DEAD RAT REMOVAL MELBOURNE
For all your dead rat removal needs in Melbourne you can rely on Pest Control Empire to assist. The removal of dead animals from Melbourne homes is unpleasant work, but that’s nothing compared to the smell that the poor home owner must contend with. The smell of death is unmistakable and can take weeks if not months to subside. Most people can’t tolerate the stench and as a result, we have dedicated team members who specialise in removal of decaying and rotting carcasses.
Tim Clinnick is the owner of Pest Control Empire and he has crafted a reputation for himself and his business as someone who will go that extra yard for his clients. Tim says, “Rats and possums often share our homes with us. They love nothing more than a nice, warm roof space to shelter from the elements and raise a family. However, for health and safety reasons these common household pests should be removed if they have encroached into our homes. They can often die in a wall cavity, the subfloor or roof space and the smell can be unbearable. Not everyone has the will or want to search for the cause of the smell, and that’s where we come”.
The search for the culprit often requires crawling through a subfloor or tight roof cavity and this is often dangerous work. The team at Pest Control Empire are trained in working at heights, working in confined spaces and identifying dangerous objects within a home. Tim continues:
“The roof is a particularly dangerous location to enter as electricity cables can lead to electric shock and death as we saw with the former Federal government’s home insulation scheme. The insulation found in roof voids is also often made of fibreglass and anyone who has come into contact with it knows how uncomfortable that can be. There’s also the prospect of encountering asbestos in older homes as well. In the subfloor there may be a plumbing leak so the prospect of crawling through sewage is a possibility. All in all it can be dirty work but in the end, someone’s got to do it!”
Rats and possums have a tendency to die in difficult to reach places. The belief is that while dying they prefer to feel secure so that’s why they are often found in tight wall cavities or underneath heating ducts. Tim adds:
“I’ve had some pretty challenging removals these past few months. One home in Kew had a deceased possum located at the bottom of a three metre high wall cavity. The gap was too tight to fit in so I had to come up with a way to remove it without resorting to cutting through plaster. I used duct tape to stick a broom handle to a garden rake to create the extra length that I needed to reach the possum. I then removed a few roof tiles to enable me to lower the tool to where I needed it to be. The next 10 minutes or so was spent trying to drag the possum up along the wall to the point that I could reach it with my hand. The flies buzzing around certainly didn’t help but we got the desired result”.
It is always important to remove as much of the carcass as possible. It’s also important to remove anything that the carcass may have come to rest on before dying as the smell will be attach itself to that item. If that item is insulation then that’s easy to remove but often the animal may die on a timber frame and the bodily fluids will drip into the wood. In instances like this the smell may still linger for a period of time after the body is removed. It is also important to disinfect the area and to treat any insects such as maggots and flies that are always present.
The smell of a dead animal may be stronger at certain times of the day than at other times. The wind conditions and temperature play a role in the strength of the smell. The location of death is also a critical factor. Tim notes, “If a rat dies out in the open space of a subfloor and there is a reasonable gap between the ground and the floor then the smell may be almost negligible. However, if it dies directly under a duct it can be spread throughout an entire house whenever the heating is turned on. It’s the luck of the draw and I’ve always found that the larger the animal the more prominent the smell”.
If you believe that an animal has died in your wall, subfloor or roof space you need to call 1300 665 573 to have one of our team attend to locate and if possible, remove the the cause of the smell. We service all Melbourne suburbs for any dead animal removal needs and we always go the extra mile to achieve a positive result.