If you’ve come upon this article, you’ve likely heard strange noises from within your walls consistently. If the easiest description you could use is a tapping or clicking sort of sound, it can mean both good news and bad news. Luckily, you don’t have to worry about any poltergeists. But, unfortunately, it means that you are most likely battling an infestation in your home. The only question now is what kind of infestation it is.
According to exterminators, this occurrence is indicative of three possible major culprits. See if these match what you have so that you can adequately deal with them:
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Termites
These little critters burrow into the walls, and whenever they feel a threat, it is in their nature to start alerting the entire colony. Movement beyond the walls that they find their way into is more likely to warn them. Although if you hear their signal without any prompting from your end, you may be facing a worse case and may need to prepare for a lot of termites.
The sound you’ll hear from this would be continuous rapid tapping, almost as if someone was spilling marbles on the floor endlessly. That’s because the termites start banging their heads into the tunnels they’ve burrowed to create vibrations that send out the warning signal to their fellow colony members.
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Rodents
If the tapping noises you hear move around a bit and seem like they scatter about the walls, especially during the night, you may be looking at a rodent problem. Mice often like living in the same environments as people do. However, they prefer to make nests in secluded spaces, so walls can provide them the perfect hideout that still offers easy access to any food you might leave in the trash or lying about.
Listen to the nature of the tapping noise, as you may be hearing little rats scampering about your walls climbing through pipes and the like. A good way to check is also to look for any droppings nearby and holes in the wall.
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Wildlife
For this, you may have to keep track of when you hear the noises, as it may help you determine whether you hear nocturnal creatures or animals who are active in the daytime. That could spell anything from squirrels and raccoons to even birds from the outside.
Identify if your walls have any crawl spaces that are accessible from the outside. Make sure you are not hearing residual noise that is coming from your ceiling. It can further help you narrow down what is causing the noise. Also, check surrounding exteriors, as doing this may help you spot pathways or even nests that can be housing birds that are making the noise.
The first step to getting rid of the problem is rooting out the source. With an infestation, not taking action can spell more problems than bothersome noises. Don’t lose hope, though, as there are several ways to quell an infestation before it implodes. If you identify your case and find that it’s much more severe than you can handle, numerous pest control services cater to different issues.
