Stranger in my attic

Aneeda72

Aneeda72

Well-known Member
A couple nights ago there was a loud pounding on our door which would not stop. Husband answers the door. The guy is looking for some one who no longer lives here. We don’t think twice about it. Got up this morning, the cover on the entrance to our attic, which is in our carport, is off.

😮

Called the sheriff. He went up and looked and said there was a lot of storage up there. I guess the guy came back and got something from the attic. Called my son and he is leaving work, coming over, and emptying everything from the attic. Then they are getting a thick piece of wood to insert and getting locks to drill in, so we can lock it.

When we had the furnace guy out, he said the furnace filter was out of the furnace but I know it was in place before. I was worried then that our strange neighbor had gone up there. Now I am really worried, as is our son. I told him it could wait till tomorrow but he’s taking the rest of the day off and coming now. He says it’s creeping him out.

How would you feel/think about this? Would you be worried? Do you think we are being silly?
 

Aneeda72 said:
A couple nights ago there was a loud pounding on our door which would not stop. Husband answers the door. The guy is looking for some one who no longer lives here. We don’t think twice about it. Got up this morning, the cover on the entrance to our attic, which is in our carport, is off.

😮

Called the sheriff. He went up and looked and said there was a lot of storage up there. I guess the guy came back and got something from the attic. Called my son and he is leaving work, coming over, and emptying everything from the attic. Then they are getting a thick piece of wood to insert and getting locks to drill in, so we can lock it.

When we had the furnace guy out, he said the furnace filter was out of the furnace but I know it was in place before. I was worried then that our strange neighbor had gone up there. Now I am really worried, as is our son. I told him it could wait till tomorrow but he’s taking the rest of the day off and coming now. He says it’s creeping him out.

How would you feel/think about this? Would you be worried? Do you think we are being silly?
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You are definitely not being silly .. it would definitely creep me out too. Good thing your son is going to take care of it for you!
 
Thanks, you all are making me feel better. I hate to bother my son, but I admit when I saw that cover off it scared me a bit.
 
We have cameras around our property. I can see all eight at one time or individually. The hard drive is under lock and key. My cameras are also using IR technology. Seldom used, but I like having it. I would never have expected some of the wildlife in my backyard that I have seen on my hard drive.
 
Becky1951 said:
Maybe you could install a security camera just in case the nut returns to remove more stuff. He might not know its no longer there in your attic! That's scary!
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I'm sure if he was up there he's already found what he was looking for or has figured out that it's not there anymore.
 
Assuming you have a normal old attic, what may be up there that attracts unwanted friends? Is there a large homeless population where you live? Is there anything of value? Also, I hate to bring this up. But if Mr. X did not find what he wanted, and you have now took everything out of the attic, and probably stored it in inside your house; Mr. X may target your house.
No, I don't believe you are silly. Yet, I think you have to boost up the security of your home. One of those big box hardware stores can help. And do check out cameras, Some aren't that expensive, and just the presence of a camera may deter Mr. X.
 
My son is here dragging everything up there out. The stuff is all dated from 1984. Surprisingly he found a few things he wanted. The most exciting thing was an older Midland CB monitor with 40 channels, an older police scanner, an 8 track car player, and four books he wants.

He is taking this stuff. The rest of the stuff filled a city trash can, and his trailer. Stuff like a broken window, mental shelves, baby food jars, lots of old dishes, and plastic wear dropped straight in the trailer and off to the land fill. He says it is still half full up there and some stuff Is buried in a little bit of insulation which he will not paw through due to broken glass.

When he gets back he will bring down the rest or as much as he can get. Then they will build a “door” with locks to keep the guy out. I doubt the guy was from the 1984 stuff, but maybe he was one of the flippers or my somewhat nutty neighbor. Either way, the stuff is gone.

I wouldn’t want to keep any of it. My son did find a wind chime made from tin cans, kind of rusted, which he will hang on the porch of his old mobile home. It actually will look great there. And he found two of those large wooden Xmas soldiers that he May keep as well.
 
Son cleaned out everything he could. Another trailer load to the dump. It’s really dirt up there, like really dusty. Does some one clean attics?
 
No. Don't clean up there. You don't know what is in that dust. There could be some asbestos up there & bat droppings are a real health hazard. You just don't know what can get into an attic. When we cleaned out my mother's attic, we found what we thought was a bale of hay that turned out to be a huge bird nest.
And, get a dog. Great little burglar alarms and loving companions. Add a good lock to your bedroom door and take your phone with you when you go to bed. I have a pepper spray if I think I might need it. Like the old saying, "Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it".
 
Lights and locks

Lock that attic door

Burglars and people that shouldn't be there, hate light;

Buy some trip lights
They're quite inexpensive ($30-$40)
The battery powered ones use three C batteries
That's what we have here at the cabin
The C bats last about two to three months


Aneeda72 said:
A couple nights ago there was a loud pounding on our door which would not stop
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Personally, after finding out it wasn't some sort of emergency, I'd pound the guy senseless and drag his raggedy body to the street

Aneeda72 said:
The guy is looking for some one who no longer lives here.
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He's a nut, and/or full of BS
He just wanted to see who he had to contend with


fmdog44 said:
Someone said once, "I never fear big people, tough people or mean people but I always fear crazy people."
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Yup
 
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Yes, get a dog. Dogs bark.

I'd be concerned that there might have been money or gold stored up there and that's what the guy came back to get. I live in a mobile home and it doesn't have an attic but if it did, I'd want to go through it looking for treasures.

You just never know, life is strange sometimes. Also if that guy comes back I'd tell him we have cameras (a sign saying you do is only $3.95 at Walmart) and you pack iron so he'd best not come around again. He'll know what that means.
 
Gary O' said:
Lights and locks

Lock that attic door

Burglars and people that shouldn't be there, hate light;

Buy some trip lights
They're quite inexpensive ($30-$40)
The battery powered ones use three C batteries
That's what we have here at the cabin
The C bats last about two to three months




Personally, after finding out it wasn't some sort of emergency, I'd pound the guy senseless and drag his raggedy body to the street


He's a nut, and/or full of BS
He just wanted to see who he had to contend with



Yup
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Yeah, I am going to tell my husband to not answer the door after dark for sure. If it happens again we will call the sheriff and have him deal with it.
 
Ceege said:
No. Don't clean up there. You don't know what is in that dust. There could be some asbestos up there & bat droppings are a real health hazard. You just don't know what can get into an attic. When we cleaned out my mother's attic, we found what we thought was a bale of hay that turned out to be a huge bird nest.
And, get a dog. Great little burglar alarms and loving companions. Add a good lock to your bedroom door and take your phone with you when you go to bed. I have a pepper spray if I think I might need it. Like the old saying, "Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it".
Click to expand...
Our son cleared it all out and he mentioned it did not know whether I could be asbestos or not. We will have to get that checked out as well as the broken rafters. So much to do, so little money.
 
All the stuff in the attic has been cleaned out as much as possible. There is a lot of broken glass up there in the little insulation that there is. My son says he can clean it if I want but he needs an N95 mask and full suit covering in case it’s asbestos.

There were no droppings of any kind on anything. Mouse dropping here are dangerous as well. We just need to know what the insulation is, if asbestos it will have to be removed. Some of the stuff, like old books and a baby mattress, smelled. Son wore a mask, gloves, and goggles.

They made the new cover for the entrance and put a lock on each end. While anyone can get into anything, I would now hear if someone goes to break the cover off. We do have a motion light in that area, but can not really see it go on inside the house. We do have a dog, 🤣, who is trained not to bark. But with a lock in place, and a plan NOT to open that door after dark, we should be fine.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I did sleep better last night.
 

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