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There is a tapping noise every 4 seconds in the attic directly above our bed!! Login/Join 
Eye on the
Silver Lining
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If you don’t mind me asking, why can’t you go up while the boys are sleeping? Can you camp them out for an overnight sleepover in the living room while you address this?
Set up a camera, a trap, etc? I have to agree with those who think it’s mice. Pray it’s not squirrels, or worse.
Good luck.


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"Trust, but verify."
 
Posts: 5284 | Registered: October 24, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Raised Hands Surround Us
Three Nails To Protect Us
Picture of Black92LX
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quote:
Originally posted by irreverent:
If you don’t mind me asking, why can’t you go up while the boys are sleeping? Can you camp them out for an overnight sleepover in the living room while you address this?
Set up a camera, a trap, etc? I have to agree with those who think it’s mice. Pray it’s not squirrels, or worse.
Good luck.


Sleep, or getting them to sleep around here is all ready a nightmare.
It’s not a big enough deal for me to fool with it.


————————————————
The world's not perfect, but it's not that bad.
If we got each other, and that's all we have.
I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand.
You should know I'll be there for you!
 
Posts: 25356 | Registered: September 06, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Pyker
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Had the same thing in one of our rooms. Only noticed it when it was really quiet = night. Thought we had squirrels in the roof space.

Turns out one of the ceiling fan blades was just a gnat's hair out of balance. Not enough to really see,until you got up close to it, but enough to cause a slight rub and tick on each revolution.
 
Posts: 2763 | Location: Lake Country, Minnesota | Registered: September 06, 2019Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Another vote for "not critters".


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Posts: 5681 | Location: Ohio | Registered: December 27, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I think I'd try recording the noise, on high gain. There might be another noise too faint to hear that would give you a hint.

It sounds too regular to be critters.

If the frequency of the tapping varies a smidge, I'd think something mechanical. Perhaps something being blown about by a constant breeze.

If the frequency of the tapping is precisely constant, I'd look for something electrical/electronic.

If that didn't work, I'd blame the wife and forget about it.


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Posts: 2064 | Location: The Sticks in Wisconsin. | Registered: September 30, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Lost
Picture of kkina
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'Tis but the beating of The Tell-Tale Heart.

(C'mon, tell us where you hid the body. Big Grin)



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Posts: 16268 | Location: SF Bay Area | Registered: December 11, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
On the wrong side of
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Picture of Patrick-SP2022
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It's magma displacement.
You need this guy to identify and analyze it.





 
Posts: 4123 | Location: Texas | Registered: April 16, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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By any chance do you have attic ventilation turbines on your roof?



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Don't slow down. If you're scared don't show it.
You might get out before the devil even knows you're there.


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Posts: 7120 | Location: Arkansas  | Registered: November 06, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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The regular period likely means either electronic or mechanical. Anything rotating or dripping at night but not during the day?
 
Posts: 1169 | Location: NE Indiana  | Registered: January 20, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Drill Here, Drill Now
Picture of tatortodd
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quote:
Originally posted by Pyker:
Is the ceiling fan on or off?
^^ THIS ^^

Long story short, the OP's timed clicking could be the fan rotation in an inappropriate or poorly installed ceiling fan box.

Long version. When I lived in Can-eh-duh, I rented a very nice townhouse that was only single digit years old. One thing that annoyed me was the master bedroom ceiling fan remote didn't work and I had to turn on the fan and change fan speed with the pull cord (even had to put extensions on them since it was vaulted ceiling). When I went to renew my lease, it was a renter's market so I negotiated either fixing the remote or replacing the ceiling fan with one with a remote. The owner ended up replacing the fan himself and we were both shocked when he found that the ceiling box was not meant for ceiling fans and was only connected in 2 corners by skinny ~3/8" long screws. My landlord was first owner and the ceiling fan came with the house so the shady ass builder is the one who did that hack job. My landlord had to retrofit a ceiling fan kit.

I feel like a I dodged a bullet since the ceiling fan was directly above the bed and I had it running 365 days a year.



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DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
 
Posts: 23102 | Location: Northern Suburbs of Houston | Registered: November 14, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Years ago, we heard scratching on the drywall ceiling directly above our bed. The next weekend I went up into the attic, flashlight in hand, prepared to pull back the batt insulation and remove a mouse nest from the top of the drywall. As I quickly yanked the insulation away, I was hoping to catch a surprised mouse in the beam of the flashlight. However, I was the one being surprised. My flashlight lit up the mound of a white face hornet's nest under construction. Their white faces left a lasting impression on my memory.

My wife said that I sounded like a run away freight train as I scrambled frantically across the wooden trusses in the attic. I dropped down through the ceiling access leaving only 3 areas of damaged drywall in various areas of the ceiling.

Be careful up there!
 
Posts: 282 | Location: Central PA | Registered: November 11, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Raised Hands Surround Us
Three Nails To Protect Us
Picture of Black92LX
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quote:
Originally posted by kkina:
'Tis but the beating of The Tell-Tale Heart.

(C'mon, tell us where you hid the body. Big Grin)


which one? And if I told you I would have to add another to the list.
Kind of pointless to hide bodies and tell people where they are.

quote:
Originally posted by tatortodd:
quote:
Originally posted by Pyker:
Is the ceiling fan on or off?
^^ THIS ^^

Long story short, the OP's timed clicking could be the fan rotation in an inappropriate or poorly installed ceiling fan box.

Long version. When I lived in Can-eh-duh, I rented a very nice townhouse that was only single digit years old. One thing that annoyed me was the master bedroom ceiling fan remote didn't work and I had to turn on the fan and change fan speed with the pull cord (even had to put extensions on them since it was vaulted ceiling). When I went to renew my lease, it was a renter's market so I negotiated either fixing the remote or replacing the ceiling fan with one with a remote. The owner ended up replacing the fan himself and we were both shocked when he found that the ceiling box was not meant for ceiling fans and was only connected in 2 corners by skinny ~3/8" long screws. My landlord was first owner and the ceiling fan came with the house so the shady ass builder is the one who did that hack job. My landlord had to retrofit a ceiling fan kit.

I feel like a I dodged a bullet since the ceiling fan was directly above the bed and I had it running 365 days a year.


Fan was my first thought as well. The noise is there regardless of the fan being on or off.

I have tried to recreate everything I can think of.
I have been up in the attic multiple times when not clicking and just due to the way the attic is designed it is very hard to get to that actual portion. I can see it but am still like 10 feet physically from it.


————————————————
The world's not perfect, but it's not that bad.
If we got each other, and that's all we have.
I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand.
You should know I'll be there for you!
 
Posts: 25356 | Registered: September 06, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I’d be checking for rodent poop & sign. If none of that present, move forward slowly with less worry.
 
Posts: 6132 | Location: WI | Registered: February 29, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Happening only at night. Evenly spaced timing between the noises.

Could be something as simple as the structural materials adjusting to temperature changes. Everything expands to some degree as it warms, then contracts as it cools, and the different materials expand and contract differently. Could be a roof truss, could be a sheet of plywood roof decking, could be just about anything in the structure.


Retired holster maker.
Retired police chief.
Formerly Sergeant, US Army Airborne Infantry, Pathfinders
 
Posts: 1092 | Location: Colorado | Registered: March 07, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
W07VH5
Picture of mark123
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I used to wiggle my leg when I went to bed. Put your toes on the ground and move your heel back and forth, just like that. Some kind of restless leg thing. It seemed to help me get to sleep so I didn't think of it as anything.

Then when I shared a bed with someone they noticed it and mentioned that it not only made the bed shake, it also made noise. It was more like a once per second thing though and not a once every 4 seconds. Could it be one of the kids rocking himself to sleep?
 
Posts: 45334 | Location: Pennsyltucky | Registered: December 05, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
W07VH5
Picture of mark123
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quote:
Originally posted by LoboGunLeather:
Happening only at night. Evenly spaced timing between the noises.

Could be something as simple as the structural materials adjusting to temperature changes. Everything expands to some degree as it warms, then contracts as it cools, and the different materials expand and contract differently. Could be a roof truss, could be a sheet of plywood roof decking, could be just about anything in the structure.
My trusses go "KABAM" every once in a while on a cold night. Scares the poop outta ya.
 
Posts: 45334 | Location: Pennsyltucky | Registered: December 05, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Some nights my wife can hear my artificial mitral valve tick like a watch.


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Posts: 5681 | Location: Ohio | Registered: December 27, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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ONLY happens at night and it's not critters (according to OPer). Weird. Don't see how something electrical could be tied only to the night ... but ... while you hear the noise, turn off all breakers at the panel. If the noise goes away, reset each breaker one at a time until the tapping resumes. If the noise does not go away after turning off all breakers, the only thing left is something "mechanical". Conduit in the attic expanding and contracting or something expanding and contracting. If it were something battery operated in the bedroom, I think you'd hear it night and day. Sound bounces off things funny sometimes. When you hear the tapping, unless you're absolutely sure it from within the home, I'd go outside and walk around the house, listening to be sure the noise isn't coming from something external.

At the end of the day, the easiest thing to do is go up in the attic while hearing the tapping noise. Should be able to find out what it is right away ... if it isn't a critter.
 
Posts: 4697 | Location: Bathing in the stream of consciousness ~~~ | Registered: July 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
I Deal In Lead
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Something electrical tied to the night.

Hmmm....how about light/dark activated night lights?
 
Posts: 10626 | Location: Gilbert Arizona | Registered: March 21, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Savor the limelight
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It's the ghost of mini-vans past come to warn you what happens if you don't have a killer sound system.
 
Posts: 10827 | Location: SWFL | Registered: October 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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