What's making noise in your attic? If your attic is empty (meaning free from children or other people), the sound you hear is most likely a pest. Before you open up the space to investigate, take a look at what you need to know about animals, attics, and professional pest control.

Potential Pests

Several different creatures and critters regularly invade homeowners' attics. These include:

• Raccoons. These mammals can live in city or rural settings. Signs of an infestation include noticeable paw prints; overturned garbage cans outside your home; nest materials; droppings and urine marks; and damage to your home's insulation, wiring, walls, or shingles.
• Squirrels. Like raccoons, squirrels can live in both city and country settings. They also tend to destroy shingles, walls, and other structural parts of a home.
• Mice. The house mouse can live in almost any room of your home. These rodents often leave behind telltale signs such as gnaw marks, droppings, or tracks.
• Rats. Like mice, these rodents can also invade your attic. Look for droppings, gnaw or scratch marks, and chewed items.
• Bats. The specific type of bat that nests in your attic depends on where you live. Signs of a bat infestation include visible droppings and the presence of the animals themselves.
• Birds. While birds don't typically nest indoors, they may fly into your attic through an open window.

A sneaky animal that hides from sight is difficult to identify. If you're not sure which pest is leaving behind droppings or gnawing through your attic ceiling, contact a pest control professional immediately.

Professional Solutions

Why should you hire a pest control professional to remove the invader and eliminate the infestation? The top reasons include:

• Expertise. Pest control professionals have the knowledge and experience to correctly control the problem. If you're a novice DIYer, your lack of animal and avian pest knowledge could put you and your family at risk.
• Equipment. Most homeowners don't have the proper equipment to trap or remove animal pests from their home. A substandard trap could do more harm than good.
• Reoccurrence. Pest problems are rarely one-time events. Removing the original pest from your home doesn't mean that other critters won't come in. The pest control expert can routinely inspect and maintain your attic area, stopping problems before they start.
• Safety. In 2015, over 92 percent of reported rabies cases came from wild animals. Mishandling a pest invader could result in a serious illness.

Never confront a wild pest yourself. Along with rabies, these animals harbor many other potentially dangerous diseases and can inflict severe injuries — especially when they feel scared or threatened.

Pest Prevention

Again, a pest control professional can eliminate the existing issue and help to control ongoing threats. Even though the expert will do most of the work, you can also reduce the risks of invasion by:

• Inspecting your home. Look for cracks, gaps, holes, and other areas of wear near or on the roof. Instead of climbing onto the roof yourself, look from the ground or from the attic.
• Repairing your home. If you do find areas of wear or noticeable potential entry points, make repairs as needed. Seal all cracks, gaps, and holes.
• Keeping windows and vents closed. These are easy entry points that pests take advantage of. Make sure attic windows are closed, sealed, and have screens. The same goes for open or exposed vents.
• Clearing the area. Keep the area around your home clean and debris-free. This reduces the likelihood that an animal will want to invade.

Sometimes even the most vigilant homeowner can't protect their home from pests. If your prevention efforts fail, a pest professional can work with you to stop the problem now and in the future.

Do you need pest control help? Contact Pioneer Exterminating Company for more information.