# What critter is in my attic? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 1, 2007, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373 "2007-02-01T03:31:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/21 "2007-02-02T03:47:55Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] Enriched uranium is good. He _loves_ nuclear chaos. However, once you find him, your only chance for survival is to somehow cast him back through time, to the primordial monobloc. This is easier said than done. [/QUOTE] I checked the Havahart website, and I can special order a Havahart trap with HEU bait and a primordial monobloc conduit. How cool is that! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/22 "2007-02-02T04:02:57Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] I checked the Havahart website, and I can special order a Havahart trap with HEU bait and a primordial monobloc conduit. How cool is that! [/QUOTE] Ooh! Cool! They finally integrated the Stantz/Spengler polydimensional containment field into the design. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/23 "2007-02-02T04:29:01Z")
[QUOTE=Laggard] The OP has Republicans in their attic? :eek: [/QUOTE] Well they have to go to the attic as under the bed is too crowded with Commies. I’m voting for racoon, mostly because that’s what we had. And that’s what they sounded like. And they’re nocternal.And they can climb so could get a higher floor. And the gnawing may one building a nest ( :eek: ). One day we were sitting there by the window and saw a racoon skitter out of the attic carrying a tiny baby racoonin her moth like a kitten. It was adorable. Particularly because it meant they were leaving. ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/24 "2007-02-02T04:46:13Z")
I vote raccoon. There was one behind my apartment wall once, which the maintenance men found after they got through patting me on the head and assuring me that nothing could get into where I said the sound was coming from, love. Uh huh. Anyway, it was a raccoon. It sounded much larger than a raccoon when it was doing its scratching at night, and gnawing was a featured activity. If you do run across it in person, be careful. Angry or frightened raccoons are meaner and more dangerous than you might think. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/25 "2007-02-02T05:23:40Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] Time to get out the flashlight and go exploring. I can borrow a Havahart trap. What kind of bait should I try for Azathoth or Níðhöggr? I don’t think our local grocery store carries Yggdrasill roots. And, I’m sorry, people. “Roof rat” sounds to me like “sand shark” or “snow snake.” [/QUOTE] It’s a genuine critter, I assure you: [http://www.pestproducts.com/roof\_rats.htm](http://www.pestproducts.com/roof_rats.htm) Look for rat droppings (tons of black crap, same shape as grains of rice but bigger) and long greasy “skid marks” along pipes or trees or other pathways along/up your house. I had plenty of skittering and gnawing noises in my attic at night for a long time. I’ve closed off some (but probably not all) of their paths outside the house and found one attic vent that the mesh had come off of which I fixed. So far things have been pretty quiet. Plus I got a cat. Rats can get in through amazingly small openings (like an inch or less) so it takes a little work to seal up all entrances but it’s not rocket science. Like I said, trim all vegetation way back (they recommended four feet here) from the roof, find every hole in your house (crawlspace to roof) and rodent-proof it with hardware cloth (fastened securely - little staples won’t do it). Look at pipes and cables and stuff as well, there will be evidence of critter activity and you may find openings into your house you’d otherwise miss. Check the soffit vents (attic vents under the roof overhang), make sure that they are covered with wire mesh. Raccoons are huge - 10-20lbs. That’s a big cat or a small dog, I imagine they’d need a pretty noticeable hole to get in and out. ---
**Author:** ![stanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@stanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stanger)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/26 "2007-02-02T05:53:15Z")
Good bet that it is a racoon. I have had problems with them around the house and have had to relocate about four of them. Had them get in the attic too. The Hav-A-Hart trap is good, but make sure you get one big enough for a racoon. You can usually guess which way they leave the house to forage at night, usually by their tracks. Put the trap near where they seem to travel. Bait the trip-pad, the entrance to the trap and around the trap with marshmallows. I ran a wire through a bunch of marshmallows and tied them to the sides of the cage above the trip-pad so they had to stand on the pad to get the marshmallows off the wire. Otherwise, the smart little bastards would eat the bait and not set off the trap. Once the trap is sprung, they will spend the rest of the night trying to claw their ay out. They will flip the cage over and this can allow them to open the trap doors. I ran a couple of old broomsticks through the wire mesh of the cage to keep them from rolling it over, but they just chewed through the handles and rolled it anyway. I finally nailed the trap down to a long wide board to keep the trap upright. When you release them, put the trap about ten feet away from a bush or shrub and open the trap door with a wire or bent coathanger. The racoon will usually make a run for the bushes, which is just what you want. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/27 "2007-02-02T15:36:16Z")
We once had flying squirrels in our attic. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/28 "2007-02-02T15:48:39Z")
The first winter in my farmhouse I had rats. Sometimes it sounded like they were bowling up there. And although they lived in the attic, they made forays into the kitchen for food. It was awful. I tried traps, cats and dogs and finally put down poison. StG ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/29 "2007-02-02T15:50:16Z")
[QUOTE=Valgard] Look for rat droppings (tons of black crap, same shape as grains of rice but bigger) and long greasy “skid marks” along pipes or trees or other pathways along/up your house. [/QUOTE] Black rat crap and skidmarks?!??? :eek: Oh. Not those kind of skidmarks, I guess. **Bosa** , just flying squirrels? No moose? They must have gone to the attic because Boris and Natasha are under the bed with the rest of the Commies. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/30 "2007-02-02T16:38:22Z")
It might be an ocelot; I found one in my attic once. My neighbor down the hill owned a couple and they’d escape from time to time. They’re usually only violent if provoked, so, no poking with sticks. ---
**Author:** ![ethelbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ethelbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethelbert)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/31 "2007-02-02T19:08:58Z")
Whatever it is, you want to get it out soon, before spring. If it has babies, they are staying for a while. If it is in an attic that you have access to, you might have success in trapping it, but if it is in the soffit, things might be more difficult. You should also be aware that in some states it is [illegal](http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/dfwmoving.htm) to trap and relocate animals. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/32 "2007-02-02T19:22:50Z")
[QUOTE=ethelbert] Whatever it is, you want to get it out soon, before spring. If it has babies, they are staying for a while. If it is in an attic that you have access to, you might have success in trapping it, but if it is in the soffit, things might be more difficult. You should also be aware that in some states it is [illegal](http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/dfwmoving.htm) to trap and relocate animals. [/QUOTE] Yes, I’ve dealt with both issues before, with the @)#(_@)(_! groundhogs (yes, I know it’s their day and all, but I hate those fat-assed hosta-chomping fuckers) and their offspring, and with a raccoon in our chicken house. Couldn’t shoot it, because we were in city limits (oh, and we didn’t have a gun either), and couldn’t trap and relocate it. Our city’s finest came to our aid and did the deed. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2007, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/33 "2007-02-02T19:26:17Z")
Probably just your mother-in-law. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/34 "2007-02-03T00:24:46Z")
[QUOTE=Muffin] Probably just your mother-in-law. [/QUOTE] :eek: You had me worried. But I just checked her restraints. She’s still in the garage. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/35 "2007-02-03T12:56:03Z")
[QUOTE=Muffin] Probably just your mother-in-law. [/QUOTE] Or your husband’s first wife. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/36 "2007-02-03T13:17:28Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] **Bosa** , just flying squirrels? No moose? They must have gone to the attic because Boris and Natasha are under the bed with the rest of the Commies. [/QUOTE] No moose. Merely meeces. Which I hate. To pieces. 😛 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.nuggets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Dr.nuggets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.nuggets)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/37 "2007-02-03T16:57:12Z")
possibly a beaver? you did say big teeth my uncle in maine had a beaver in his house once when i was little so its possible ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/38 "2007-02-04T00:52:07Z")
[QUOTE=Dr.nuggets] possibly a beaver? you did say big teeth my uncle in maine had a beaver in his house once when i was little so its possible [/QUOTE] A beaver? In his attic? ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/39 "2007-02-04T02:44:40Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] A beaver? In his attic? [/QUOTE] Beaver in the attic? Ocelot in the attic? I vote for the latter, because…BAND NAME! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2007, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373/40 "2007-02-07T22:48:00Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] Beaver in the attic? Ocelot in the attic? I vote for the latter, because…BAND NAME! [/QUOTE] [Monks] I’ve got an Ocelot in me attic, and I don’t know what to do with it. [chorus]Ocelot in his attic![/chorus] [chorus]Ocelot in his attic![/chorus] I’VE GOT AN OCELOT IN ME ATTIC, AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT! [chorus]Ocelot in his attic![/chorus] [chorus]Ocelot in his attic![/chorus] [/Monks] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-critter-is-in-my-attic/390373.md?page=1)