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How to Remove a Squirrel that Fell Down the Wall
Sometimes squirrels fall down walls. This usually happens when squirrels are living in the attic of a house, and they get too curious about their new environment. Walls are
hollow, and the top often opens right into the attic space. If a squirrel tries to climb down, it may find that it has nothing to grab hold of, and it slips down to the bottom. In nature
a squirrel can climb just about anything. However, many human-made substances are too slick to climb. This is why squirrels can get stuck at the bottom of a metal flu chimney
or a smooth masonry chimney flu, or smooth drywall. Most adult squirrels are smart enough to keep away from the walls of a home. Most of the cases of a squirrel stuck
in a wall involve juvenile squirrels.
This is a photo of the wall. The person living here heard noises scuffling down in the wall - as well as distress calls. The person didn't know what to do, (or
was lazy) and did nothing. The squirrel struggled for a few days, and then died. Soon, a strong odor developed, and that was enough for the person to take
action.
I sniffed around in the apartment and found that the strong odor was indeed coming from the area the occupant described hearing the noises from. I could tell the exact
area by scent, and cut a hole in the drywall. I use a reciprocating saw, and place a towel below to catch dust.
I stuck the camera in the wall and took this photo. You can see the young squirrel has died. It was at the age when it was active and mobile, but not yet
wise in the ways of the world - and down the wall it went!
I remove the squirrel from the wall and place it in a biohazard bag.
Next, I spray the area with Bac-Azap, which is an excellent deodorizer and decontaminant in the case of dead animals. You can't just spray this stuff
in the air to get rid of the smell, but once you remove the animal, you can spray the area to neutralize the stinky residual odor and juices left behind.
After the animal is removed and the hole sprayed, I replace the cut-out section of drywall and use a special adhesive drywall patch to hold it together.
Next, I spackle the area. It will dry to the same white color. It can be sanded and painted for an even better finish, good as new.
This is really the only way to remove a dead squirrel in the wall. You can't get rid of a squirrel in the wall with any product, it must be done manually. There's
a slight chance it may be accessible from the attic, but a wall is usually 8 feet down, with limited space, and oftentimes structural beams block access. In most
cases, I must cut a hole to remove the animal. It's important to remove dead animals not only because of the odor problem, but because they can spread various
disease that people can get.
Or better yet, for a detailed explanation of how to get squirrels out of your attic, click the link.
For more squirrel trapping information, go back to the Orlando squirrel control page. If you are looking for squirrel or wildlife control in the Philadelphia PA area, please visit our Philadelphia Pest Control & Wildlife Removal page.
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