What's in my wall?

[NImumconfused]

Not very DIY experienced, trying to hang an IKEA pegboard on my daughter's wall. It's a stud wall, so got one of the gadgets for checking for wiring etc. it just beeps and glows red constantly across a big expanse of the wall. Logically, there's no reason for there to be any wiring in there, but what else could it be?

We've tried it on other walls and it doesn't go off except in places you would expect there to be something, so I don't think the gadget is faulty (Bosch truvo). Could it just be something unusual the stud wall is lined with? I guess I can't take the risk anyway, can I?

TIA

There could be a metal mesh in the stud wall.

Foil backed insulation.

If the wall is painted, and you shine a light across it, you may be able to see, or feel with your fingertips, dimples of the nails. Once you have found one, the others will be in a vertical column. This is where the studs are, and a good place to screw. Likely to be about 600mm apart, starting at one end.

Cables to switches and sockets are supposed to be run in direct vertical or horizontal paths, or within 150mm of the ceiling or the end of the wall. The switch can be on the other side of the wall. These are called (electrical) safe zones (see pic). This would not be a good place to screw. Pipes usually run vertically or horizontally.

Some partition walls do not have studs, they are factory made with a layer of plasterboard glued to rigid insulating foam boards. Some plasterboard has metal foil glued to the back of it. Some plasterboard is stuck to blockwork with "dot and dab" of plaster, and not studs.

Thank you, that's really helpful. The sockets and switches are effectively back to back on either side of the wall and are well away from the area I'm aiming to put the board on. The room below is open plan, so there isn't a wall directly below for anything to be running down into.

One other suggestion that came up when googling was that there might be interference from nearby electrical items - there is a TV on the other side of the wall (not attached to it, just sitting on top of a cabinet). Is that likely to be affecting it, do you think?

Just use Command Strips. My house is almost held up by them!

I doubt it, but go into the other room, move the TV, and see if you can detect the studs from that side.

With practice, you can detect studs by knocking on the wall, for the sound, and feeling the dimples with your fingertips. Your house might have a composite foam wall, they are relatively thin but I don't remember how much.

@PigletJohn thank you, we'll try that. House is about 45 years old, so won't be using any building materials more recent than that.

@DinoLil I had wondered about command strips but wasn't sure how reliable they were, have you found they can take a reasonable weight? It's one of those boards you can attach various little shelves and pots to, so it would be more than just the weight of the board.