Need Recommendation on Sound Recorder App

@jaremelz Whatever it is, my cats sit and stare at the ceiling. I am guessing it is something they might find tasty, or at least fun to play with.
The guy went up there, but couldn't see any signs of anything, so it could be ghosts !
But probably more likely some type of squirrel or mouse.

@ceagee In our old house, a screen had been pried off of a vent by an enterprising rodent who then went on to live in my walls. It was so not ok. We could hear it scurry around, usually when I was alone in the house watching something scary.

@jaremelz Yeah, that sound is a bit disconcerting. It probably bothers me more than it should

@ceagee No, I think in this case it probably bothers you a completely reasonable amount.

@ceagee Are you sure that @mfladd didn't leave you a gift of another ferret before he went on vacation?

@Barney Maybe he went to visit @ceagee. He is a weasel, after all.

@jaremelz Well if it's him, he must be practicing a combo of salsa dancing and croquet while wearing sandpaper on his shoes and a silk taffeta petticoat.

@ceagee Sounds about right.

@Ignorant I apparently don't know my phone well enough to know that. I blame @christinewas for my technology impairment.
Can you please point me the way ? Thanks

I miss cassettes

@ceagee the icon recently changed (not sure if with iOS 8 or 9) and should look like this if you are running the latest iOS.

It's a app that Apple won't let you delete so it'll be there somewhere.

@Ignorant Found it ! It is hidden inside an app icon w/ a bunch of other apps labeled "extras" . Go figure. Thank you. My hero. I'll let you know how it works and what I find.

I actually tried taking a video of the ceiling to catch the sound, and just then my cat decided to hark a fur ball. That was special ! I'd post it for you but I already deleted it. sorry.

@ceagee glad you found it. Once you have it recorded click on this icon to send it to the text message app.

@RedOak Thank you for the advice.
I don't want them dying up there and smelling. Plus I do have cats, and the critters could get into the house elsewhere before death. Plus I think poison is rather inhumane it causes an awful death.

That said, the critter guy explained that this time of year ( winter coming ) it would be more cruel to live catch and set free down the road where it had no home or stores for the coming doom of WNY winter and would slowly starve to death. He said it is more humane to use snap trap. quick and done.
I hate the idea of it, but I don't want anyone to suffer, and as much as I'd like to tuck them all in with Eiderdown quilts, there are electric wires up there and it is not safe to have them living there.

@ceagee and fleas. All wild things have fleas. I'm baffled though. Does the critter guy think he can identify the critter based on the scratching sound coming from the ceiling? If so, that is some "mad skills"

@ceagee I understand your concerns about methods. Your choice.
(1) it makes the critter thirsty and they leave the dwelling in search of water.
(2) unless the critter is large, their carcass dries up pretty quickly.
(3) we've used both live trap and neck-snappers. They require constant monitoring or you end up with (2) above. We use them outside or in other pet accessible locations where they are also much easier to monitor than in an attic.

@RedOak The problem, of course, is the critters are not outside, they are only in the attic. Or so it seems.
But the guy will be setting them up there and fetching them back. It's not cheap but neither I nor my 87 yo Dad is capable. It's a super hard place to get up to from the closet and not a full attic.
So sadly I must write a check.

@Pamtha I actually found a website w/ recordings of what different things sound like. If I re-find the link I will post it. You can't always tell, but it can give you and idea. The furnace came on last night so my recording didn't work very well. I could of done the motion camera alone first. But I figured whatever it is, we have to get rid of it, so let's do both. He's bringing larger snap traps so if it is something like a squirrel it won't just get injured and also learn to stay away from traps and PB.

@ceagee we live in a suburban area and have property with a pole barn on it about 4 hours north in a rural area.

We use the stuff in the above bucket up north since we are only occasionally there. We use a combination of outside live traps (for chipmunks) and smaller version of the above bait in confined spaces at our home.

The number one factor for our suburban area? Availability of food. Someone in our home who will remain unmentioned insists on putting out bird feeders. There is a very direct correlation between critters and those bird feeders. No bird feeders, no critters.

The little devils - a fresh squeaker varmint as we speak!

@RedOak Yes, well aware of the trade off w/ a bird feeder. But it is kitty TV and we also derive much joy from it. Had it for many many years w/ o anyone in the attic. I am thinking of stopping it in the summer though and having cold weather feeder only. That might help.

Cute catch. Now what will you do. Or don't I want to know ?
I can actually here that thing right now. Never noticed in the day before.
And I have to go do the damn dentist so I may have to cancel the critter guy for today.

Thanks for all your tips. Good luck w/ your ongoing battle.

@ceagee hah! I wasn't fast enough with the camera to catch our medium sized dog perched precariously with all four paws on the roof of that trap trying to figure it out! Grand entertainment for him.

If I get to it fast enough I'll haul the critter over to a nature preserve a few miles away. Field mice are not nearly as durable as other critters in the trap. The neighbors whose yards back up to that land will never know the difference. A clear blue 75 degrees today in a Great Lake state.

@RedOak Is that how I'm getting these critters ? I'm near 2 Great Lakes (Erie and Ontario ) are you ?

@ceagee Aha. Perhaps. I'm near all the Great Lakes except Lake Ontario. But we used to drive by it a lot (via Canada) when our daughter went to school in Ithaca, NY (the Finger Lakes region is a beautiful part of the country and her school overlooks one of them).

@RedOak Not too far from there. Cornell or IC or Keuka ? All nice down that way.
If you would of gone via Canada you would of gone by my town on the thruway on the way to her school.
Well as long as you didn't drop mice off on your way there we're good !

@ceagee cool. It was Cornell. One of the most beautiful campuses I've ever seen. Great variety of eclectic architecture that somehow all fits together. And that view of Cayuga Lake from the ridgetop? Spectacular. And the amazing gorges and waterfalls everywhere. Miss it. Our daughter just went back a few weeks ago to show her boyfriend.

While the Canada route saved 2-3 hours, it was boring as heck. And expensive cell/data roaming. And no radar detectors. And the nasty aggressive semi-truck drivers. And the clowns in the Canadian Customs booths. (Really dept of labor, protecting jobs.) But we still took it if everybody in the vehicle had current passports. Definitely felt good to get back in the US on either end!

(Can you sense a touch if bitterness? I've probably driven to Toronto a hundred times or more on business - faster than flying. Loved the Canadian people and had good friends, but those truckers and Canadian customs booths...)

@RedOak A lot of friends went there. I looked at it, but I wanted to be out of state and far away.
My dad went to Penn and sang me this song while we went on a tour of Cornell :
High above Cayuga's waters is an awful smell
Some say it's Cayuga's waters
Others say Cornell......

@ceagee we visited Penn and did the tour. She had friends there. Impressive place if a bit stuffy for us. As a parent, the thing they boasted that I'll never forget, regarding being surrounded by less than fully secure neighborhoods: "We have the second largest private security force in the United States and will escort your kid anywhere they need to go after dark."

@RedOak Could be worse, you should see what it's like around Temple. I live just outside of Philly and often drive through the Penn/Drexel neighborhood. It's really not that bad and I rarely hear of any news worthy crime around the campus. Temple on the other hand has had a run of crime lately. I have no clue why anyone would either choose or let their child go there.

I was up in Ithaca earlier this year for a wedding and made a point of getting to Ithaca Falls before we left. I can definitely see the draw. Though being in a large city would have it's benefits too.

@cinoclav Yah, driving in to Penn we did not feel unsafe. What stood out for us was the amount of attention they themselves drew to the safety issues of the surrounding neighborhoods.

Sounds like Temple needs to build the "3rd largest private security force in the U.S." ;-)

And certainly the town of Ithaca itself is not much to boast about - out in the middle of nowhere. But the natural beauty, wow.