mothers give birth and look for den sites. Bats begin returning from winter roosts and forming maternity colonies. Bird nesting season begins.
• May–August (Summer): Bat maternity colonies are fully established. Flying squirrels are active. Juvenile raccoons start exploring on their own. Second squirrel breeding season begins in July–August.
• September–November (Fall): Squirrels cache food aggressively and seek winter den sites. Rats and mice move indoors as temperatures drop. Bat colonies begin dispersing.
• November–January (Winter): Rodent activity peaks indoors. Raccoons seek warm crawlspaces and attics. Squirrels hunker down in established attic nests.

Understanding these patterns helps explain why you're hearing noises at a particular time of year — and why timing matters for removal.

The Sound Comparison Table

Here's a quick reference to help you identify what's in your attic based on what you're hearing:

• Daytime scurrying + gnawing → Gray squirrels
• Nighttime scurrying (light, multiple animals) → Flying squirrels
• Nighttime heavy thumping → Raccoons
• Dusk/dawn fluttering + squeaking → Bats
• Nighttime scratching in walls → Rats or mice
• Slow shuffling at night → Opossum

Why You Shouldn't Ignore Attic Noises

Every day wildlife spends in your attic, the damage compounds. Here's what happens when you wait:

Week 1–2: The animal establishes a nest, begins leaving droppings, and may start chewing on accessible materials. Damage is still minor and removal is straightforward.

Week 3–4: Chewing damage accelerates. Squirrels target wiring, wood beams, and PVC pipes. Raccoons tear apart insulation and ductwork. Droppings accumulate. A squirrel discovered at this stage typically costs $300–$500 to remove and seal.

Month 2–3: Insulation contamination becomes significant. Urine soaks through insulation and may stain ceilings below. Chewed wiring becomes a genuine fire hazard. If the animal is a female, babies may be born, doubling or tripling the population. Damage costs climb to $1,000–$2,000.

Month 3+: Full attic restoration may be required — contaminated insulation removal, sanitization, new insulation, wiring repair. Costs can reach $3,000–$5,000 or more. Secondary damage like water intrusion through chewed roof components adds further expense.

The Kennesaw homeowner we mentioned at the start? By the time she called us, her three-week delay had resulted in two chewed electrical wires, about 200 square feet of contaminated insulation, and a litter of four baby squirrels. Total restoration cost: $2,800. If she'd called in week one, it would have been under $500.

Why DIY Attic Noise Solutions Fail

We understand the temptation to handle it yourself. But here's why DIY approaches almost always fail — and sometimes make things worse:

Mothballs and repellents: No repellent — commercial or homemade — has been scientifically proven to reliably drive wildlife from an attic. Mothballs contain naphthalene, which is toxic to humans and pets in enclosed spaces. Peppermint oil, ammonia-soaked rags, and ultrasonic devices have all been tested and found ineffective against determined wildlife.

Sealing holes without removing animals first: This is the most common and most dangerous DIY mistake. If you seal an animal inside your attic, it will desperately chew through walls, wiring, and even drywall to escape — causing far more damage than the original problem. If you seal a mother raccoon away from her babies, she will tear through your roof to get back to them.

Setting traps without a plan: Even if you successfully trap one squirrel, there may be more. And if you don't seal the entry points, new animals will move in within days. Trapping without exclusion is a temporary fix at best.

Missing entry points: Homeowners typically find 1–2 obvious holes. Our inspections routinely identify 5–10+ potential entry points on a single home. Miss one, and you're back to square one.

What a Professional Inspection Looks Like

When you call The Outdoors Group for attic noises, here's exactly what happens:

1. Free on-site inspection. One of our licensed technicians visits your home — usually same-day or next business day. We inspect your attic interior, your entire roofline, soffits, fascia, gable vents, foundation, and every utility penetration.
2. Species identification. Based on droppings, tracks, chew patterns, and entry point characteristics, we identify exactly which animal is in your attic.
3. Damage assessment. We document all existing damage — chewed wiring, contaminated insulation, structural damage, torn ductwork — and photograph everything.
4. Written proposal. You receive a detailed, written proposal covering removal, exclusion (sealing), and any recommended repairs. No surprises, no hidden fees.
5. Humane removal and exclusion. We use one-way exclusion devices, live trapping, and other humane methods to remove animals safely. We never use poisons.
6. Permanent sealing. Every entry point is sealed with galvanized metal and commercial-grade materials that animals can't chew through.
7. Restoration (if needed). Contaminated insulation removal, sanitization, new insulation installation, wiring repair — all done in-house by our own crew.

Does Homeowner's Insurance Cover Wildlife Damage?

This is one of the most common questions we get, and the answer is: it depends. Most standard homeowner's insurance policies in Georgia do not cover wildlife removal itself. However, many policies do cover the resulting damage — particularly if it involves structural components, roofing, or electrical systems.

Here's what we recommend: call your insurance company and ask specifically about "animal damage" coverage. Some policies cover attic restoration (insulation replacement, sanitization) if it's deemed a health hazard. Others cover roof repair if a raccoon tore through decking. We provide detailed invoices and damage documentation that many of our customers have successfully used for insurance claims.

We've seen homeowners in Cobb County, Douglas County, and Fayette County successfully file claims for $2,000–$5,000 in wildlife-related damage restoration. It's always worth asking.

The Bottom Line: Don't Wait

If you're hearing noises in your attic — any noises, at any time of day — call a licensed wildlife removal company immediately. The longer you wait, the more it costs. The Outdoors Group provides free inspections throughout Metro Atlanta and West Georgia, covering Fulton, Cobb, Douglas, Paulding, Fayette, Coweta, Clayton, Henry, DeKalb, Rockdale, Gwinnett, and Forsyth counties.

We've been doing this since 2009. We've removed thousands of animals from thousands of attics across the region. We don't use subcontractors — our own licensed, insured crew handles every step from inspection to restoration. And every job is backed by our 100% written guarantee.

Call (770) 545-4388 today or schedule your free inspection online. The sooner you call, the less it costs — and the sooner you'll sleep without hearing footsteps overhead.