Trying to figure out what kind of critter is visiting...

[Corsetière]

So, if you all recall Bat-gate 2017 at the Lead Palace, you'll remember I was successful in escorting a single bat out of my house. Well, of course I am sure there are more here, but I am seeing some odd symptoms of critters in the stuff that is falling down my chimney. I don't know if it is from bats or birds or "other". Can you help?

It does not look like bat guano but rather the remnants of seeds? Some are white, some are dark and all are round in shape. They fall down my chimney around the same time everyday - about noonish. lol. I mean, I'd assume it was from bats but in the middle of the day? Also, don't bats hibernate? Do you guys have any bright ideas? So bizarre!

[Willa]

My guess would be squirrels, since you are seeing the debris in the daytime. The uniform round shape sounds like poop as gnawed shells would be more random sizes/shapes ? That makes me think that birds are using your chimney as a noontime rest-stop ?

Raccoons are pretty crafty, though are typically nocturnal. A long time ago I shared a cruddy apartment that had a boarded up fireplace. Someone had poked a hole through the drywall, then duct taped over that. I used a bookcase to cover that repair. I swore I could hear snoring coming from the fireplace - and it wasn't my cat. I pushed the bookcase out of the way and peeled off the duct tape and discovered a sleepy raccoon in his/her daytime hideout.

Raccoon poop looks like cat poop, and is a similar size so that isn't what is falling down your chimney.

There is probably a local wildlife/bird site that has a poop identification chart ?

[Willa]

Dr.Google strongly suggests squirrel:

67622e03d6e0c25dfd5332f292fe1057.jpg (285.11 KiB) Viewed 380 times

[1918ColonialRevival]

Definitely sounds like a rodent of some type. It's probably made its winter nest in there.

[phil]

try putting a radio in there, crank it up.. whatever it is will leave.. mice may not but most animals don't like the noise..

I had racoons in my boat, I pulled the tarp of and it took me 10 minutes of bugging them to get them to leave, then they just looked at me like really? and finally left.. then I stuck a radio in there for a week.. they leave it alone now. I did the same with the mommy skunk in my shed under the floor.. it's just enough that they go somewhere else, no point hurting them.

[Corsetière]

And the winner is: Squirrels! I finally heard a scratchy kind of noise and I don't think birds would do that. and I am seeing a ton of squirrels outside right now. I'm not seeing any actual waste droppings, just the seeds...So weird! That chart is very helpful though, Willa! I have heard that a bowl of ammonia can help encourage them to move on too. I guess if necessary I can trap an relocate the little buggers! I don't really care if they are around as long as they don't damage anything but I am pretty worried they may want to come *inside* the house eventually!

[1918ColonialRevival]

Be careful about relocating any type of wildlife. Depending on your locality, you could be subject to fines or even arrest if you are caught. One of my neighbors was caught relocating a raccoon by a game warden and was hit with a sizeable fine ($500 if I recall correctly).

If you trap them, about the only thing you can do is to humanely dispatch them. Not fun, but a necessary evil. Try to drive them out first and use trapping as a last resort. Unfortunately, sometimes trapping and dispatching is the only way to get rid of them.

[arwenmark]

Could well be a racoon or more than one. We had two living in our kitchen roof for over a year, one came out and was hit by a car and the other one finally left and we finally covered the hole that was in the roof that they got in by.

[Manalto]

Squirrels can do quite a bit of damage if they get in your attic. Is it possible to remove any branches they may be using to jump from tree to roof? Sometimes that's all you need to do.