Customer says "i have squirrels" so I went and verified that and caught one on the first night (3 nights ago). Second night I catch a regular rat. The sets were/are "positive" sets at the entry point. Theres no other holes. Today I get a message that "i heard a loud noise over the living room that sounds like something rolling around." Can anyone help with a diagnosis?

acorns roll..bowling balls roll....rockin ..rolls ...think its a nut

seems like one of those potpourri jobs 22 mag

Could something be rolling off the roof? Is there a room over the living room or attic?

coons are mating here,,,, and

sounds like you got norways or roof rats also. If you have positive sets on the openings and I assume facing in and out. and a rat was caught coming out then you know what is in side. if the squirrel was caught coming in, then you start problem may not have been squirrels at the first, but in fact just checking things out. Norways there should be entries at the ground level also. roofs up high. again go back to the 4 w's what where when and why. The grey squirrel noise will be day break and just after dark. rat noise will be at night, a lot of the times after things have quieted down from the people. If the home is 2 story I will assume the living room is on the first floor that would most likely be the rats. as the squirrels will most likely be higher. again I am just assuming this. rancher then the question would be have they heard the squirrels at this place before , if it was squirrels? Questions was the squirrel caught coming in or out? Was the rat caught coming in or out? What time of day or night was the noise heard before the squirrel was caught? what time of day or night was the noise last? Was the noise in the same places as before or have the noises moved? Just starting questions.

One facing in, one facing out. Squirrel caught first night coming out. Rat caught second night coming out.

A squirrell aint nothin more than a rat in fancy clothes if they dont want to pay for removing the rats collect whats owed to you and move on.I have caught groundhogs and possums out of the same hole positive type set only way in is to come out of the hole customer didnt mind paying me.If you caught 1 rat there is others.

roof rat?

Think norway

any ground holes?

Havent seen any ground holes at all.

Roof rats seem to be the most logical choice. I need rat lessons, lol. Theres 3 pecan trees and one that overhangs the house. The entry is a broken vent pipe sitting flush (or nearly so) w/ the roof.

Got any cameras ?

When 2 different species are caught out of the same spot, the first thing is to, go back to the beginning, see what the customer is hearing and when. you have to figure out what was/is the critter that the complaint is, both have to be dealt with but both need to be IDed. This will tell you your NEW starting point. you caught the squirrel first night coming out. so you had a squirrel! question 1, was it a female that is nursing? 2. was the squirrel fighting the trap more than average? 3. Was skin totally worn off down the meat on the forehead and nose? 4. Hair missing from just behind the front legs in the pit area? Rat was caught second day coming out. So you also had a Rat in there at the same time. Unless you missed a hole. Question 1 is the latest noise in the same place and time as the noise before the squirrel was caught? 2.is the noise the same in cadence and rythm as the first noises? 3. does it sound like more than one animal? 4. is the noise running or is it a chewing/ scratching in one place. 5. is the noise near the outside entry point or in area that leads to the entry point or is the new noise at a place where it is going into a wall? the 1st thing you are trying to do at this point is ID what is there NOW, Not what was there before you caught the squirrel and rat. the reason this has to be your new starting point is each animal is handled differently. yes you caught a squirrel and rat, you was lucky LOL because most of the time the rats and squirrels will not be used in the same entries, Flying squirrels and grey squirrels can and will use the same entry point many times. one thing that most likely can be assumed at this point is you don't have flyers in there as the rat will be a predator on those little things, also if you had young squirrels and rats are there, Most likely you do not have young squirrels anymore LOL

Jonesie that makes my head spin. Go back tonight and there's two squirrels caught, both exiting the house. One was an avg size male and the other a female with kits by the looks of her. Customer called first though and said "i saw a squirrel this morning so I watched it to see what it would do." It disappeared into a hole I didn't find. Strange thing though, it was at ground level, right at the base of a rotted out door frame that opened to the outside from the garage (i closed em). I missed it during inspection. I think I'm to a new starting point like you mentioned in that last post.