Thread: Gross out attic , best recommendation?

I did a 3100 sqft, 1992 home today. There must have been a family of large racoons or something living in the attic space for years. An abundant amout of poop all over the attic insulation. I've seen some amounts in attics before, but nothing like this.

Would you all recommend a health and safety inspector to determine the appropriate remediation/cleaning? Or would you recommend just removal of poop and all affected insulation?

Thanks,

Brian

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Originally Posted by brianmiller

Or would you recommend just removal of poop and all affected insulation?

Thanks,

Brian

That and removal of any stained or damaged drywall.

I had a similar situation where a cat lived in the attic. I recommended they have all the insulation and poo vaccumed out and new insulation installed. It was done and apparently the insulation company was pretty familiar with this. I had all kinds of great poo pictures in the report.

After the clean up and damaged, old saturation, drywall removed and replaced they may need an odor neutralizer sprayed up there. Storm and leak clean up companies do that as well as many Pest Control companies.

It sounds like pretty much every under floor crawl space around here..... cat poo, racoons, rat crap.... it's the norm. I just recommend a .22 and some patience.

thanks, for the responses. Wouldn't you recommend a health and safety expert look at the situation as well?

Where do you find a health and safety inspector?

I found racoons in a house. Babys nesting and piles of poo. I recommended a pest company and let them take it from there.
Coons are one thing. But nothing's like a crawl space inhabited by opossums.
JLMathis

Originally Posted by neal lewis

Where do you find a health and safety inspector?

Maybe an industrial hygienist or one of those water damage/mold remediation companies. They should be able to do the clean-up and verification.

I inspected a house that had what looked like poop from a small dog on the roof. The sellers were home at the time and when I asked them about it they said they they had peacocks and they flew up on the roof to roost. It was not a problem but I was curious as to how dog poop got on the roof.

Recommending a certified indoor environmentalist will suffice. He/she should be able to draw up the appropriate plan of remediation.

Originally Posted by Eric Barker

Recommending a certified indoor environmentalist will suffice. He/she should be able to draw up the appropriate plan of remediation.

Or your basic insulation contractor. It's not that complicated, remove the S*** and replace the insulation!
Or, maybe call in the HazMat team, county health board, a couple of engineers, ServPro, EPA, Industrial Hygenist, Etc, etc for poo remediation!!

Inspected an attic space once that was covered in what looked liked bird droppings. Every item they had stored in there was coated with this s***.

I just did an insurance loss inspection this past Wednesday where a possum found a way into a gap in the ductwork for the outdoor HVAC unit to bed down for an unusually cold night. Then a skunk found the same spot. And the two got into a massive fight that tore up duct work and damaged the HVAC unit, but not before it pumped warm, skunky air through the whole house.

The repairs had already been done by the time I visited, and I was there just to QC the work and sign off on the $12,000 settlement.

The work done included a new HVAC unit, all new ductwork and all new insulation in the crawlspace. And ServPro had to spray the whole house with an odor eliminator.

The backstory was not in my work order for the job, so I just thought I was inspecting a claim for a storm or flood settlement. A few oh-my-gods later I got a good laugh when I came to the line where I had to check a box for the cause for the claim. The usual items were there: flood, tornado, hurricane, wind, etc. No box for "vermin fight."

By the way, the possum won, and got the warm spot. ServPro (or somebody) had to remove her too, and that was included in the claim.

Originally Posted by James Duffin

I inspected a house that had what looked like poop from a small dog on the roof. The sellers were home at the time and when I asked them about it they said they they had peacocks and they flew up on the roof to roost. It was not a problem but I was curious as to how dog poop got on the roof.

Racoon poo is similar in size to what a small dog might produce. I recommend you check the specs on peacock poo in case it is the source.

Originally Posted by Lisa Simkins

Racoon poo is similar in size to what a small dog might produce. I recommend you check the specs on peacock poo in case it is the source.

Racoon poo is a common source of round worm infection (deadly for dogs and not so great for humans either). The eggs are extreemly small and nearly indestructable. If the feces are dry there is potential for any disturbance to cause the eggs to become air-born. A great reason to always wear a mask in an attic or crawl space.

BTW, Toronto is the racoon capital of North America. Check out "Racoon Nation" with google for some interesting research on the critters.

Raccoons, pack rats, possums and squirrels OH MY-

Here is an article from a neighbor of my buddy. Raccoon ate the roof. Does that make Raccoons WDO's? (wood destroying organisms)

I see so much damage from squirrels in my neck of he woods. Eating siding then destroying the insulation and what ever else.


Raccoons damaging homes in Everett neighborhood | KING5.com | Seattle Area Local News

Speaking of gross outs and unknown occupants, noticed "this" when inserting a picture of a very broken sump into this afternoon's report.

No idea what it is.... or even if it's animal, vegetable or mineral

This is my day for seeing things I can't identify, this is a at a beam in a crawl space, any ideas?

Michael
The picture in post #18 is a "Caniption"
I may not have spelled it correctly.

"Conniption".

My wife thinks it might be a stuffed toy. I may be back at that property tomorrow, if so I'll fish it out for autopsy.

Meanwhile... what's the stuff on the beam ???

Originally Posted by Michael Thomas

This is my day for seeing things I can't identify, this is a at a beam in a crawl space, any ideas?

Bedbugs?

As for the beastie in the sump - conniption? caniption? a fit of violent emotion?

The picture is not very good, but they do look like bedbugs.
But I don't think bedbugs would be in the crawl space, not that heavy.

The "thing" in the sump pump looks familiar, Beanie Baby I think.

As for the "stuff" on the beam, that may well be bedbugs (or rather, bedbug poo) if the pipe is a hot water pipe. They seek warmth that's why they like humans in beds.

Hi, ALL &

Did a BIG House with a HUGE attic - full of bats - nearly knocked me over when they fly towards /over me for the 1st time...

Should've seen the piles of guano - several feet deep (cannot believe the upper ceilings held-up), as this had been going-on for years. No wonder their dogs were crazed (hearing /smelling 'em, but couldn't touch 'em) !


CHEERS

Either its a toy turtle or lizard, or a petrified one...