If you’re hearing mice or rats in the loft, the time of day is the quickest clue. Scratching at night is usually mice or rats. Thumping early in the morning is usually squirrels, chirping in spring is birds, and bats often go unnoticed for years. The droppings settle it.
This guide goes through each one: what it sounds like, when you’ll hear it, what it leaves behind and who to call. Three of them are a job for a pest controller. Two of them aren’t, and the law is strict about both.
How can I tell what’s in my loft?
Listen for when the noise happens, then check the droppings. Night scratching points to mice or rats, daytime thumping to squirrels, spring chirping to birds.
| When you hear it | What it sounds like | Droppings | Who to call | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mice | Night | Light, quick scratching | Small and dark, about the size of a grain of rice | A pest controller |
| Rats | Night | Heavier scratching and gnawing | Larger, about the size of a raisin | A pest controller |
| Squirrels | Early morning and daytime | Running, thumping, things rolling | Larger and rounder, near where they get in | A pest controller |
| Birds | Daytime, mostly spring and summer | Chirping, fluttering, scratching at the eaves | White-streaked, near the nest | Nobody while the nest is in use. A roofer afterwards |
| Bats | Often nothing, sometimes squeaking at dusk | Usually silent | Like mouse droppings, but they crumble to dust | The National Bat Helpline, 0345 1300 228 |
The Bat Conservation Trust’s crumble test is the quickest way to tell bats from mice. Roll a dropping in a tissue between finger and thumb. If it crumbles under light pressure, it’s a bat dropping. Mouse droppings stay hard.
Is it squirrels in the loft?
Probably, if the noise is heavy and comes early in the morning or in daytime. Squirrels sleep at night, so noise after dark usually isn’t them.
A grey squirrel is much heavier than a rat, so it sounds like something running, thumping and rolling across the boards. You’ll often see them too: on the roof, along the gutter, or going in and out at the same corner of the eaves.
In the loft, look for shredded insulation pulled into a nest, chewed timber and cables with the coating stripped off. Squirrels can’t legally be released, so they need a pest controller. Our guide to squirrels in the loft covers the signs, the law and how they’re removed, and James does squirrel pest control across Fareham and Gosport.
Is it mice or rats in the loft?
Probably, if the noise is at night. Mice make a light, quick scratching. Rats are heavier, gnaw more and leave much bigger droppings.
Mouse droppings are about the size of a grain of rice. Rat droppings are closer to a raisin. Both leave greasy smear marks along the routes they run, and both chew: food packets, insulation, timber and cables. Rats in the loft have often come up from below, through the wall cavity or a broken drain, rather than in through the roof.
It matters which one it is, because the treatment and the gaps that need sealing are different. A mouse can get through a gap about the width of a pencil. A photo of the droppings next to a coin is usually enough for James to tell you which it is.
- Scratching in the walls rather than overhead: scratching in the walls at night
- Mice: mouse control, and how to get rid of mice in walls, floors and lofts
- Rats: rat control, and rats in wall cavities
What damage do squirrels do in a loft?
They strip the coating off electrical cables, shred insulation, gnaw timber and foul the loft and cold water tank with urine and droppings.
That list comes from the British Pest Control Association. The wiring is the part to take seriously. A squirrel’s front teeth never stop growing, so it gnaws constantly, and loft cables are soft, warm and easy to reach. Bare wires in a loft full of loose insulation are a hazard.
The longer they stay, the worse it gets. Insulation soaked in urine stops working and starts to smell, and usually has to come out. Chewed timber at the eaves lets in rain. If you’ve had squirrels for a while, ask for the wiring to be checked once they’ve gone.
Is it birds in the loft?
Probably, if you hear chirping and fluttering near the eaves in the daytime, in spring or summer. Birds leave once their young have flown.
Sparrows, starlings and swifts nest under roof tiles and behind fascias, usually right at the edge of the loft rather than out in the middle. The noise is loudest early in the morning and when the parents bring food, and a bird nest in the loft is usually a pile of straw, grass and feathers at the eaves.
The law is clear on this one. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, wild birds, their nests and their eggs are protected, and it’s an offence to destroy a nest while it’s in use or being built. Dover District Council’s advice is not to touch it until the birds have flown.
Is it bats in the loft?
Possibly, if droppings crumble to dust or bats leave the roof around sunset. Bats are protected, so don’t disturb them or block their way in.
Bats often go unnoticed. The Bat Conservation Trust says many homeowners share their house with bats without knowing, and that bats don’t build nests or cause damage. They use gaps that are already there. The surest signs are droppings under the eaves or in the loft that pass the crumble test, and bats flying out around sunset in the summer months.
All UK bats and their roosts are protected by law. Under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it can be a criminal offence to disturb a bat, damage or destroy a roost, or block a bat’s way in, according to the Bat Conservation Trust. A roost stays protected even when the bats aren’t there.
A pest controller can’t legally remove bats. If you think you have them, call the National Bat Helpline for free advice.
What should I do if I hear something in the loft?
Don’t block any holes yet. Note when you hear it, photograph the droppings next to a coin, and watch the eaves at dawn and dusk.
- Send the photo to someone who can tell you. For rats, mice or squirrels, that’s James. For bats, it’s the National Bat Helpline.
- Write down when you hear it. Night, early morning, daytime or dusk narrows it down more than anything else.
- Photograph the droppings next to a coin for scale, and do the crumble test with a tissue before touching anything else.
- Watch the roof line for ten minutes at dawn and again at sunset. Squirrels go in and out in daylight, birds come and go with food, and bats leave around sunset.
- Don’t block holes or put down poison. Blocking a hole can trap a squirrel or nesting birds inside, or break the law if bats use it. Poison in a loft can kill a protected animal, or leave a rat to die under the floorboards.
