To ask neighbours to help track down a beep?

[Notthemessiah]

For the last three days I've been able to hear a beep that happens every 43 seconds (yes I timed it) that seems to be coming from one of the three neighbouring gardens/sheds/garage but I can't get any closer to be able to tell exactly without asking the neighbours for help.

It's not terribly loud - if I close the window I can't hear it - and a lot of people probably wouldn't even notice. It sounds like the same noise my fire alarm makes when it's battery is low, like a little chirp. Thing is though, I find it hard to fall asleep at the best of times and this is just making it harder - stupidly I can't help but lie there and anticipate the next beep.

My wife thinks that if I shouldn't bother the neighbours and that they'll think I'm some kind of fussy idiot if I do for something that she (and almost certainly they) can barely hear and probably haven't even noticed.

Is she right? Would you think that is one of your neighbours came round asking the same? Should I just hope i can get used to it or it goes away?

[Wynston]

Id be only to happy to help you provided I dont have to go into our garage....or what I call the room of doom someone could go in there and never be seen again!!
A bleeping sound would drive me crazy....i cannot bear the clock making a sound.

[Notthemessiah]

Thanks for all the replies. It's definitely not a natural sound as it's been three days now and it's always the same gap and the same volume. It does sound like a smoke alarm to me but it can't be in a house as no-one could put up with it for this long and of course everyone is stuck at home at the moment!

Just been in the garden playing with one of the kids and I could barely hear it over the wind and the car noise, but come 11pm I know it will be waiting for me.

If it's there much longer I'll go round and ask, as consensus seems fairly universal. I'll certainly post if I do find out what it is!

[Notthemessiah]

@sippingtea. Is yours a 43 second gap then? If so Maybe we do have the same beep!

[Notthemessiah]

@WoollyMollyMonkey - no motor homes unfortunately - they wouldn't fit in the garages here.

[myotherusernameisonholiday]

OP do you live on my road?! One of my neighbours has a mystery beep, only it's been going on longer than 3 days, maybe a couple of weeks? I had to close the window to sleep because, like you, I lie awake waiting for the next beep. Ours was 1 min apart exactly but no ones stopped it beeping so it might be more urgent... I'm not sure. Either way it's irritating I have a lot of sympathy!

[TheTrollFairy]

Just knock, people won’t find it weird. Quite a few of the houses near me are air b&b houses and the owners move out to allow b&b guests in. Their fire alarm beeps started when the (then) current b&b guests had gone for a couple of nights and I tracked the owners down through air b&b to let them know. It was driving me insane all night and I’m not directly next to that one. As far as I know they didn’t find it weird and I think probably appreciated being told so someone wasn’t forced to break into their house to stop it

[TheTrollFairy]

Just to add though, I find ticking watches and clocks annoying so this would really drive me insane

[Notthemessiah]

I'm the same - have to pull the batteries from ticking clocks if I'm staying somewhere.

[AwwDontGo]

Hope you find the cause of the beep. It would drive me crazy too.

[TheSmelliestHouse]

I'd be glad if a neighbour pointed out the beep of a failing battery on a device

[Tigerty]

My neighbours gutter drips badly when it rains. I can ignore it when it drips down onto the flag stone beneath but he had put his bin in the way. The constant THUMP, THUMP, THUMP drove me crackers. Eventually got up around midnight, went out in the pouring rain in my pjs and shoved the bin a few inches to the side. Sorted.

Really hope you find that beep.

[Caoilainn]

If it was me then I would want to know and would be very apologetic that we hadn't heard it!

[AuntyRigsby]

You need to find it. Once those things start their flat-battery chirping it can go on for months and months. Either that or you'll have to move bedrooms to the other side of the flat!

[Dougalthesyrianhamster]

BEEP

[LadyFeliciaMontague]

God It would drive me batty, I would then drive my husband batty by going on about it endlessly. If I can’t sleep neither can he, in fact my DH would have already gone to speak to the neighbours after one night -anything for a quiet life

I would be very understanding if you knocked on my door. I hope you manage to find the problem op.

[Branbleberries]

do you live somewhere with bicycles for hire? the kind that you use an app to unlock, and then leave them in some other random place? If someone moves those without unlocking them properly, they start beeping. I don't think they go on for three days, but they definitely go on for quite a while, a very regular beep. Took me a long time to work out what it was!

[Notthemessiah]

@myotherusernameisonholiday

Definitely only three days - believe me I'm such a light sleeper that I'm sure I noticed as soon as it started.

[PragmaticWench]

I can't bear repetitive noises like this, it makes me feel panicky, so I'd definitely help you if you knocked at my door!

[Notthemessiah]

@branbleberries

I do live in an area with bikes for hire but I can't see one in the bits of garden I can see and so unless one of the neighbours has one locked away in the garage or shed then I don't think it's that.

Knowing how often they get dragged off and mistreated though, there are probably a fair few sad beeping bikes around the area.

[KingOfDogShite]

I’d put money on it being a smoke or CO alarm. You’d be surprised how many people put up with smoke alarms cheeping for months, I think they must tune it out.... I’d be smashing it off the ceiling with a broom after a couple of hours.

[Todaysanewday]

Are you my neighbour??? The smoke alarm in our log cabin has been bleeping for a few days and I know I need to sort it out🙈
I wouldnt mind if you mentioned it. I would hate to think I was disturbing anyone.

[Notthemessiah]

Mine is so loud I couldn't bear it for more than a few minutes - I'm amazed if people can put up with it for days!

[BlankTimes]

Can you go into your garden in the wee small hours for 10 minutes and listen? That may give a better directional sound for where the beep is coming from.

I know background noise is ramping up now, but hopefully it should still be quiet at that time so you get more of an idea of its location, so less people for you to ask.

[Notthemessiah]

@todaysanewday

It would be a stretch to call any of the sheds I can see a log cabin, unless you're seriously bigging it up :) , so i don't think it's the same one

[MitziK]

Smoke alarms have a beep that's pretty much impossible to locate. It could be one that's in a drawer or in a shed.

So I'd say I think I can hear a smoke alarm and do they have an old one that's been put away somewhere - they might be grateful that somebody else can hear the maddening beep as well!