You are startled awake in the middle of the night and crazed as you hear clicking sounds coming from the ceiling, behind the walls of your house, or in the yard. This unexplained sound can cause great anxiety and even cause paranoia in you and everyone else.
If you’ve been afraid that a “haunted house” might cause your troubles, you can rest assured. The house you live in is not haunted. Nevertheless, these clicking sounds do have a reason behind them. There are usually some kinds of animals making these sounds.
So, what animal makes a clicking sound at night? Depending on the location and the house, it can vary. A few of the most common ones are raccoons, pests, bugs, birds, and rodents.
To find out more specifically about the animals that make clicking sounds, keep reading the following article.
What Makes Clicking Sounds At Night?
Various things can cause clicking sounds at night, varying from house to house and location to location. Pests, trees swaying, outside animals, plumbing, heating, and electrical issues are the most common reasons.
1. Pests
It is possible that this is one of the most common causes of clicking noises. If you hear rustling, tapping, or clocking sounds within your walls, you may have termites or carpenter ants nesting in the wood in your house.
In addition to these pests, there have also been reports of raccoons, birds, mice, and squirrels living in attics and causing noises. If you notice any telltale signs of excrement or funky odors in your attic, you can be sure this is the cause of your problem.
2. Swaying of trees
The wind blowing at night may have caused tree branches to rub against the roof or siding all along, causing a clicking sound to be heard.
Another explanation for the clicking sounds is that oaks and nut-bearing trees shed their nuts. The nuts and acorns of these trees can fall from their twigs during a strong breeze at night, sometimes hitting the house.
3. Outside animals
The clicking noises you hear outside are sometimes caused by wildlife outside. A careful inspection of the inside and outside of your home will confirm if wildlife has been present.
4. Heating
Your walls and ceiling may also sound like they are clicking due to the expansion and contraction of metal ductwork that conducts ventilation. The metal expands when heated. The metal begins to cool down and contract as soon as the furnace stops pumping hot air through the system. If the heat duct is not properly secured by a brace, it could also be at fault.
If you hear a clicking sound coming from your air conditioning and heating system, you should have a licensed air conditioning and heating contractor inspect it and figure out the problem.
5. Plumbing
In the same way, if there is a water heater installed, then it can make a ticking or clicking sound when it warms up its contents. As the pipe expands or contracts, it may rub against a joist or stud, causing the clicking sound.
6. Electrical
Electrical outlets may make popping or clicking sounds if the wiring is damaged. The connection could be broken, or there could be a loose wire.
What Animal Makes A Clicking Sound At Night?
In most cases, you can blame some animal for making a clicking sound at night. Nocturnal species are most likely responsible for noises heard at night. They tend to be most active at night when you are preparing for bed or already asleep. Crepuscular animals, such as mice and rats, are also nocturnal. We also encounter flying squirrels, bats, and raccoons at night.
Raccoons Sounds
One of the most common causes of loud noises during the night in the attic is the presence of raccoons. Watching raccoons in the spring when looking for a safe place to give birth and raise their young is essential.
Bat Sounds in the Attic
When bats give birth to their young or escape the extreme cold, they often find shelter in your home.
Usually, bat sounds are heard from wall cavities or attics because these are suitable locations for bats to roost in place of their native habitats (tree cavities, caves, and crevices), as well as temporary shelters.
Rat and Mice Sounds
You will likely be able to hear small pitter-pattering sounds as rodents move across baseboards, drywall, and floorboards. Rats and mice can make various sounds, including grinding, gnawing, scurrying, scratching, and scuffling.
Various sounds caused by mice and rats can be explained by the claws of these animals digging into surfaces to get a better grip or as they scurry from one place to another. At night, when nothing is going on, rodent noises seem to be amplified.
What Bird Makes Clicking Sounds?
Usually, this type of sound is created by cockatoos and macaws by popping the tips of their upper beaks against those of their lower beaks in an attempt to make this type of sound. Cockatoos are known to make clicking noises with their tongues.
Several parrots, including African grays, reproduce the sound of a click in their throats. When they perceive danger, parrots use their beak to simultaneously ratchet their upper and lower parts together, creating what is known as a “beak clicking” sound. When birds are near each other, they make clicking noises to defend their personal space, territory, or mates. Parrots also make clicking sounds when threatened or angry.
Other common birds make clicking sounds, such as:
- Anhingas
- American Raven
- Budgie
- Bullock’s Oriole
- Brown-Headed Cowbird
- Blue Jay
- Lewin’s Rail
- Common Starling
- Northern Mockingbird
- Mourning Dove
- Eastern Whipbird
- Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo
- Pileated Woodpecker
What Bug Makes A Clicking Sound At Night?
A click beetle, also known as a skipjack, a snapping beetle, or a spring beetle, is a small insect that makes a clicking sound when captured by a predator.
The bodies of click beetles are somewhat flattened and come in various colors. These beetles can snap two halves of their bodies together when you put them on their backs, causing them to flip in the air, creating a clicking sound as they flip backward and forward.
What Rodent Makes A Clicking Noise?
If a clicking noise is from a rodent, it could be caused by the nails of a squirrel. Squirrels are most active in the mornings and evenings. So if you hear a noise in the dead of night, a squirrel is not the likely culprit. The other rodent making a clicking noise may be the rat and mice, as I mentioned above.
FAQs
Do Opossum make a clicking sound?
It is common for opossums to make clicking sounds when they are trying to attract a mate and hissing or growling sounds when they feel threatened.
Do raccoons make noises at night?
The fact is that many people hear raccoon noises at night as a result of the fact that they are nocturnal animals. There are different types of noises that raccoons can make depending on the situation in which they are.
Why do ravens make a clicking sound?
A pair of ravens uses a sound called a “click” to communicate with each other during a breeding period, a sound often found among dominant females and mated pairs at nests.
What bird makes a knocking sound at night
There is a bird called a woodpecker making a knocking sound at night.
Victoria has always loved pets. Watching the animals at the zoo was her favorite thing. Her first volunteer job was at the local animal shelter, Gateway Area Humane Society. It was fun to spend time with all the animals.
Victoria M. Pierce decided to pursue a career in veterinary medicine after high school. Victoria graduated from North Carolina State University with a degree in veterinary medicine. She has been a veterinarian for ten years. It’s her passion to help animals and make a difference in their lives.
Animal rights and welfare are Victoria M. Pierce’s passions. Victoria believes all animals deserve respect and compassion. As a veterinarian, she strives to provide her patients with the best care.