What do you do if you find a dead animal on your property?
If an animal dies in the walls or attics of homes or in residential yards, problems arise which may be difficult to handle without the help of professionally trained wildlife removal experts.
Commonly found animals include squirrels, raccoons, stray cats or dogs, mice, rats, opossums, and skunks. Homeowners risk unpleasant odors and stains, disease, contamination, and further pest infestation when dead animal bodies are left unattended in homes or yards.
How do you know if there is a dead animal in your home?
Typically an animal does not die in plain sight. The surest sign there is a dead animal is the putrid stench caused by decomposition.
Fluids drain out and leech into nearby materials, causing foul stains which spread and grow as the animal's body continues to rot.
How long does a dead animal stink?
The smell could last anywhere from a few days to a few month. It depends on the size of the animal and environmental conditions for the carcass to dry out.
These signs may cause concern and unpleasant circumstances for humans and attract other insect or animal pests which feed on carcasses.
How to find a dead animal in your house?
Squirrels, raccoons, bats, mice, and rats often make their homes within a house. Whatever areas the animals frequented during their lives are where the dead animal carcass can be found.
Typical locations to look for an animal carcass
- Walls
- Attics
- Under floorboards
- Under porches
- Crawlspaces
- Yards
- Floating in Pools
If you set traps to catch wildlife pests, check them frequently. Toxic baits increase the chances of the animals dying and decaying in hidden or unreachable places.
Problems & Disease
How do I get rid of the dead animal smell?
Critter Control Wildlife Technicians use a pet-safe odor eliminator made of natural organisms and enzymes that consume decaying organic odor-causing matter, eliminating the source of the odor. If we can’t remove the source, we use aerosols, oxidizing agents, foggers and disinfectants with germicides to cover the smell, until nature completes this task for you.
Can dead animal make me sick?
The dead animal smell cannot make you sick, but your sense of smell often alerts you to potential danger. If it smells bad, it is bad for you.
Certain insects and animals such as flies, beetles, worms, crows, and vultures feast off animal carcasses. Fly larvae hatch and grow among corpses, and beetles and worms eat the leftovers. Many such creatures are considered nuisances or pests by humans, and their presence in the home can cause additional problems.
Humans who come into close contact with dead animals may contact the diseases or parasites once harbored by the animals. When left unattended, the carcass may contaminate soil or water sources with harmful diseases like cryptosporidium and bayliscaris.
Undisposed bodies may also be harmful to pets such as dogs and cats, who can contract parasites and diseases just as easily.
Wildlife Pest Prevention
The best way to prevent dead animals in homes or yards is to keep the critter out. They seek entrance through cracks and holes in exterior walls of the home or through unsecured vents, windows, chimneys, or doorways.
Exclusion services include:
- Sealing all cracks with caulk
- Replacing broken windows & door screens
- Adding mesh wire to chimney openings
- Buying tightly fitted lids for trash bins
- Removing debris from yards
- Trimming tree branches so nothing hangs over roofs
- Cleaning clutter from basement and attics
If wildlife have entered your home previously, that entry point exists until you fix it.
Who to call for dead animal removal?
Most local animal control departments will not enter your home or property to remove a dead animal.
Dead animals leave a horrendous smell, and the carcass can lead to health hazards, insect infestations, stains and lingering odors. Upon discovering a dead animal in the home or yard, individuals should refrain from handling the carcass.
To prevent the spread of diseases and parasites, residents should contact Critter Control wildlife removal experts, who are trained to safely dispose of dead animals. Removing animal carcasses will also remove the dangers and possible pest infestations which accompany them.
Call to Schedule Dead Animal Removal Service
Call 1-800-Critter
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Experience wildlife or pest issue? We can help! Complete this form and your local Critter Control® office will contact you to assist.
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