I live in a house that I bought two years ago and was built in 2006 with the latest in energy conservation design and materials and seemingly excellent building standards. I use one of the rooms as my office, which is about 9′ by 13′. Sometimes, maybe seasonally,during the morning hours, I clearly hear the sound of a frog croaking coming from the same place everytime, from the lower right side front of the room. It sounds like it is coming from inside the house. At first I thought I had trapped a frog in some of unpacked boxes that had previously been in storage but inspections and unpacking found no evidence of a frog. Since then I have cleared out all the boxes, installed a new wood floor over a concrete slab and have a clear view of the whole floor and all the walls. There has never been any evidence of any kind of a creature in the room except me. I still hear the sound just about every day, mostly in the colder months I think. It drives me nuts.
Could there be a frog trapped in the walls living there for over two years? I have a garden on the exterior side of the wall that I can see from the kitchen but I see no moving creatures, such as a frog anywhere near the wall. The house is pretty sound-proof and the frog sound is loud enough to hear clearly and consistently at the same level and sounds like it comes from inside the room or at least inside the wall.
So, I would like some help that might save me from punching exploritory holes in the drywall and pulling out insulation looking for the source of this sound. I have two questions, 1) Is there a logical explanation for this sound? and 2) what can I do to get rid of it?
Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks
Replies
Yes, frogs
I too have a frog living in the corner of my house. I only hear it during cold months. I beleive he or she crawls up the foundation wall and then slids in behind the siding. In my case I have a fiber / insulation board for sheathing. It is soft and more likely to provide a tight warm spot for him. Even if you had OSB sheathing I would guess you have a small overhang in the siding providing a nice dry hidden spot for the frogs. I would gess this would be up against you sill plate and some heat from the house works its way out to warm the frog. In my case I do not hear the frogs when it is very cold, suspecting they are in deep hidernation then, but when it warms a few degrees they come out of sleep and happily crock away.
I think it is cute, as they do not crook all that often or for any long period of time.
If you do not like it, perhaps you can gently run a thin stick up under your siding to find your frog.
Frog in the Wall
Thank you DoRight. It is nice to know I am not the only one with a frog in the wall. I think I will take take DanH's advice and live with it. I suspect the neither frog nor the sound will bring the house down and it is cute to hear.
Since frogs are amphibians and need to stay moist; and that they ball themselves in mud to hibernate as a rule--they are under-likely to seek a dry warm spot for the winter.
As a guess, the frog-like creaking or croaking will be from framing lumber moving due to outside influences.
Influences like winter dryness, cold materials contracting, winter wind effects (bare trees let differing amounts and directions of wind on a given structure).
So, there's a joint of some kind--say part of a corner stud, and one of the sticks is a hair sorter than the rest. Framing gets cold in the winter, shrinks a tad, and the wind blows and the house moves just the least bit. The wood then rubs another bit of wood; or it's working along a nail--that causes a croaking noise.
Or, it could be a stray nail (like a near-miss, where the nail might be alongside a stud) in the corner diaphragm sheathing that only moves a bit in winter.
All more likely than an insectivorous amphibian calling to mates or in territorial challenge.
Frog in the Wall
Thanks for the thoughtful reply CapnMac. You are probably right, logically at least, but by golly that sound seems too animal to be mechanical (you're right you'd have to be here and just at the right time to see what I mean). It is more fun to think of it as a frog so I will not tear out my walls looking for it and just let it be. Still, it is puzzling about the unlikelihood of a dry-frog. That's a good point.
I have a frog!
There is no doubt in my mind it is a frog up under teh siding. I know what a croaking frog sounds like. I have heard frogs in this spot off and on and I have heard teh same sound, although with a different echo, in my downspout. I have drumed the frog out of teh downspout on several occasions. And for a several other reasons I am certain I have frogs. You may very well have croaking studs in your walls. You can argue with you. Others have frogs. LOL
Frog in the Wall
Thanks DanH. I will take your advice and just enjoy the madness. Until I find evidence to the contrary I would prefer to think of it as a frog finding comfort from the cold.
I wouldn't worry ... at some point he will probably croak ;o)
Hello Folks,
This discussion is very engaging.
Please add me to the club of home owners with a croaking sound coming from the house. I have a gas fireplace and most of the time I strongly feel that the sound is emanating from somewhere around it. While there are few times when I feel it is coming from the wall next to the fireplace.
This sound is most pronounced early in the morning at around 5:00 AM and has started in last couple of months and we have been living here for around 12 years.
To summarize this sound has started in mid summer and we have now entered the fall season and we live in Pacific Northwest.
I am fine with the sound as long as it is not harmful to my family and house.
I have an annual contract with Terminix.
Should Terminix be taking care of it ?
Should I be worried ?
This discussion started in 2011 and I am assuming that by now people in this thread have decent experience with it.
Your guidance would be highly appreciated.