What is it making that noise ?

[naturelover]

Hi i have a question to ask,every evening while i am on my pc quietly tapping away, i hear a noise its comming from my plants up the corner of the conservatory,it only happens at night when its dark,as though something is creaping among the leaves,i have pulled the plants out several times to try to find what ever it is,do any of you know what comes out at night,must be quite big for me to hear it moving among the leaves,trouble is my plants are like trifids in other words big,with thousands of leaves on, there are 3 umbrella plants,1 rubber plant,1 yucca, and a large fern,as soon as i switch the light on the noise stops,its driving me crazy not knowing what it is,dosnt do it in the daylight,and nothing looks eaten.?????????????

[Deer Stalker]

Rat?

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by Deer Stalker

Rat?

Steady there, lets think mouse first, they sound like elephants. I know, there are plenty here when the weather gets colder.

It may go against all your instincts, leave a bit of chocolate out. That could well tell you.

[naturelover]

no not a rodant of anysort as i near enough live in my conservatory,fully centraly heated,no i was thinking insect of some sort.

[ron1863]

Hi Naturelover, why don't you get a humane trap and see if you can catch it.

[smileysnake]

lets be sensible, the Yucca just might be haunted!!!!

[Seajay]

Insects can make a lot of noise! I remember in the garden a couple of times I've heard a loud rasping noise and found it to be a wasp scraping dead wood.
Couldn't you sit near there and wait? Isolate it to one specific area then check the plant? If it was an insect your closeness probably wouldn't bother it whereas a sudden change of light intensity might.
Perhaps it's a slug or snail rasping a leaf? Surprising how noise carries and magnifies in the quiet.


Colin

[naturelover]

hi seajay i have tryed that no joy,its as if what ever it is lives in the compost and comes out at night,my coservatory is i supose L shaped with three lights,two in the long part of the L and one in the small part of the L,the small part is where the noise comes from and because its round the corner i cant see any thing without putting on a light,so i am working in the dark literaly.

[Seajay]

Could you move a low light to that area and leave it on? Drag a chair up and a good book and wait? It's not going to be anything to be afraid of probably something quite interesting. Time and patience will sort it I'm sure.
It may become a friend!

Colin

[Stewy]

Could it be the leaves of your plants making the noise? Stupid question I know but I've got a houseplant (don't know what it is!) and it makes noises when the leaves open out.

(Feel free to ridicule me and poke me with sharp sticks!)

[naturelover]

no stewy,that is a possability i have sat and watched plants befor and if you really sit long enough you can see them move,so i wont be poking you with a sharp stick,but do they open in the dark,i have just had a thought, could it be wood lice as i have seen a couple of them on the floor just lately,do they come out at night,and would i hear such a tiny critter,?

[Stewy]

Glad I won't be poked with a sharp stick!!

This needs some serious investigating, any droppings to be seen?

[naturelover]

what woodlice droppings ?

[Stewy]

No, I was thinking more along the lines of mice or rats.........

I would of thought you would need a microscope to see woodlouse droppings but I'm probably wrong.

[aeshna5]

I would say a mouse. Not many insects around at the moment that could make a noise; I've certainly never heard a woodlouse!!

[The Black Rabbit]

Who you gonna call?

[Wild-Woman]

Noise busters!

[PMG]

It probably will be woodlice and if not then some other crawly creeping around! Its amazing how sound carries at night and esp if you have good hearing to begin with. It always surprises me when we are out Badger watching (or rather waiting for the Badgers to come out!) the evening sounds die down, daytime birds stop singing, the wind dies down and suddenly you become aware of the critters in the leaf litter, even things like ants climbing tree trunks, curlew shouting maybe three quarters of a mile away ......... it is fantastic.........

Pauline

PS Hope you find out what it is

[m1.carson]

Hi naturelover,

We re-potted some orchids last year and the bark chippings/pots were full of cheeselogs, could be them, but as suggested earlier I'd put out some chocolate and/or peanut butter and see what happens, those were the two top baits recommended by a trap manufacturer, don't use a trap though.

In the summer on very quiet mornings we can hear the wasps chewing our fence up.

Max.

PMG I hope thats all the ants were climbing up.

[mrs fish]

Tinnitus ? hopefully not

Do you have any hot water pipes nearby?
Does the heating go off and it is something plastic ie pots, like guttering in the sun, that makes a noise.

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by mrs fish

Tinnitus ? hopefully not

Do you have any hot water pipes nearby?
Does the heating go off and it is something plastic ie pots, like guttering in the sun, that makes a noise.

Oh, you can't mistake tinnitus.

We have a wicker basket in the bathroom, and a night visit, with knees about 6 inches away from the basket, makes the wicker creak like an old tree.

[Kayleigh]

Have you watered the plants lately? My house plants make a sort of slurping noise when I have just watered them after a being without water for a few months..I always forget to water my plants.

[Paul mabbott]

Well, whatever gets you through the night.

Originally Posted by Stewy

(Feel free to ridicule me and poke me with sharp sticks!)

[Paul mabbott]

Three suggestions:
(1) frogs - they can get into the weirdest places and are also very good at hiding;
(2) because it's evening everything is cooling down and you have some noise coming from contraction of walls, pots, cupboards ...
(3) one of your plants actually is a trifid in disguise?

Originally Posted by naturelover

Hi i have a question to ask,every evening while i am on my pc quietly tapping away, i hear a noise its comming from my plants up the corner of the conservatory,it only happens at night when its dark,as though something is creaping among the leaves,i have pulled the plants out several times to try to find what ever it is,do any of you know what comes out at night,must be quite big for me to hear it moving among the leaves,trouble is my plants are like trifids in other words big,with thousands of leaves on, there are 3 umbrella plants,1 rubber plant,1 yucca, and a large fern,as soon as i switch the light on the noise stops,its driving me crazy not knowing what it is,dosnt do it in the daylight,and nothing looks eaten.?????????????

[naturelover]

Thanks for all your suggestions,but i feel it must be woodlice,i recon they are living in one of my giant plant pots and come out at night when its all quiet,its a rustling sound as though they, it is walking on dead leaves,and there are some of them in most of the pots, i have to have the heating on quite high for father in law as he feels the cold,but my plants do drop there leaves,so i think the mystery has been solved thankyou.