Not sure what part of the country you live in, Sarah, but this sounds like elementals, as was mentioned earlier. These pesky little beings do tend to cause a bit of havoc around them. Being rural located, it's likely that's what they are. If you have had a recent earth change event, as these seem to be earth based creatures, they literally may be all stirred up and causing you issues.
We have a member here who has had to deal with them before, and I am going to refer her to this thread when I see her here later. She may have some good ideas for you in dealing with them.
Thanks so much!