Civet in Your Roof or Ceiling? Signs and What to Do in Singapore

Palm civets are active from late evening until dawn and sleep by day, so most clues appear at night or the morning after.

• Noises at night: thumps, footsteps and scurrying across the roof or false ceiling, often soon after dusk and again before dawn as the civet heads out to feed and comes back to rest.
• Droppings: cylindrical and often packed with whole seeds, such as fishtail palm seeds. They are often left in the same spot again and again, such as a beam, a flat roof, an awning or a corner of the roof space.
• Smell: a strong, sweetish scent often compared to pandan, from the glands civets use to mark their routes, plus the smell of droppings and urine where it rests.
• Stains: damp or discoloured patches on ceiling boards below the spot where it rests, which may be urine.
• Paw prints and fruit: prints on pipes, awnings and ledges, and half-eaten mango, papaya or chiku found in the morning, with bigger bite marks than a squirrel or bat would leave.
• Sightings: a cat-sized animal with a black face mask and a long, dark tail on a roof edge, wall or overhead cable at dusk.

No. ESC rates the palm civet HARMLESS: leave it be. It is shy, active at night and avoids people. Despite its looks it is not a cat: civets belong to their own family and are more closely related to mongooses.

Like any wild animal, it may bite or scratch if it is cornered, grabbed or trapped, so never handle one and keep children and pets away. If anyone is bitten or scratched, wash the wound well with soap and running water and see a doctor. Singapore has been free of rabies since 1953, so the real problem is mess and noise, not danger.

In the forest, a palm civet sleeps by day in a tree hollow or a thick crown of palm fronds. A roof space offers the same: a dark, dry, quiet spot away from rain and disturbance. Palm civets often use the roof spaces of landed homes and older buildings near parks or big trees.

• Shelter: gaps under roof tiles, at the eaves and around vents, pipes and cable entries lead straight into roof spaces and false ceilings.
• Food nearby: mango, papaya, banana, chiku, starfruit and fishtail palm trees, fallen fruit, pet food left out and open bins.
• Easy routes: overhanging branches, overhead cables, pipes, divider walls and connected rooftops let a civet travel from tree to roof with little need to come down to the ground.
• A safe nursery: a quiet roof space suits a female raising young.

Most roof visits can be sorted out calmly. In the meantime:

• Leave it alone. A civet resting in the roof by day usually heads out on its own after dark to feed.
• Keep children and pets away from the roof space, the ceiling hatch and any gap where you have seen it.
• Note when and where you hear it, and photograph droppings, stains or the animal from a safe distance. This helps identify the species and the entry points.
• Bring pet food and fruit indoors at night and close bin lids.
• If a civet has come down into your home, keep people and pets out of that room, open a door or window to the outside and give it quiet time to leave.
• Call or WhatsApp ESC on +65 9149 1408 for an inspection, especially if the noise goes on for more than a few nights, you see stains or you think there may be young.

A few common reactions make things worse, or break the law:

• Do not seal the gaps first. Closing the entry while a civet or its young are inside can trap them in your ceiling, which is distressing for the animals and a far bigger problem for you.
• Do not try to catch, corner or handle it. Trapping wildlife without approval is an offence under the Wildlife Act, and a cornered civet may bite.
• Do not set cage traps or glue traps. They can injure civets and can catch pets too.
• Do not feed it. Feeding wildlife is an offence under the Wildlife Act, and food keeps the civet coming back.
• Do not use smoke, chemicals or mothballs to drive it out. Mothball fumes can harm people and pets, and none of these fix the gaps.
• Do not climb onto the roof or into a ceiling space that cannot take your weight. A fall is a far bigger risk than the civet.

Palm civets can breed at any time of year. A female usually has two or three young and may pick a quiet roof space to raise them. The young stay in the nest at first, then start following her out to forage after about two to three months.

If you think there are young in your roof:

• Do not touch, move or pick up the young. Handling them can stop the mother coming back for them.
• Do not block the entry point, even for one night. The mother needs to get back in.
• Call ESC so a trained officer can check the roof and plan the timing. Gaps should only be sealed once the whole family has left.

ESC's wildlife work is led by certified wildlife specialists, and passive ushering and exclusion are always our first choice, not a trap set by default. When you call or WhatsApp +65 9149 1408:

• We ask what you have seen, heard and smelled. Photos on WhatsApp help us confirm it is a palm civet.
• A trained ESC officer inspects the roof space or ceiling and finds the entry points, plus the branches, cables or pipes the civet uses to reach them.
• The officer guides the animal out, then seals the gaps it was using, only once the civet and any young have left. Every ESC officer is trained and certified for work at height.
• Where capture is needed, it is carried out by trained handlers, subject to the approvals each species requires.
• You get practical advice on branches, fruit trees and food sources, and managed properties can ask for a photo-documented report.

Once the civet has gone and the gaps are sealed, these steps make a return visit far less likely:

• Trim branches that touch or hang over the roof so trees no longer act as a bridge.
• Cover gaps under tiles, at the eaves and around vents and cable entries with sturdy wire mesh or vent covers, but only once you are sure no animal is inside.
• Harvest fruit as it ripens, bag ripening fruit in cloth or mesh, and pick up fallen fruit daily.
• Bring pet food in at night and keep food in closed containers.
• Make drainpipes harder to climb, for example by wrapping a section in smooth metal sheet or fitting a metal collar.
• A motion-sensor light in the roof space or yard can discourage a civet from settling.
• In terraces and semi-detached homes, talk to your neighbours. Civets cross connected roofs, so sealing one house may simply move the civet next door.

Like any animal droppings, civet droppings and urine can carry germs, and the smell lingers. Clean up only after the civet has gone and the gaps are sealed, and only where you can reach safely.

• Wear disposable gloves and a mask, plus eye protection if you are working overhead.
• Do not dry-sweep or use an ordinary vacuum. Wet the droppings first with household disinfectant, diluted as the label says, and leave it to soak for a few minutes.
• Wipe them up with paper towels, bag them and throw them out with household rubbish.
• Disinfect the area, let it dry and replace badly soaked or stained ceiling boards.
• Wash your hands well with soap and water afterwards.
• Leave large build-ups, hard-to-reach roof spaces and anything above a fragile ceiling to a professional.