This morning while I was sleeping I heard this strange sound coming from one of our exterior drywall. It lasted about one second or so and sounded like wood cracking (or someone tearing apart wood).
It sounded too long to be a typical wood expansion noise due to temperature change. (This is a north facing side, and does gets a bit of sun very early in the morning). The temperature outside is slightly chill, but not like winter cold.
Could a rodent be causing this type of noise? Rotted beam? Sinking ceiling? Nothing looks out of the ordinary from the inside or the outside. This is the 2nd time I've heard this noise and both times it sounded very abnormal. The window was closed so this is not something from the yard/outside!
It's a guess, nothing more. As respondent says, you didn't mention tunnels, but that you didn't report them or that you've not seen them doesn't necessarily mean they're not there...
First, what kind of siding do you have? If it's vinyl, and the sound is only an occasional sharp popping noise, it's possible it may just be thermal expansion.
OTOH, it is certainly possible you have an infestation problem of some sort, but I'd certainly not pin it down to a particular varmit from this description. In general, my experience has been that the noises heard from such wood-eating critters are more continuous and repetitive rather than isolated sharp noises, but depending on what they are and where, most anything is possible. I'd start w/ a thorough investigation for signs of entry/exit/tunnels/sawdust/ droppings/etc./etc. in the area both inside and out. Include the sill plate/foundation/basement and attic as well. If you're not at all familiar w/ the signs of termites or other pests, certainly wouldn't hurt to get an exterminator in to make an inspection.
As someone else noted, if there's any signs of moisture where it doesn't belong, that increases probabilities of infestation by orders of magnitude. So does siding against or very close to the ground, vegetation growing directly against the house, etc., etc., ...
It certainly should be possible to determine the culprit and whether there is an infestation before actually opening a wall, however, but it may come to that for repair if the infestation is severe.
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