Pest Control
What's that sound? Common noises in the home explained
Most noises in a house are the house itself. Here is how to tell creaks and pipes from mice, rats, squirrels, birds and wasps, and what the timing tells you.
Houses make noises, especially when the heating comes on and the weather turns. Most of them are the building, the pipes or the wind. A few are worth taking seriously, and the most useful clue is not the sound itself but when you hear it.
The short version
- Creaks, pops and ticking as rooms warm and cool are the house moving. Normal.
- Scratching or scurrying at night points to mice or rats. During the day, think squirrels or birds.
- A steady buzz or hum from a wall or roof space in summer is often a wasp or bee nest.
Creaking and popping sounds
Timber floors, joists and roof timbers expand and contract as temperatures change, and so do heating pipes. That is why creaks and pops are most noticeable when the heating comes on or goes off, and on cold nights. Older houses are noisier than new ones.
Houses also settle over time. Occasional creaks are not a concern, but new cracks that are widening, doors and windows that start sticking, or a sudden change in how the house sounds are worth having a surveyor or builder look at.
Buzzing or humming sounds
- Electrics. Buzzing from sockets, switches, light fittings or the consumer unit should be checked by an electrician. Do not ignore it.
- Wasps and bees. A steady buzzing or humming inside a wall, behind a soffit or in the loft, mostly in late spring and summer, often means a nest. In a loft you may also hear a papery rustling. Do not block the entrance hole: the insects will look for another way out, sometimes into the house. See wasp nest treatment.
- Cluster flies. A buzzing at loft windows on warm winter or early spring days is often cluster flies that have been sheltering in the roof.
Scratching or scurrying noises
This is the noise most likely to be a pest, and timing is the best clue:
- At night: mice or rats. Mice sound light and quick, often in short bursts. Rats are heavier and slower, and you may hear gnawing. See how to tell rats from mice in a loft.
- During the day, especially early morning and late afternoon: grey squirrels. They sound heavier than rats, with running, thumping and scratching.
- At first light in spring and early summer: nesting birds in the eaves, roof or chimney, such as starlings or jackdaws. Scratching is often followed by chirping as chicks are fed. Active nests are protected by law, so they cannot be disturbed until the young have left. See bird control.
- At dusk in summer: faint squeaking or scratching near the roof line could be bats. Bats and their roosts are protected by law, so do not disturb them or block their access.
In old buildings, a faint tapping from structural timber in spring can be the deathwatch beetle. It is uncommon in homes and mostly found in old hardwood such as oak, so get a timber specialist to confirm it.
Rumbling or banging in pipes
Banging when a tap is turned off, or rumbling and knocking in the heating, is a plumbing issue rather than a pest. It is often air in the system or water pressure, and a plumber can sort it.
Whistling or squealing
Whistling on windy days usually means a gap around a window, door or loft hatch, which draught-proofing fixes. Squealing or whining is usually a boiler, pump or extractor fan, and worth having looked at.
Rattling or shaking sounds
Rattles usually come from loose ducting, extractor fans, or appliances such as washing machines and fridges that are not level. Not a pest concern.
When to call us
Call us if the noise is scratching, scurrying or gnawing that keeps happening, if it is coming from the loft, walls or under the floor, or if you can also see droppings, gnaw marks or nesting material. Tell us when you hear it and what it sounds like. That alone usually narrows it down, and we can tell you over the phone whether it needs a visit.
More pest guides
Ground beetles: what's crawling into your home?
A black beetle on the kitchen floor in the morning is almost always a ground beetle that wandered in overnight. Harmless, and usually fixed with a draught strip.
Read the guide →Trouble in the eaves: dealing with starlings nesting in your home
Starlings return to the same gap in the eaves year after year. The law protects an active nest, so timing matters: wait for the young to leave, then close the gap.
Read the guide →Not sure what you're looking at?
Send us a photo or describe it. We will tell you what it is, whether it needs treating at all, and what it would cost, before anyone comes out.