What is living under my deck (and freaking out my dog)?
September 30, 2015 3:02 PM Subscribe
Today, my normally backyard-loving dog refused to come out onto the back deck/porch and into the yard. This is very unlike him, and even the tastiest of treats could not persuade him to step more than a few feet out onto the deck. Further investigation revealed a soft high-pitched chirping coming from underneath the deck. I'm assuming something is living under there, and scaring my (wimpy) puppy. What could it be? (Possibly relevant details inside)
I looked under the deck with a flashlight, but couldn't see anything obvious on the ground. I couldn't get a good look at the underside of the deck itself, because of crossbeams in the way. I'm a little freaked out, since the only animal my pup's ever been scared of has been a big nasty snake....I don't think it's a snake under there (unless there are some horrifying godforsaken species of snake that chirp and vocalize?!?!, in which case the obvious response is to burn it with fire), but it's disconcerting that the pooch is unwilling to go near it. I don't want to do too much poking around if it's, like, some colony of poisonous dog-eating marsupials or something living under there....
Some possible relevant details:
- I live in Durham, NC
- We're in town (not in the country or a rural area)
- a little creek/drainage culvert and wooded area runs behind our house, but is separated from our yard by a fence
- The deck is made of wood, about a foot or two off the ground, with about half a foot of easy access to the underneath on three sides
- the chirping noise seemed to increase in both volume and intensity the longer I spent poking around and trying to get a good look under there
- the best way I can describe the noise is as a quiet metallic chirp (like a cross between a cricket and a rusty fence)
- the dog is not distressed (no whining or whimpering), but he is having absolutely none of that deck today
- the dog is otherwise acting perfectly normally (well, as normal as a dog ever acts....)
I know this is horribly vague.... but if anyone can figure this out, it's MeFi!!
Thanks, friends!
I looked under the deck with a flashlight, but couldn't see anything obvious on the ground. I couldn't get a good look at the underside of the deck itself, because of crossbeams in the way. I'm a little freaked out, since the only animal my pup's ever been scared of has been a big nasty snake....I don't think it's a snake under there (unless there are some horrifying godforsaken species of snake that chirp and vocalize?!?!, in which case the obvious response is to burn it with fire), but it's disconcerting that the pooch is unwilling to go near it. I don't want to do too much poking around if it's, like, some colony of poisonous dog-eating marsupials or something living under there....
Some possible relevant details:
- I live in Durham, NC
- We're in town (not in the country or a rural area)
- a little creek/drainage culvert and wooded area runs behind our house, but is separated from our yard by a fence
- The deck is made of wood, about a foot or two off the ground, with about half a foot of easy access to the underneath on three sides
- the chirping noise seemed to increase in both volume and intensity the longer I spent poking around and trying to get a good look under there
- the best way I can describe the noise is as a quiet metallic chirp (like a cross between a cricket and a rusty fence)
- the dog is not distressed (no whining or whimpering), but he is having absolutely none of that deck today
- the dog is otherwise acting perfectly normally (well, as normal as a dog ever acts....)
I know this is horribly vague.... but if anyone can figure this out, it's MeFi!!
Thanks, friends!
Watch out, (baby) skunks can make chirping noises!
posted by The Toad at 3:14 PM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by The Toad at 3:14 PM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
My guess would be an opossum nest under your deck.
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:15 PM on September 30, 2015
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:15 PM on September 30, 2015
Chirp? The chipmunks around here have been doing a really weird chirp lately..closer to fall? It's a bit different than there normal warning chirp I hear.
They have also been REALLY busy and more than usual. Under my deck is where they have been hanging out (although I feed the birds so I know they are just helping them selves to the excess seed).
posted by ReluctantViking at 3:16 PM on September 30, 2015
They have also been REALLY busy and more than usual. Under my deck is where they have been hanging out (although I feed the birds so I know they are just helping them selves to the excess seed).
posted by ReluctantViking at 3:16 PM on September 30, 2015
Yeah I had a family of skunks living under my deck once and they made some strange noises. My first thought was an injured bird though.
Lots of possibilities, hard to diagnose online. Could you maybe call animal control and see if they can send someone out to listen / poke around?
posted by mannequito at 3:24 PM on September 30, 2015
Lots of possibilities, hard to diagnose online. Could you maybe call animal control and see if they can send someone out to listen / poke around?
posted by mannequito at 3:24 PM on September 30, 2015
How about a bat or bats? Soft, high-pitched chirping sound, check. Hanging out on the underside of the deck where you can't see, rather than the ground, check. Little stream nearby, the better to attract tasty bugs, check.
If you continue hearing the sound and/or your dog continues being wary, check back under and around there and see if you can see any droppings.
posted by mysterious_stranger at 3:40 PM on September 30, 2015
If you continue hearing the sound and/or your dog continues being wary, check back under and around there and see if you can see any droppings.
posted by mysterious_stranger at 3:40 PM on September 30, 2015
Raccoons also make a sort of chirping noise. We get them a lot and we live in the middle of a city.
posted by xeney at 4:31 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by xeney at 4:31 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Snakes - the animals that kill the vermin that drop hantavirus, ruin food and crops, and otherwise hurt, injure or kill humans in various ways - do not chirp. North American snakes hiss and shake their tails (even harmless ones do this), only.
posted by Nyx at 7:10 PM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Nyx at 7:10 PM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
Toads chirp. There are toads here (Houston) who sound exactly like birds. And there's one that had the whole neighborhood convinced we had an invisible duck stranded in an empty lot.
posted by MexicanYenta at 8:34 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by MexicanYenta at 8:34 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Skunks sort of sound like pigs and monkeys, so if it's in that sort of range of sounds I think it's a skunk.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:36 PM on September 30, 2015
posted by fiercekitten at 8:36 PM on September 30, 2015
Chipmunks make a weird, sharp chirping noise.
posted by ants at 1:54 PM on October 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ants at 1:54 PM on October 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by Hermione Granger at 3:10 PM on September 30, 2015