Timing tells you almost everything. Daylight and dawn means squirrel; after dark means rodent; and in a period house, the chimney is a third possibility people forget.
When you hear it is the strongest clue. Squirrels are active in daylight, loudest around dawn and dusk. Rats and mice are nocturnal.
Weight is the second clue. A squirrel sounds heavy and purposeful; a mouse is light and skittering; a rat is somewhere between, with gnawing.
| When | Sound | Most likely |
|---|---|---|
| Dawn and early morning | Heavy scampering, thumping | Squirrel |
| Through the day | Rolling, dragging, running | Squirrel |
| Dusk | Heavy movement, then quiet | Squirrel returning |
| Just after dark | Scratching, gnawing, scuffling | Rat |
| Through the night | Light, fast, high-pitched skittering | Mouse |
| Early morning at the eaves | Fluttering, chirping, scratching | Birds |
| Constant, summer, buzzing | A steady hum or rustle | Wasp nest |
| Down the chimney breast | Scrabbling, flapping | Bird in the flue |
If it wakes you at six and sounds like someone dropped a shoe upstairs, it is a squirrel.
£280 for the trapping programme, including the proofing survey.
View Squirrel Control Pinner →Older Pinner houses often have several flues, and a noise that seems to be in the loft may not be.
| Evidence | Squirrel | Rat | Mouse |
|---|---|---|---|
| Droppings | Larger, rounded, scattered | Dark, tapered, 12–18mm | Tiny, 3–6mm, numerous |
| Gnawing | Timber, cables, tanks | Timber, cables | Light, on packaging |
| Nest | Shredded insulation, bulky | Shredded material | Small, in insulation |
| Food stores | Nuts, bulbs, stones | Rarely | Rarely |
| Smell | Musty, urine on ceilings | Strong, distinctive | Faint, ammonia-like |
| Entry | Roofline, fascia, tiles | Drains, walls, roofline | Any 6mm gap |
Rat and mouse control in a flat is £190. Proofing works are quoted separately in each case, after the programme is complete.
Possible, and bats and their roosts are legally protected. If you suspect bats, nothing should be done to the roost and specialist advice is needed.
Older timbers do creak with temperature changes. A pattern tied to time of day rather than temperature suggests an animal.
Often close. The inspection confirms it.
If it hums rather than moves, it is a wasp nest — £90 fixed in Pinner, guaranteed for 30 days.
Timing is the strongest clue. Squirrels are active in daylight and loudest around dawn and dusk; rats and mice are nocturnal.
Heavy, deliberate scampering with pauses, and rolling or dragging sounds as it moves nesting material or food. Nothing else in a loft does that.
That is the flue rather than the roof, usually a bird that cannot get out. Do not light the fire, and a ventilated cowl on the pot prevents it recurring.
Squirrel droppings are larger and rounded, rat droppings dark and tapered at 12 to 18mm, mouse droppings tiny at 3 to 6mm and numerous.
Possibly, and bats and their roosts are legally protected. Nothing should be done to a roost, and specialist advice is needed.
Older timbers creak with temperature changes. A pattern tied to time of day rather than temperature suggests an animal.
Do not block anything, do not put down poison before identifying the species, do not use glue traps, and do not light a fire if the noise is in a flue.
Squirrel control £280, rat or mouse control £240 for a house and £190 for a flat, wasp nest £90.
Tell us the time of day and how heavy it sounds. That usually identifies it before anyone visits.
Prefer to talk? Call 0203 151 6640 or WhatsApp us.
