Posted on 01/26/2019 7:07:07 PM PST by EinNYC
You really need advice for that?
...you’re living in NYC voluntarily??...;)
Hmmmm.....in Queens, I’d say it is a large rat.
Commendable.
I caught less than 10, but did get some thick galvanized sheet metal [painted eventually] to cover the favored areas of attack.
Banging on the ceiling with a broomstick appears to be NYC style as seen on TV....you verified it as not a stereotype.
Man up (cowboy up in Texas) get a ladder and go into your attic.
FYI, men take a good flashlight with them not the light of their smart phone.
Racoons will rip you up if you piss them off.
Put your cat up into the attic. If it’s a squirrel, it’s come out. If it’s a raccoon, it won’t.
These guys were all outside devouring our fruit. The first two or three were provided with long excursion drives to the nearby mountains to start new squirrel lives.
Get moth balls, it bothers their eyes.
I missed that you are in NYC!
Rats are smarter and quiet compared to squirrels.
Yeah, they could help choke me to death, too, LOL. I had to open my windows after my neighbor tossed the bags of mothballs up there, and it took several days for the stink to go away.
Call a rescue group like Alley Cat Allies. They specialize in feral cats. My own little Zizu is a formerly feral cat. Once tamed down, they make the best pets in the world. They are smart cats, because if they weren't, they would not have survived. You'd better hurry getting your feral off the street, breeding season is coming soon.
Just a few observations...
If you do not have a fairly large opening... it is very doubtful that you have racoons. Meaning that it is most likely squirrels, rats, or mice. None of these rodents are particularly discouraged by moth balls. In my experience squirrels will move the mothballs to a different location; mice and rats will ignore them.
Squirrel urine does not smell very much, even when you find a nest but it stains and the stains are hard to get out. Squirrels typically do more chewing on good wood than rats and mice, they will often enlarge a small opening through good wood or siding to make it large enough to get through. Rats and mice will chew to get into things but they are more opportunistic and will typically not work as hard to get into a void, or to remodel it. Little squirrels are more active than the big gray squirrels but they seem to prefer the outdoors more. So squirrels typically need a larger opening than a mouse or even a rat.
Mouse and rat urine does not leave much of a stain but it has a strong odor when you find a nest. For some reason they also tend to die inside more often than squirrels. Typically if you find a bunch of skeletons they belong to rats or mice. Mice and rats also seem to seek heat more than squirrels.
You seem to know already that if you use a cage that traps rats and mice and you do not check it every day or two, several of them will often be caught and they will end up eating each other which is pretty disgusting and makes a mess out of the trap. So if you do not plan on regularly checking the trap, it is more humane to just use the old fashion type that typically breaks their necks or kills them fairly quickly by choking them. Poison often results in them dying in places where they will stink up your living quarters.
Have you researched Norwegian roof rats? I had this experience in coastal California and was told they came over on ships and you have t ensure any screens etc to attic access are secure and without holes. The exterminator had to come.
I also used paper towels soaked in Ammonia Water in the gutters just by the entry points until I got those closed up.
Mother Nature is just trouble all around....
Poltergeist.
It's a chicken!
I didn't know raccoons can be in attics. It better not be a skunk!
Could be a squirrel. In the city I've seen squirrels as big as my tomcat. Confuses my dog as she thinks it's our cat.
Could be a rat. They can climb up between walls.
Best way to catch is with a haveahart trap. It should be set where the creature enters the attic.
I don't recommend poisons. Nothing worse than enduring the stench of a decomposing body in the walls...in winter.
If the landlord refuses to help, you can always call the city inspectors. They'll get the LL to help you ASAP at least with a ladder.
No food source, no coon. Squirrels are yard rats. They look for food, hide food and tear the living crap out of things. I’d bet squirrel. The only reason a coon would be there is it found a home. Possums love cat food. If your goning to trap a possum or coon use cat food. Trap squirrels with black oil sunflower seeds.
Get a security camera up there and you’ll know soon enough.
Squirrels usually don’t eat close to their nests...but if you set a trap, bird seed is just as good as peanut butter for squirrels, they’re not picky.
There’s a trap called the Squirrelinator, costs about $60, available on amazon. Or if you want to spend more, there’s a $200 device out there that is powered by carbon dioxide gas, and whacks critters in the head, killing them instantly. Smaller than a trap and makes removal simpler.
Don’t send a cat up there. Cornered squirrels, particularly if they have young, are extremely dangerous.
Some folks have had good results with a strobe light.
Whoever told you there’s no entry hole, didn’t want to be bothered to find it, but if it wasn’t obvious, it was probably too small for a coon or a possum.
The noise you heard suggests something larger than a mouse, and may have been a loose board being moved.
If your house has attic vents on the exterior, you’re bound to have invaders sooner or later. Try to keep tree branches away from the house.
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