Do Rats Sleep In The Attic

If you are laying in bed at night and you hear scratching noises from above then you may have rats in the attic.

Do rats sleep in the attic.

Roof rats and norway rats are night time loving creatures that try to hide during the day. They usually don t leave the attic for very long. The lights are out and everyone is in their beds. Rats are nocturnal which means they sleep during the day and wake up to freak you out at bedtime.

Then they return to the attic. The rats are seeking warmth protection from predators and water. Rats leave the attic during the night to go out and forage for water and food. During the day roof rats prefer to make their nests in high up places like attics ceilings and trees.

In loose fill fiberglass insulation you can sometimes see their tunnels. Most people would find the thought of rats running around in the attic over their heads as they sleep downright disturbing. The insulation in your attic provides warmth cats don t usually go to attics or inside walls and they can get water by gnawing. You are just settling down to go to sleep.

Then you hear them above your head. Well you can help avoid those worries by doing things to help prevent rats from moving in to begin with. The night is blissfully quiet. Norway rats like to stay on the lower ground floors where there are cellars basements gardens floor foundations and exposed tree roots.

In fact they sleep in the attic all day and become active during the night. Rats are nocturnal creatures and don t leave the attic during the day. The rats or mice or flying squirrels burrow down into the insulation until they are in contact with the topside of the sheetrock which won t be nearly as hot as the ambient in the attic. Rats often look for food when others are sleeping.

They sleep in your attic all day and then at dusk they wake up and start moving around and that s why you hear them after dark. Same thing works in the cold of winter. This is due to the fact that wild rats in centuries past adapted to be active at night as a way to avoid predators. They leave their nests in search of food and water during the night.

If rats are in a situation where they can sleep during the day and be active at night that is what they will choose to do. The little scratches and clicks of a rodent which has plagued mankind for centuries the rat.