The Noise Is the Same But the Animal Makes All the Difference

When Connecticut homeowners call ProSource about something moving in their attic at night, the two most common culprits are bats and flying squirrels. The symptoms are nearly identical, nocturnal noise, scratching, movement above the ceiling but the species determines everything about how the problem gets solved. Treating a flying squirrel issue like a bat problem, or vice versa, wastes time and money and leaves the real animal untouched.

Here's how to tell what you're dealing with before anyone goes up in that attic.

Sound: What Each One Sounds Like at Night

Bats are quieter. They tend to produce soft rustling, fluttering, and occasional high-pitched squeaking. You're more likely to hear them near the roofline and soffit areas where they roost in tight clusters. Flying squirrels are louder and more active they thump when they land from a glide, and they chatter and scurry rapidly through walls and across joists. If it sounds like something is rolling around up there, that's typically flying squirrels. If it's more of a soft chittering near the eaves, lean toward bats.

Droppings: The Most Reliable Identifier

A skilled technician can identify the species in your attic within seconds of looking at the droppings. Bat guano is small, tapered at both ends, and crumbles to powder when pressed  it often contains insect fragments. Flying squirrel droppings are larger, more cylindrical, rounded at the ends, and appear in dense concentrated piles. Flying squirrels also produce significantly more waste than bats, so heavily contaminated insulation is more commonly a flying squirrel problem. If you're comfortable sending a photo to ProSource via text before the inspection, a technician can often narrow it down before we even arrive.

Entry Points and Behavior Clues

Bats enter through very small gaps as small as 3/8 of an inch near rooflines, fascia boards, and gable vents. Flying squirrels typically use larger gaps, often near the roofline or peak, and they travel in colonies of 10 to 20 or more. Both are protected and managed differently by Connecticut wildlife regulations, which is another reason correct identification matters. ProSource is licensed for both and handles the inspection, identification, and removal under one roof.

If you're in Waterbury, Southington, Cheshire, Naugatuck, or anywhere in New Haven or Litchfield County and you're hearing something in your attic at night, schedule a free inspection — we'll identify the species and walk you through a removal plan on the same visit.

Frequently Asked Questions