Rat and mouse article

Scratching in the Ceiling or Walls at Night: What It Means

Updated November 4, 2026

Scurrying overhead after dark is usually a roof rat. Light scratching inside a wall is often a mouse. Daytime noise points to squirrels. Here's how to tell, and what to do.

Noise in the ceiling after dark in a Fort Lauderdale house is most often a roof rat. UF/IFAS says rodent sounds are usually heard at night or in quiet areas, and that rodents moving at night scratch, gnaw and fight. Young ones squeak in the nest. Mice in walls make lighter scratching. Squirrels, by contrast, are busy during the day.

Here's how to read what you're hearing, and what to do about it.

Scurrying or thumping overhead

Quick runs across the ceiling, light thumps, a pause, then more running: that's the classic roof rat sound. UF/IFAS describes roof rats as nocturnal, and in Broward they live in the trees and come and go from the attic along branches and wires. The noise often starts soon after dark and comes in bursts as they leave to feed and return.

If the noise seems to move from the garage side of the house toward the bedrooms over a few weeks, rats may have started in the garage attic and spread. Roof rat control covers the fix.

Light scratching inside a wall

Mice are smaller and quieter. They sound like a soft scratching or rustling inside a wall, often near the kitchen, a bathroom or a closet. In concrete block homes, mice can travel the narrow gap between the block and the drywall, so the sound may run up and down an outside wall. Check under sinks and in lower cabinets for droppings. Mice in walls removal explains what a technician does.

Gnawing

A steady grinding or chewing sound means something is gnawing wood, wire, duct material or a pipe. Rodents gnaw constantly. UF/IFAS notes fresh gnawing on wood is light-colored with sharp, splintery edges, which helps you find it later. Don't wait on this one, since chewed wiring and ducts are expensive.

Squeaking

UF/IFAS says young rodents often squeak in the nest. Squeaking from one spot in the ceiling or a wall can mean a nest with babies. That makes the timing of trapping and sealing matter, since you don't want to seal adults out and leave young inside. Tell the technician if you hear it.

Daytime noise

Rats and mice are mostly nocturnal, so heavy noise in the morning or afternoon points elsewhere. Squirrels are active during the day and often louder. Birds nesting in a soffit or vent make daytime scratching and chirping. This line handles rats and mice only, so if it's squirrels or birds, a wildlife removal company is who you want.

Sounds that aren't animals

Attics in South Florida heat up and cool down hard every day. Ductwork, roof framing and metal flashing tick and pop as they expand and contract, usually in the evening as the roof cools and in the morning as it heats. AC systems kick on and off. These sounds follow the temperature or the thermostat, not a pattern of runs and pauses. If the noise lines up with the AC cycling, it may be mechanical.

What to do tonight

Write down when you hear it and where. Note whether it's running, scratching, gnawing or squeaking. In the morning, look for droppings in the attic near the hatch, on top of the air handler, in the garage and under the kitchen sink. Don't put poison in the attic, since a rat that dies in a wall leaves a smell. Then call. Those notes make the inspection faster.

• Time and location of the noise
• What it sounds like: running, scratching, gnawing, squeaking
• Droppings found and where
• Fruit trees or palms touching the roof

When to worry

Any regular rodent noise in the house is worth dealing with, but some signs mean sooner rather than later: gnawing, which can mean wiring or ducts; noise right over a bedroom or nursery; a smell of urine coming through vents; squeaking that points to a nest with young; or noise that spreads to new parts of the house over a couple of weeks. Rats breed year-round in Florida, so the colony usually grows if left alone.

Keep a short log

For a week, jot down the time and place of each noise and what it sounded like. Patterns help. Noise at dusk and again before dawn suggests rats leaving to feed and coming back. Noise in one spot every night points to a nest. Noise that moves along a line overhead follows a runway, often right under a ridge or along an outside wall. A technician can use that log to start in the right place.

Related services: Roof Rat Control, Mice in Walls Removal, Rodent Inspection