Rodents in the ductwork
While it’s common for homeowners to discover a rat, mouse, or other small rodent has died in their ductwork, it’s not a pleasant experience.
Often, it will leave you with a horrible smell and mess to clean up. Even though the animal died in your ductwork, the smell will likely seep into your home and cause your entire house to smell. While it’s best to have this type of situation handled by a professional, there are some things you can do in the event a small animal dies in your ductwork. The only way to determine where an animal died in your basement, attic, crawlspace, or ductwork is to follow the scent. If you can see the animal, you can proceed with removing it. If you don’t see it right away, you may need to consider hiring a professional to search for a disposal of the animal. Animals often crawl into nooks or dark corners, or even into the insulation to die, making it hard to find. Once it’s been found and removed, you should disinfect the area to get rid of the smell and clean the area. One thing you should do after all of this is to have a thorough inspection of your system and ductwork performed to learn how the animal was able to enter your ductwork in the first place. It’s important to find them to prevent another animal from getting into the ductwork, and also increase efficiency of your system. You may also want to consider having your ducts professionally cleaned. Though this issue you may be able to fix on your own, you can see why it may be helpful and even necessary to hire a professional to come in and assist you with the issue.