Home Investigations

Attic, Chimney, & Full Structure Investigations

Common calls we get are “I think something is living in my attic” or “I think an animal is stuck in my chimney.” Or it can be in a wall, crawl space, ceiling, shed, garage, etc. In such cases the homeowner or tenant has heard, smelled, or seen something that suggests an animal is present, but they aren’t sure what. We have successfully conducted hundreds of such investigations and invariably resolved the problem. 

Typical homeowner observations include various sounds (scratching, gnawing, scampering, chirping, etc.), smells (putrid or dead animal odors, rank musky odors, urine/feces, skunk spray, etc.), and signs (holes under concrete, holes in siding, animal droppings, presence of flies or unusual bugs, etc.). Or the family pet may be acting strange or paying lots of attention to the fireplace or a furnace vent.

Common explanations include raccoons having their young on a fireplace smoke shelf; birds or squirrels getting stuck in a chimney flue; squirrels or raccoons living in an attic; mice living in crawl spaces or attics; bats living in an attic or soffit; an animal loose in a house; etc. Outside evidence is often fresh piles of dirt in flower beds with no open hole; garden hose-like trails/runways in sod; plant roots being damaged or eaten; animal droppings or latrines; open burrows, etc.