Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Something lurking in bedroom wall

We have heard something digging/scratching in our bedroom wall at night. I expect it's a rat.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this pest?

Not with poison, don't want it dying in your bedroom wall. I'd set out some rat traps under the house.

What kind of roof?

And if you set traps in the heating ducts tie em off with a piece of wire so you can reel em in.
My neighbor learned that the hard way.

Edit.....he's disabled so his wife actually learned that the hard way.
He said she wasn't the least bit happy when she came up out of that crawl space.

Shotgun...

Possibly a mouse trapped in the wall. If so, the scratching soon stops and the smell begins. It goes away after a couple of weeks.

Yes. A tethered trap. If one is in pack rat country, they are husky enough to cover some ground when they get bitten by one of the Victor snap traps. They're also large enough that the decaying stink can hang in for some time.

Good luck.

Almost surely a rodent. If you can locate the EXACT place where the scratching is happening and REALLY want it over with, and if the material is drywall, you can carefully cut a hole large enough to insert a well-baited trap (peanut butter is good) and tape the cutout section back into place until you catch the critter. Should not take even 24 hours. As someone said, be sure to attach a tether to the trap. When the deed is done and trap/rodent removed, you can glue a splint to the back of the cutout, glue the splint to the inside of the wall, and refinish the cutout spot.

Ya, peanut butter if its a bush rat, smart little buggers, I took out 2 of them, one I trapped with one of those giant mouse traps. The other I waited in ambush till I heard him moving around then poked the pellet gun in a crack in the door,, and lung shot him...
177cal pellet...range...10ft...ran 2ft and piled up.

Probably a colony of carpenter ants on the move.

A mouse got in and can't get out. Had one keep me up all night scratching a couple weeks ago.

Our 'pet' woodpecker suddenly doesn't sound so bad...

If they are in the wall or ceiling it's unlikely they got lost. Likely nesting or fixing to. Probably entering through roof vent. Set traps on roof if you don't want to cut drywall. They generally go out and forage each day or every other day....

I hear that! Had one at our camp one year a big bastard that just loved to hammer on the tin roof at 5 am! Same with an old girlfriends house, little bastards had me replacing cedar shakes for weeks..

what? no trophy pics?

Most likely a mouse or rat doing what mice and rats do but birds can get trapped inside of attics, basements and wind up inside of interior walls where they can't get out too. Sometimes other critters such as bats have been known to too.

If the 'digging/scratching' only happen at night my guess is what ever it is isn't 'trapped' there.

I believe I would start out with setting a few ordinary rodent traps around in some areas where they would likely be traveling to feed and give it a week or so.

If there is an electrical wall outlet in or near where the scratching is coming from you might could put a small mouse trap inside the wall through there and hopefully avoid having to cut a hole through your drywall.

If its a mouse or rat it may already have or preparing to have a litter. If it already has a litter inside the wall you may have to cut an access hole to remove them anyway.

Consult with an exorcist. Sounds like you have an oppressive demonic spirit lurking in there.

Neighbor with a Go pro?

Did he leave a good blood trail ?