Something in my attic at 3 in the morning, who do you call?

Well it's 3 AM and I'm up because something is scurrying and thumping over my bedroom ceiling again. Been going on about a week now, mostly after dark, but it woke me up good tonight. Sounds heavier than a squirrel, so my guess is a raccoon. Could be a mama with babies this time of year.

House is out off Rodney Parham, been here since '78 and I've had squirrels and the occasional possum under the porch but never anything like this. Does Little Rock Animal Services come out for something in the attic, or do I skip that and go straight to a wildlife removal outfit? Seems like I remember them only handling strays and the like, but I could be wrong.

Who have you actually used here in town? Not looking for the cheapest, just somebody honest who'll find how it's getting in and fix that part too. We had that big wind and storm a couple weeks back so I wonder if something got loosened up on the roof edge...

Animal Services mostly does strays, so skip them and call a wildlife outfit. Ask if they do the repair work, not just trapping, or whatever got in will find the same hole again. If it's a mama this time of year, the babies are up there too, so don't let anybody just trap her and leave. Check your soffit and the roof edge after that wind. Had a raccoon in my attic years back and that's where it got in.

Second what Jerry said about the babies. Some outfits will trap the mama and call it done, and then you've got orphans crying in your ceiling for a week. Ask whoever you call how they handle that before you hire them.

After that wind a couple weeks back I'd also look at the roof edge and any gable or ridge vents from the ground. Binoculars help if you've got a pair. Raccoons peel loose flashing and busted vent screens right back. We had squirrels get into our place in the Quarter through a gable vent, and the actual fix was a little hardware cloth. The trapping was the expensive part.

Hope you get some sleep tonight.

Update, and thanks Dani. The binoculars were the ticket. Back corner by the bedroom, the edge of the roof had pulled loose and once I knew where to look I could see a gap from the yard. That May wind got a few shingles off the house next door too.

I did call Animal Services first just to ask, and y'all were right. They said strays only and pointed me to a private wildlife outfit. The man who came out went up with a flashlight and yes, there were babies, four of them. He put a one-way door on the hole and waited for her to carry them out before he sealed anything. Took about a week. Then he fixed the roof edge and put screen over the vents so nothing else gets in.

It's been quiet since Friday. First full night's sleep in two weeks, though I still wake up at 3 and listen out of habit...

Wasn't cheap but he didn't push anything extra on me. I'll find his card and post the name, it's in the kitchen drawer with every other business card I've collected since 1985.

Four babies and a one-way door, that's the right way to do it. Glad he waited for her to move them instead of just trapping and leaving. Honestly sounds like the guy to keep on speed dial.

Yes please post the name when you dig out the card. I'm in an older building down by the River Market and I'd rather have a number saved before something moves into my ceiling than at 3am.

Four of them thumping around up there sounds a lot like my kid's U10 soccer practice. Loud, no sense of direction, and somebody always ends up on the roof.

Hope the 3 AM wake-ups fade soon.

Ha, U10 soccer is exactly right 😂⚽ I'm saving this thread too so I have the number before I need it.

Those May storms loosened stuff on a lot of roofs. Might be worth a quick look from the street before the next round rolls in ⛈️🏠

Good thread, and glad you got some sleep, icarol. When you find that card, post the name right here so it's all in one spot for the people saving this.

Same goes for anyone else who's used a wildlife outfit in Little Rock. Add yours with what they did and roughly what it ran you. The one-way door and sealing up the hole is what to look for.

Abby's right about checking the roof before the next storm. I'd trim any limbs hanging over the roofline too. Raccoons will use them as a ladder.