Last week we received a call from a customer who claimed something had died in her crawl space and she could smell it in her house.
The crawl door had been knocked down and her dog had been sniffing around near the vents where the animal was. We went to check it out and discovered a dead cat in the crawl space that had been decaying. The smell was so strong in the crawl space, the homeowner could smell it in her dining room.
It is instinct for animals to isolate themselves when they are nearing death to avoid becoming prey. We often find animals that have gone into crawl spaces to die. When a crawl door is left down or there is no crawl door at all, animals are able to get in and shelter in the crawl space until they die.
What this means for the homeowner is that when the animal begins to decompose, you can smell it in your home.
Along with creating horrible odors in the home, animals in the crawl space can also cause many damages to the house.
When squirrels, raccoons, or opossums make dens in the crawl space they may cause damage to the home that is very expensive to repair. These damages may include damage to electrical wires, wood supports, HVAC units, insulation, and drywall. Prevention is cheaper than repairs when it comes to damage caused by animals.
As a homeowner, you can install a crawl door before an animal gets into your crawl space. If an animal has already died in your crawl space, you can call Crawl Space Pro and we can remove the dead animal from the crawl space and also install a crawl door to prevent more animals from getting into your crawl space.