Dead Animal in Wall
Hi everyone. Pretty sure I’ve got a dead animal in the wall because our pantry is stanky. Has anyone ever called someone to help with this? If so, who did you call?
I don’t trust myself enough to open up the wall without taking out three rooms :)
Antiwork I ha similar issue years ago it's a long story but what caused it was a squirrel came down the hot water heater flue and got caught, died and stunk up the whole house
Jimt1058If its an outside wall check the exterior to see if anything died at the base of the house,
I had an animal die outside the house right at the foundation and it stunk up the house
TJS Call an exterminator first. You want to find out not only where it is, but how it got there so you can prevent it from happening again. When you have one animal, you'll have another if you don't close off how it got inside in the first place.
Then either do it yourself or get a handyman to fix and repair what ever needs to be done.
Do a Forum search on Exterminators for suggestions. Mine would be All Seasons.
GC A neighboring apartment complex of mine called in a horrible smell which turned out to be a fox rotting in the crawl space. It must've been injured or something because no noises were ever heard and there were no signs of scratches or anything like that, just found a spot to die. Maintenance said it wasn't a horrible gorey mess. Also check your pantry for rotting potatoes, one of the most horrible smells ever
Animallove I would vent the odor outside, burn incense and wait it out. Eventually the dead creature will dry up and stop smelling. Or you can tear out the wall which is costly and will never look the same unless you replace the whole wall.
Robert Rowe Make sure it's not rotten food! I had that happen and it ended up being a potato that fell and began to rot! I swore up and down it was a dead animal.
Irisheyes Hi! Lived in a very old farmhouse with my ex and mice would sometimes die in the walls. Robert Rowe above gives some good advice. Rule out anything that may have fallen out of sight and is decaying, check for holes of access, and perhaps set some mouse traps in case that is what it is. There have been local complaints about increases in rodent populations around homes since the excavation at the Bergen site.
Lavender, peppermint or eucalyptus essential oils (Hackettstown Health Foods) on some cotton tucked away will help with the odor. It should resolve in a week or two (depending on critter size!)
Good Luck!
MAN I’m resurrecting this thread to ask if All Seasons Pest company is still in business. I called Joel earlier today and haven’t received a response which is unlike him. Also, the voicemail was the default phone company “leave a message for (insert phone number)”. I have a bunch of carpenter bees munching on my cedar siding and need to bring in the big guns.
Ryan, Joel's son took over the business when Joel retired over 5 years ago.
I haven't needed pest control in quite a while so I don't know much more than that. The number I have is 908-850-8206
Called that number for all seasons and Joel called back and left a voicemail saying he could come spray but not if it’s a 2 story house because he’s 73 and doesn’t do ladders anymore. I’m wondering if his son Ryan went into another business or started his own pest control operation. If anyone knows another outfit that can spray for the bees without having me sign a yearly contract, it would be appreciated.
A couple years ago, I used Viking Pest Control to spray a yellow jacket nest. They didn't require any kind of yearly contract. You could check with them. I think they are in Clinton. Google Viking Pest and it comes up.
Lonesome Dove Do a forum search, there are several threads. This one in particular has multiple recommendations:
http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/797312
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