What's got into my roof? Help!

[BatsPigeonsRatsSquirrels]

There is something scurrying around above my bathroom ceiling. We can't see anything when we look in the attic, I think it's between the ceiling and the attic flooring. There's a hole in the wall outside - there used to be a pipe coming out of the outside wall, but when the old water tank was removed it just left a small hole on the wall up above the bathroom window. Now it's a slightly bigger hole, and I have visitors.
I'm too chicken to go up a ladder and look inside. Who is this a job for? Do I ask for pest control before getting a roofer maybe? I've no idea what to do. The bathroom has been "done" so I really don't want them damaging the ceiling, or landing on me when I'm in the bath.

Oh god. Right so I had this very recently so have full info!

Check out the council. Many have more reasonable rates for pest control than privately! I got seriously stung!

Does it move day or night?
Are their trees nearby?
How many are there?
What else is going on in your loft? Any old wasps nests, any water anywhere?

Basically it’s either a rat, a bat, a bird or a squirrel.

Thank you! I'm amazed it's happened to anyone else!
What did yours turn out to be? Is it wrong I kind of hope it's squirrels not rats?
i don't really want pest control to kill them though, which is what is suspect they'd do (poison)

I'll phone the council tomorrow

Either phone the council as it’s a set price and they come back if it’s not cleared or go and buy some mouse poison.

You won’t see them as they hide - so should be safe to lift the hatch.

They can’t catch and release squirrels so kill is only option. Also hugely destructive.

Ours was a squirrel. He jumped from the tree, flipped a tile to make a door. We had an old wasps nest up there and apparently the old dried carcass are like protein snacks and they love them.

Thankfully there was no water so they didn’t use as a breeding site. Poor soul would come in as it was warm, have a chill, have his snacks and then leave.

We cut back the trees so he couldn’t get in anymore and problem solved. Still need to get the slate refixed. Poor soul sat in the tree longing looking over for a good week after.

Sorry to say I think if there’s no trees and just the small hole then it’s a rat. They can scale walls apparently 😬

Goodluck

Probably a bird nesting. I had cockatoos inside my extractor fan.

Cockatoos??
I was hoping they could just block the hole while the squatter is out collecting nuts or whatever.

Yep. It was in Hong Kong.

I’ve got Great Tits in my eaves in London though.

I'm in Scotland. So possibly a haggis.

I had squirrels jump from a tree and then they got into the loft from the chimney.
They are very destructive they can chew electrical wires.
You can get traps tocage them from the council, then set them free in the woods,
or get pest control in but it’s probably not going to e cheap.
You need the block up that hole in the wall as well to stop it from happening again.

I’m still laughing at Catnary’s great tits, don’t get me started on wild haggis!

We had this problem and it was mice. Wait until its bright outside and decent weather and then block up the hole. They should go outside during the day so hopefully you'll block them out. If they're trapped inside they will find another way into the house so I'd leave traps just incase. For us they seemed to be out when we blocked up we just made sure we did it well before dusk and when it had been quiet for a good while.

Or Nessie.

Mice?

I'm not going up the ladder to block the hole, it's too high. I'm not going to die by falling off a ladder with a squirrel attached to my face.
I am so pleased with all the advice and tips, I really didn't think I'd get any replies!

Can’t be a haggis, everyone knows they have two short legs and two longer legs, which would make it difficult to scale a pipe hole, and Nessie needs a large volume of water. Op would notice a large volume of water cascading down the wall?
mountain goats are much more likely.
(🤣)

If it's a squirrel, you need it outta there fast.

We had one enter into a broken (unknown at the time) roof hatch of our campervan. It must have got stuck inside the van (we found it dead under a chair) only after it totally destroyed our van.

I'm talking seriously destroyed. Ate all window handles and frames, huge chunks out of lots of wood, wires, bedding, you name it.

Who knew they could cause such havoc 😩

I've got the same problem. I wake up to scurrying around in the loft at about 3-4am I've got a tree that actually touches the side of my house and I'm right next to a stream. I think it's rats 😩 I am going to have to call my landlord tomorrow, because once I hear them I can't get back to sleep. Bloody pests

what time of day do you hear the noise? We had mice and could only hear them in the late evening and in the night. Nesting birds would be busy during the day time too wouldn’t they. I thought ours were rats as it sounded like they were wearing DMs 😊 but the pest control man told me that mice are noiser than rats. They were in between bedroom and attic and I couldn’t believe that they could climb up the walls! One lot of bait and they were sorted. Good luck Op

We had this and turned out to be a massive wasp nest. The noise was then eating the floorboards for the nest (I think!) I thought it was micr

*mice

I'd been hearing noises from my bedroom and was baffled. I was walking towards my house a week or so later on an early summer evening and spotted a squirrel happily jumping from a tree {outside on the road) and straight into the loft.
I got straight up there (via a ladder) and made a right old row and about 3 of them scurried out through their entrance (a moved tile). I blocked the entrance up and had the roof repaired and the informed the road people at the council who swiftly cut the tree back.
Problem sorted. They made a mess of insulation as they were building their dreys or whatever they're called. Little buggers.

Had this. Convinced myself it was a rat. Turned out it was starlings on the roof. They are noisy buggers and moving around they sound just like something scurrying.

So look and see if there's any birds on your roof when you hear the noise.

I had this. Also 3am scurrying. woke us every night. Pest control guy said ‘definitely rats if they’re running about at 3am. Absolutely not a squirrel. ’ he left poison up in the loft. He Came back a week later… Found one dead squirrel.

We had squirrels and didn't know for years. Live in a terrace and had assumed mice. Cost me thousands - they were nesting under the roof in the fascias, made holes that let in the birds and the damp from the nests rotted the felt. We stupidly thought it was cute and olde worlde to have birds nesting in the eaves and I like squirrels so didn't think much of it. The builder tried not to laugh at this comment as he pulled off the fascias and soffits and masses of sticks, grass you name it fell out of the gap. Had to replace the whole of the front of the roof and saving now to do the back. I will never look at a squirrel or a starling the same way again. Short answer - do what you need to to evict them. No mercy.