Squirrels in the Attic

Dead Squirrels in the Attic

Squirrels sometimes die inside the attic or walls of your home. How do you find and remove them?

How To Find a Dead Squirrel in the House or Attic

Squirrels sometimes die in the house, in the attic or wall. Having a squirrel in your home can be a problem but having a dead one presents a whole other array of issues. In addition to the damage caused by the animal when it was alive, you have to deal with all the complications of a dead squirrel, including struggling to find and remove it. Luckily, it is possible to get the dead squirrel out of your home, whether it is in the attic, walls, or somewhere else.

Photographs of Dead Squirrels

What if this Squirrel Dies?

Sometimes the squirrels in your attic die, either due to natural reasons or in the rare times when they eat a poison and die.

Remove the Animals

Crawl in the attic and find and remove the carcass. Place it, and any soiled insulation, into a plastic bag. Use gloves.

Information About Dead Squirrels

Issues With Dead Squirrels
In addition to the obvious fact that you don’t want a dead animal sitting in your walls or another area of your home, having a dead squirrel can cause a range of problems. You will notice a terrible smell almost right away and if you don’t remove the squirrel soon, the odor can spread. There will also be flies swarming around the carcass along with maggots if it is left too long. Of course, the dead squirrel can leak and stain your wall or ceiling and there are several health risks as well. Because of all these things, you want to get the dead squirrel out of your home as quickly as possible.

Get Professional Help
The most effective and quickest method of getting a dead squirrel out of your home is to hire a professional. Their experience in the industry and familiarity with squirrel habits will give them a major advantage when it comes to finding the squirrel. They will have a good idea of which areas of your home are most likely hiding the carcass based on where squirrels are likely to go to die. Thanks to experience, a professional will be able to correctly interpret the scents in your home, narrowing down the options of where the squirrel is. They can then minimize the number of holes made in your wall or ceiling to get to the animal. Of course, hiring a professional also gives you the advantage of not having to remove or dispose of the dead squirrel yourself, something that is necessary for anyone who is a bit squeamish or just doesn’t want to deal with deceased animals. A professional will follow the same general steps to find and remove the dead squirrel as you would but do so more quickly.

Using The Scent
Whether you or a professional are looking for the dead squirrel in your home, scent will be the biggest clue. You need to walk around your home and see where the odor is the strongest and the squirrel is most likely close to this spot. In many cases, you already know where the scent is bad since many homeowners don’t even know there is a dead squirrel until they smell it. If you happened to hear movement that could’ve been squirrels walking recently, then see if the areas closest to where this movement was smell. It is likely that you heard the squirrel and it was somewhere it typically rested when it died.

While the squirrel’s odor is the biggest clue to where it is, you can also look for other signs. If it has been dead for a while, you may hear a faint buzzing of flies or see an odd stain on the wall or ceiling which indicates the animal’s location. Unfortunately, the only way to confirm that the squirrel is truly where you think is to cut a small hole in the wall.

Removing The Carcass And Cleaning
Once you have found the dead squirrel, you need to put on plastic, latex, or similar gloves and get ready to remove the animal and clean the area. With your gloves on, pick up the squirrel using a plastic bag, rag, or paper towels and put it inside a sturdy garbage bag. You will need to seal this bag tightly and make sure it is double bagged. If you want to minimize bags, you can also put your cleaning supplies in the same garbage bag. You should ideally clean the area with an enzymatic cleaner but bleach and water will also work. Make sure you remove any stains as well as fluids and maggots or flies.

Disposing Of The Carcass
In most cases, you will be allowed to throw a dead squirrel out with your regular trash collection, but you should consult your local regulations first. It will always need to be double bagged (at least) and stored in a garbage can with a lid until collection. You can also contact your local animal services department to see if they will accept dead animals, which is very likely. If they don’t, they will tell you the proper way to dispose of it. If you prefer, you can also simply dig a hole in your yard that is two feet deep or more and bury the squirrel there. In cases where you hire a professional, they will take care of the disposal for you, giving you one less thing to worry about.