I Think I Have a Squirrel

For the past couple of days, I've been awoken at 8am to noises coming from sorta outside.

It's like a scrabbling alarm clock.

If I had to guess, I would say that a squirrel or other rodent has gotten into my attic and hangs out by my soffet vents (where the eaves are).

Why 8am?

My thermostat is programmed to turn on the heat pump at 8am, to warm up my morning, so I think the noise or something related is disturbing the squirrel.

I took a half-hearted look this morning, dragging a ladder to the attic hatch and sticking my head through with one of my many flashlights (the 5-star (out of 5) rated 4AA Streamlight ProPolymer Luxeon, a very nice light for only $23 plus shipping), all the while thinking of that scene from Aliens when Hicks sticks his head up through the dropped ceiling and sees a horde of aliens crawling towards him.

Anyway, I think I will be hiring a professional to capture the intruder.

Why?

Perhaps you are not familiar with the Squirrel Cop story (Act Two) as heard on PRI's This American Life.