# droppings in the attic



## SamA (Dec 9, 2010)

Hello,
I posted a reply in an old thread but i figured to create a new thread:

after hearing noises in the attic and checking it out, i fould lots of droppings. i took pictures and have posted them online and you could view them using this link:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v476/MrWolfboy/Attic/

i have written some comments for some of the pictures.

i am not sure what i am dealing with here
in the picture you could see some holes in the dry wall which seems to me as they have been punched from outside and the drywall was hanging from the skin. but the hole was not through all and there was a sheet right behind it .. so it is not making any sense to me at all.
there is a duct (you could see in the picture) that ends at the wall and there is no opening. however it is obvious that the dry wall around it is moldy and falling apart.
this is a fairly new house -- less than 10 years old.
i would appreciate any help or insight.


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## fabrk8r (Feb 12, 2010)

Hard to say what the droppings are from the pictures, but probably mice would be my guess. I would also guess that the holes in the drywall were there since construction and made by the installer.

The flex duct appears to be a bathroom exhaust that should be terminated outside, hence the moisture problem. Is it 4" diameter?


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## SamA (Dec 9, 2010)

thank you for your reply,

correct i do believe its a 4" duct. what do you mean terminated outside?
so that should be routed towards the outside of the house?

thank you
sam


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## fabrk8r (Feb 12, 2010)

The bathroom exhaust is very moisture laden and it needs to be vented outside through a proper vent hood. It's a common scenario for bath exhausts to be terminated (left open) in an attic which leads to structure damage and mold problems.
Also, when you do vent to exterior, make sure it isn't directly under a soffit vent where the moist air can be sucked back into the attic.


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## PAbugman (Jun 29, 2010)

I think they are bat droppings. Look closely at them-mouse/rat droppings are smooth and oval shaped. Bat droppings are varying lengths and shapes. Also are not smooth. Shine a flashlight straight up from the piles of droppings and see if roosting bats are present.


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## mjdonovan (Mar 15, 2007)

*Probably Bats in the Attic*

They look like bat droppings to me. I had a similiar problem this past year and set up a couple of mice traps in the attic, as initially I thought I had a mice problem. I wound up catching a bat in one of the traps. 

I discovered that the bats were coming into the attic by crawling in between the rake trim and the house siding. To see if you have a bat problem, stand outside your home during dusk and look for bats exiting the roof area.

To solve the bat problem I wound up using foam insulating material. The same stuff that is used for wrapping around your plumbing supply line pipes. I pushed it up in between the small crevice between the house siding and the rake boards. It completely solved my bat problem.


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## operagost (Jan 8, 2010)

Unless you are absolutely sure that there are no bats present in your attic at the time, you should try to hang netting over the likely points of entry for a few days before plugging up the hole. You don't want to trap any inside.


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## Wildman (Dec 29, 2010)

Hard to tell from the pic, but they look like bat droppings to me.


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