re: Something in the attic - any suggestions?

What the heck is that?

1. Get a raccoon trap/cage
2. Go out a buy a KFC dinner
3. Drop the folding stairs to attic space
4. Place KFC bones and scraps in trap
5. You will have coon or opossum by bed time
6. Be sure to repair the access spot well or they will be back next year. They leave pheromones at that spot.

Why don't you just let your landlord deal with it?

"The thing in the attic"

Fred's first thought was that the heater was on the fritz again. The rumbling was alien, but somehow familiar. He almost ignored it, relaxing in a slight whiskey haze, letting the buzz from the alcohol and his Tiger's end game comeback soothe him to sleep. Then it came again, louder, longer, persistent. Like the sound of rocks in a rubber drum, a rumble from somewhere else...definitely not the heater.
"Dammit" he cursed under his breath, "It's always something. I can't have one measly weekend without a hassle."
The next sound found his wife sitting up in the bed, her sleep mask pulled up over one eye as she scanned the room, nervously shaking the sleep away from her eyes.
"Honey, what IS that!?" She asked, her nerves sounding stronger in her voice with every syllable.
A rumble reverberated in the ceiling above her at that instant, eliciting a scream.
"shite honey!" Fred harshly whispered, "keep it down, you'll wake the girls. It's just some damn animal that got in the attic somehow."
Another chorus of heavy footfalls, followed by what sounded like something...rolling. Fred waited. Yes, there it was again, the tum-tum, tum-tum, tum-tum of padding on the ceiling followed by a rucka-rucka-rucka-rucka of a tumble.
"The sonofabitch is playing up there!" He rasped. He grabbed his smartphone to look up exterminators when the baby started to cry. His wife hurried to the nursery to comfort it, yelling over her shoulder "Fred, either you do something about whatever that is, or We're going to an hotel."

He cursed under his breath again, and started for the garage. Looked like he was going to have to handle this the old fashioned way...

he gone

Just start shooting in that general direction.

Probably.

I want to know what was up there.

We had a few bats in our attic last March. Scary shite waking up every morning to see a bat hanging from the drapes or air conditioner vent.

After seeing one staring at us, the "bat exterminator" realized the stupid Sheetrock guys or whoever left a small hole above hood over stove. We have very high ceilings and never saw the hole. They were getting inside the house throughout the hole.