Whatโs Making Noise in My Attic?
If youโre hearing scratching, thumping, or chewing overhead, itโs almost never โjust the house settling.โ In North Georgia, those attic noises are usually a sign that nuisance wildlife has moved into the attic, soffits, or wall voids and started treating your home like theirs.
As a wildlife control and wildlife trapping company, two clues tell us a lot before we ever set a ladder up:
- When you hear the noise
- What time of year it started
Put those clues together and you can often narrow it down to squirrels, rats, mice, flying squirrels, raccoons, bats, birds, or opossums long before we open the attic hatch.
Time-of-Day Clues: What Noises Mean in Your Attic
Early Morning: 4 a.m. โ 8 a.m.
If the first thing you hear in the morning is something racing over your head, youโre probably not imagining it.
Most early morning attic noise in North Georgia comes from gray squirrels, flying squirrels finishing their night, or birds in soffits and vents.
- Gray squirrels are diurnal. Theyโre up with the sun, and they love treating attic decking like their personal racetrack. Homeowners describe it as quick, heavier running or chasing, often right at daybreak.
- Flying squirrels are nocturnal. Youโll sometimes hear softer pattering or light scampering just before sunrise as they come back from feeding and settle into a nesting pocket or attic void.
- Birds nesting in soffits, gable vents, or bathroom fan vents create a different sound: fluttering, wing noise, and chirping near the edges of the roof, not heavy running in the middle of the attic.
If the pattern is โa burst of running at daybreak and again at sunsetโ, squirrels are usually at the top of the list.
Daytime: 8 a.m. โ 6 p.m.
Daytime attic noise is a strong hint youโre dealing with squirrels or birds, not rats.
Gray squirrels are very active during the day. When they move into your attic, youโll often hear quick, heavy scampering, abrupt starts and stops, and sometimes rolling sounds as they drop or stash acorns and other debris. They favor the edges of the attic and roofline, so itโs common to hear them near the soffits, fascia, and gutter line.
You might also hear focused chewing or scratching in one specific spot. Thatโs frequently a squirrel chewing through a construction gap, soffit return, or gable vent to widen its entry hole.
Birds are a bit different. If theyโve taken over a dryer vent, bath fan vent, or decorative gable, youโll notice fluttering, scratching around metal, and a lot of chirping. Most of that sound stays up in the soffit/vent area rather than across the attic floor.
When a homeowner says, โI only hear it during the day, especially morning and late afternoon,โ it almost always points to squirrels or birds, not a rat infestation.
Evening / Dusk: 6 p.m. โ 10 p.m.
Once the sun goes down, a different set of animals wakes up. If noises start at dusk and ramp up into the night, we start thinking about rats, mice, flying squirrels, bats, raccoons, and opossums.
- Rats and mice: light, fast, scratchy noises, often with gnawing. Youโll hear them along walls, above ceilings, and around pipe chases and wiring runs. It often sounds like something small is zipping or scratching in short bursts.
- Flying squirrels: softer skittering and little โlandingโ sounds high in the roofline as they glide and touch down near ridges, valleys, and soffits.
- Bats: you wonโt hear them running laps like squirrels. Instead, you may notice light scratching, subtle squeaks up high, and then silence as they exit through a small gap or gable vent right after dusk.
- Raccoons and opossums: much heavier. When a raccoon stands up and walks across attic joists, many homeowners think a person is up there. You may hear heavy thumps, slow walking, and dragging sounds as they move insulation or nesting material.
If your house is quiet and the noises reliably kick off around dark, youโre squarely in nocturnal wildlife territory.
Late Night / Overnight: 10 p.m. โ 4 a.m.
The dead of night is prime time for rodents, flying squirrels, raccoons, opossums, and bats.
Rats and mice typically create:
- Continuous or repeated scratching
- Quick, light running
- Gnawing sounds in the same spots (they love chewing wood, plastic, and wiring)
Flying squirrels often sound like several tiny animals running and moving togetherโbecause thatโs exactly whatโs happening. They commonly nest as groups, especially in colder months, so homeowners hear a soft flurry of activity rather than a single set of feet.
Raccoons and opossums are the big, slow movers: thuds, dragging, and the sound of weight shifting across ceiling joists.
Bats remain subtle. They roost quietly, shift around a bit, then head out to feed. You may see more evidence outside (staining and bat guano at the exit point) than you ever hear inside.
If you only hear activity once the house is dark and quiet, thereโs a good chance youโve got rats, mice, flying squirrels, raccoons, bats, or opossums using your attic, not just a squirrel passing through.
Seasonal Patterns: Whoโs in Your Attic and When in North Georgia
Time of day tells us what kind of animal weโre dealing with. Time of year tells us why theyโre thereโand whether babies or maternity colonies are involved.
Below is a realistic pattern for North Georgia wildlife in attics.
Winter (December โ February): Moving In for Warmth
Winter is the season of โI just started hearing something in the attic at night.โ
- Rats and mice push indoors hard when outside food and shelter get scarce. Warm attics, crawlspaces, and wall voids become prime real estate.
- Flying squirrels are very active inside structures from late fall through winter. They frequently use attics as communal nesting sites, with several animals sharing one warm space.
- Gray squirrels use attics and soffits as shelters during cold snaps and begin pairing up and breeding in late winter.
- Raccoons may den in attics to avoid the worst of the cold and bad weather.
A homeowner who first hears scratching and light running at night in January, for example, is often dealing with rodents or flying squirrels setting up for the season.
Spring (March โ May): Babies and Nesting Season
Spring is baby season for several attic invaders, and that changes how wildlife removal and exclusion are handled.
- Gray squirrels typically have their first litters from late winter into early spring. By March and April, attics become squirrel nurseries. You may hear more localized scratching in one area and soft baby squeaks as the litter grows.
- Birds begin nesting in soffits, vents, and decorative gables. Thatโs when homeowners notice fluttering and constant activity in specific vent areas.
- Raccoons often use attics as den sites for their kits. Noises include heavier thumps and movement, and sometimes chittering from the young.
- Bats in Georgia enter formal maternity season as of April 1. From April through July, bats form maternity colonies in attic voids and rooflines, and exclusions are restricted because flightless pups canโt be trapped inside.
By May, juvenile squirrels are mobile. Thatโs when you hear what sounds like three or four squirrels racing and wrestling overheadโbecause thatโs exactly whatโs happening.
Summer (June โ August): High Bat Activity, Persistent Rodents
Summer doesnโt magically fix attic wildlife problems; it just shifts which animals you notice most.
- Bats are in peak maternity mode through June and into July. Adult bats leave at dusk to feed, while pups remain inside until theyโre strong enough to fly. By late July and August, young bats are learning to fly and exploring new roost spots.
- Rats and mice stay busy all year. Warm weather doesnโt push them back outside; if theyโve found a safe, food-adjacent environment in your home, theyโll happily keep using it.
- Squirrels may spend more time outside when food is abundant but will continue using an existing attic nest if access is easy.
- Raccoons and opossums may still use attics and roof systems, especially if a den site was established earlier in the year.
This is often when homeowners see more visual evidence of wildlife (guano, staining, rub marks) even if the noise level isnโt as dramatic as winter and early spring.
Fall (September โ November): Preparing for the Next Winter
Fall is the setup season for a lot of winter problems.
- Gray squirrels start heavy acorn caching and often re-test old entry points or chew new gaps as they prepare for colder weather.
- Rats and mice increase their push into homes as nights cool off and outside food sources change.
- Flying squirrels ramp up toward their main attic season, moving into roof and attic spaces as temperatures drop.
- If bats have used your structure as a maternity roost, fall is often when they shift or explore new roost optionsโand when homeowners finally notice the staining and guano where theyโve been coming and going.
New noises that start in October or Novemberโespecially nighttime scratching and gnawingโare textbook โanimals moving in for winterโ, not random one-off visitors.
Why These Clues Matter for Wildlife Control
Putting time of day and season together gives a good wildlife company enough information to walk in with a working theory: squirrel issue, rodent issue, raccoon den, flying squirrel colony, or bat maternity colony.
That matters because proper wildlife control is not โset a couple traps and hope for the best.โ Itโs:
- Identifying the correct species based on patterns, droppings, entry points, and sign
- Using species-appropriate wildlife trapping and removal methods
- Timing bat work around Georgiaโs April 1 โ July 31 maternity restrictions
- Designing a wildlife exclusion plan that seals construction gaps, soffit returns, gable vents, dormers, and pipe chases with critter-proof materials so the problem doesnโt simply restart next season
Done right, you donโt just stop the noises temporarilyโyou evict the animals and lock the doors behind them.
What to Do If Youโre Hearing Attic Noises in North Georgia
If youโre in North Georgia and starting to hear noises in the attic:
- Pay attention to when you hear it: sunrise, daytime, dusk, or late night.
- Note what month you first noticed the problem: winter, baby season, summer, or fall.
- Listen to how it sounds: light and fast, heavy and slow, scratching, running, chewing, or fluttering.
Those details are exactly what a professional wildlife trapping and wildlife control company needs to quickly narrow down whether you likely have squirrels, rats, mice, flying squirrels, raccoons, bats, birds, or opossums in your home.
From there, a full inspection of the roofline, attic, and exterior will confirm the species, locate entry points, and build a permanent exclusion plan so the noises in your attic stopโand stay gone.