Strange noise - deathwatch beetles?

[mo]

Hi I have noticed a strange noise in my bedroom recently. Its like a very faint tapping noise - its fairly random and very quiet.

I have ruled out any noises coming from my PC or anything else in my room OR anything coming from surrounding rooms. I can't see it being from otuside as the sound doesn't seem to be coming from near the window and its happening really late like 5am when its pretty much dead around here.

It seems to be coming from the attic and someone suggested Deathwatch Beetles!!

Anyone had any experience of this? What is the noise ment to be like?

I stuck my head into the attic - it has that insulation stuff all over it - I coudlnt ehar anything but the problem is that its really cold up there and you can sort of hear the outside as well so I would think the noise I can hearin my room would not be audible from sticking my head in.

Any ideas on what I can do? Are there any tools I can buy on the cheap that can detect sound? i.e the clsoer I move it the brighter an LED light will get or something - bearing in mind the nosie is VERY faint!

If not then how I DIY a way of gettin rid of any possible infestation? I don;t get where these things would randoly come from - I am in Hampshire and reading onlien suggests they do pop up in the SOuth!

Thanks

[Owain]

[Andy]

Make a stethoscope! I thought I heard deathwatch beetle once when staying in an old farmhouse, but couldn't be sure. I advise you to Google for their lifecycle and habits as it might rule them out as the culprits in your attic.

Andy.

[Weatherlawyer]

I've never hear beetles but mice seem like scraping when gnawing and the sound of them running is quite distinctive.

What plumbing is there in the attic? Also, it could be a bird roosting or even something flapping in the guttering. Is the loft door secure? That might rattle in a draught. Put a brick on top of the door and that should change it if not cure it.

The birds need to be discouraged if it is them by blocking any access points that will have been caused originally by weathering and rot. If you have bats though you will have environmental protection issues.

Whichever, if either; you need to make sure the attic is empty before closing any holes.

[nightjar]

If the noise is faint, it won't be deathwatch beetle. They make a surprisingly loud noise with their head banging - you can hear it over a normal TV.

Colin Bignell

[Weatherlawyer]

What are you doing up so late?

Don't you have a bed to go to?

[nightjar]

Nightjars are a creatures of the night - and their singing voice isn't that great.

Colin Bignell

[Bill Taylor]

If your house is old and has old oak timbers you could have death watch beetle.

If it was midsummer the noise could be deathwatch beetle,

It's much more likely to be mice.

Bill

[Tony Williams]

Mice do come in from the cold this time of year. Our Big Nipper rat trap has already caught two mice.

[Huge]

Two? We've had 31 so far this year.

Wish I knew how the little b*st*rds are getting in.

(Thanks, but I already know all the stuff about what tiny gaps they can get through!)

[Tony Williams]

All right then. :)

It's rats atm for us. A family of probably 5, two big parents and three youngsters, (although the youngsters don't stay small for long).

I've shot the big male for certain, probably one other, possibly another, and the Big Nipper has caught a little one. One, maybe two, to go.

I keep missing the small ones though. The air rifle has been zero'd in and I can do a 1 inch group on a target at 20 foot or so. The conclusion I've come to is that the reflexes of the younsters are so quick that they can hear the start of the air gun mechanism and will have jumped away before the slug has got there. That's my excuse anyway.

[Dave Fawthrop]

|mo wrote: |> I have noticed a strange noise in my bedroom recently. Its like a very |> faint tapping noise - its fairly random and very quiet. |> It seems to be coming from the attic and someone suggested Deathwatch |> Beetles!! |> Are there any tools I can buy on the cheap that can detect sound? | |A stethoscope?

A piece of dowel is cheaper.

[Dave Fawthrop]

|On 2006-11-29, Tony Williams wrote: |> In article , |> Bill Taylor wrote: |>

|>> It's much more likely to be mice. |>

|> Mice do come in from the cold this time of |> year. Our Big Nipper rat trap has already |> caught two mice. | |Two? We've had 31 so far this year. | |Wish I knew how the little b*st*rds are getting in. | |(Thanks, but I already know all the stuff about what tiny |gaps they can get through!)

They are breeding, you have to get the last female. :-(

[The Natural Philosopher]

We have the same. I left the loft hatch open last night, and while I was sitting on the bog, a wren flew in, took one look at me and flew out..

Opened a window and its gone for now. Could swear I had it all rodent proofed to the hilt too..

[Velvet]

Well there's your problem.

You rodent proofed it to the hilt, but completely forgot about the hazards of wrens, completely different kettle of fish/animal/bird :)

Velvet

[Staffbull]

good excuse to buy a compound bow :-)

[Huge]

I used a .410 shotgun on our rats. Worked a treat.

[Pete C]

Hi,

Probably 'book lice':

cheers, Pete.

[mo]

Hello all, thanks for the replies

Right - I don't think its any sort of CREATURE because the noise is now pretty much constant AND It is only audible from my room and not any of the others around

I am feeling then that it must he something in the attic moving around or most likely the plumbing or something...the odd thing is when I went up there (stuck my head in) i couldnt hear the sound - partly because if was prob drown out by all the other nosie of the roads etc)

[mo]

mo wrote in news:Xns988AEB1A2D77Enospamcom@216.196.109.144:

with regards to the actual noise

Basically I have a fairly small room - I have my pc desk near the middle

- i can hear the faint noise from there. If I mvoe around the room i don't really get any closer - even if i stand high up i can't tell if its coming from above the ceiling for sure but it def seems that way because i thin kit owuld be more obvious if it was coming fro mthe side.

so i cant use a stethoscope - i suppose what i need a a metal dectector for sound - somehting that will pick up very faint sound and then give me a visual indication of when that sound is increasing!