Crawl space · attic · shed · garage
Crawl spaces, attics and outbuildings
West Michigan builds on crawl spaces, and animals treat them as shelter. When one dies down there, the Grand Rapids removal line sends somebody who will go in. The same goes for attics with a hatch, sheds, garages and the void under a deck.
What recovery involves
Locate
By smell, by flies, by where the animal could have got in. A crawl space is a confined space; the operator brings light and protection for it.
Remove
The carcass is bagged. The insulation, soil or bedding it was lying on is usually taken with it, because that is what keeps smelling.
Treat the spot
Where practical. Whole-crawl-space work or new insulation across an attic is separate, and whether the operator offers it is a call question.
Point out the entry
If it was visible. Sealing it is separate work.
Walls are a different matter
Where a small rodent has died inside a finished wall with no way to reach it, the wall is not opened. The odor eases on its own as decomposition runs its course.
Finished drywall and plaster are not opened for a small rodent. A cavity that connects to the attic or crawl space can sometimes be reached from there, so say what you know.
Helpful to mention
- Where the crawl space door or attic hatch is
- Which room the smell is strongest in
- Noises in the weeks before, and where
- Flies at a window or fixture
- Any vent or opening sealed recently
Related
Visible outside is the yard and deck page. A smell with no location is the odor page. Cost explains why a crawl space job prices above a lawn pickup.