Dead Raccoon Trapped Under Deck -- What to Do?
 

Hi,

Hope someone can help.

I have a dead raccoon trapped under my deck. Problem is that it is in a
location I can't reach unless I tear the deck apart. I have no problem
letting it decompose naturally but the stench is bad and I am worried about
disease.

I can see it through the cracks in the deck and can pour liquid or powder
(maybe) on the carcass.

Any suggestions as to what I can do would be greatly appreciated as I am
trying to avoid tearing
apart the deck.

Thanks.

Alan

"Alan" wrote in message

I have a dead raccoon trapped under my deck. Problem is that it is in a
location I can't reach unless I tear the deck apart. I have no problem
letting it decompose naturally but the stench is bad and I am worried
about
disease.

I can see it through the cracks in the deck and can pour liquid or powder
(maybe) on the carcass.

Lime. Can you get it through the cracks? I'd also be concerned that it
will attract mice or rats or other nasty feeders.

In article ,
"Alan" wrote:

Hi,

Hope someone can help.

I have a dead raccoon trapped under my deck. Problem is that it is in a
location I can't reach unless I tear the deck apart. I have no problem
letting it decompose naturally but the stench is bad and I am worried about
disease.

Decomposing naturally means, maggots will invade and then eventually
hatch into flies. You will be inundated with both.

Roland

I can get powder down there probably. Where does one tyically to go to buy
lime?


"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
. ..

"Alan" wrote in message

I have a dead raccoon trapped under my deck. Problem is that it is in a
location I can't reach unless I tear the deck apart. I have no problem
letting it decompose naturally but the stench is bad and I am worried
about
disease.

I can see it through the cracks in the deck and can pour liquid or powder
(maybe) on the carcass.

Lime. Can you get it through the cracks? I'd also be concerned that it
will attract mice or rats or other nasty feeders.

"Alan" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Hope someone can help.

I have a dead raccoon trapped under my deck. Problem is that it is in a
location I can't reach unless I tear the deck apart. I have no problem
letting it decompose naturally but the stench is bad and I am worried
about
disease.

I can see it through the cracks in the deck and can pour liquid or powder
(maybe) on the carcass.

Any suggestions as to what I can do would be greatly appreciated as I am
trying to avoid tearing
apart the deck.

Thanks.

Alan

Pop a couple of decking boards up, reach down and pull that sucker out. Get
him quick while he still has rigormortis. Once he bloats, you risk pulling
a limb off or popping him open and releasing thousands of maggots.

Good luck.

Problem is the way the deck was constructed, I can't pop up any boards and
get to him. Stupid design, but my only option is to either dismantle a huge
section of deck or cut into it.

Alan


"Oscar_Lives" wrote in message
news:Rj7re.44844$_o.32911@attbi_s71...

"Alan" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Hope someone can help.

I have a dead raccoon trapped under my deck. Problem is that it is in a
location I can't reach unless I tear the deck apart. I have no problem
letting it decompose naturally but the stench is bad and I am worried
about
disease.

I can see it through the cracks in the deck and can pour liquid or powder
(maybe) on the carcass.

Any suggestions as to what I can do would be greatly appreciated as I am
trying to avoid tearing
apart the deck.

Thanks.

Alan

Pop a couple of decking boards up, reach down and pull that sucker out.
Get him quick while he still has rigormortis. Once he bloats, you risk
pulling a limb off or popping him open and releasing thousands of maggots.

Good luck.

"Alan" wrote

I can get powder down there probably. Where does one tyically to go to
buy lime?

In the produce section of your local grocer. Usually next to the lemons.....

Dr. Hardcrab wrote:
"Alan" wrote

I can get powder down there probably. Where does one tyically to
go to buy lime?

In the produce section of your local grocer. Usually next to the
lemons.....

Man, you sure cover all the news groups. g

Dan..........from ASC!

Dan on 6/13/05 5:31 AM wrote:

Dr. Hardcrab wrote:
"Alan" wrote

I can get powder down there probably. Where does one tyically to
go to buy lime?

In the produce section of your local grocer. Usually next to the
lemons.....

Man, you sure cover all the news groups. g

Dan..........from ASC!



You do too!


--
bmickey9

Enjoy'em yourself or pass'em along.

"Alan" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Hope someone can help.

I have a dead raccoon trapped under my deck. Problem is that it is in a
location I can't reach unless I tear the deck apart. I have no problem
letting it decompose naturally but the stench is bad and I am worried
about
disease.

I can see it through the cracks in the deck and can pour liquid or powder
(maybe) on the carcass.

Any suggestions as to what I can do would be greatly appreciated as I am
trying to avoid tearing
apart the deck.

Thanks.

Alan



Couple of thougts come to mind.

1. I would assume rigimortis has set in so moving the body as a whole
shouldn't be a problem. Is there a way to get rope around the animal and
drag it out from underneath the deck. I would take a long pole and attach
rope to the end of it which would allow you to hook and drag the animal out.

2. If access is truly an issue from underneath, and it was my deck, (I have
a deck made of IPE using the ipe-clips hidden mounting system so gaining
access under the deck would be a similarly tough problem), I would cut out
one or two (depending on the size of the animal) joist width (16" wide)
section(s) of decking directly above the raccoon so that you can get it out
of there. I would find where the joists are and mark the lines along the
center of the joists. Cut out the section(s) of decking to gain access to
the raccoon. I would use my Fein Multimaster as it has a saw attachment
that allows straight forward cuts with a very thin kerf so that the decking
could easily be screwed back in place using the Trimstar screws. Depending
on how you cut the decking out, you might have to put in a replacement
section of decking. Also, depending on how your deck was built, you could
use nails or regular decking screws.

While it would break the clean look of the deck, I would much rather have
that than the smell, disease, and infestation of rodents and other animals
that will naturally come. This would also allow you to properly treat the
area where the raccoon has been as I am sure it has been there a while.

Remember to seal all access point to the underside of the deck so this
doesn't happen in the future.

Hope these ideas help.

David

P.S. I plan to redesign the way my deck is sealed off when I complete the
steps to make every effort to prevent something like this from happening in
the future... Thanks as it was not something I had put much thought into.

I have a dead raccoon trapped under my deck. Problem is that it is in a
location I can't reach unless I tear the deck apart. I have no problem
letting it decompose naturally but the stench is bad and I am worried
about


How did the racoon get in, then? There's obviously a racoon-sized hole
somewhere. Stick a wire-noose through that hole, and poke/drag it
over to the corpse with a stick and/or hooks down through the cracks.

Failing that, grab a shovel and dig a tunnel.

"bmickey9" wrote in message
...
Dan on 6/13/05 5:31 AM wrote:

Dr. Hardcrab wrote:
"Alan" wrote

I can get powder down there probably. Where does one tyically to
go to buy lime?

In the produce section of your local grocer. Usually next to the
lemons.....

Man, you sure cover all the news groups. g

Dan..........from ASC!



You do too!


--
bmickey9


Getting kinda crowded in here....

Sandy K.

Sandy K. wrote:
"bmickey9" wrote in message
...
Dan on 6/13/05 5:31 AM wrote:

Dr. Hardcrab wrote:
"Alan" wrote

I can get powder down there probably. Where does one tyically to
go to buy lime?

In the produce section of your local grocer. Usually next to the
lemons.....

Man, you sure cover all the news groups. g

Dan..........from ASC!



You do too!


--
bmickey9


Getting kinda crowded in here....

Sandy K.

Anyone have a cigar?? ;-)

Dan

Alan wrote:

Hope someone can help.

I have a dead raccoon trapped under my deck. Problem is that it is in a
location I can't reach unless I tear the deck apart. I have no problem
letting it decompose naturally but the stench is bad and I am worried about
disease.

I can see it through the cracks in the deck and can pour liquid or powder
(maybe) on the carcass.

Any suggestions as to what I can do would be greatly appreciated as I am
trying to avoid tearing
apart the deck.

Suggestion #1: Call your county animal control gang. They should
either come on and solve your problem OR give you instructions for
a DIY solution.

Suggestion #2: Call a pest removal service.

Dick

"Dan" wrote in message
news:qlire.3590$1q5.2158@trnddc02...
Sandy K. wrote:
"bmickey9" wrote in message
...
Dan on 6/13/05 5:31 AM wrote:

Dr. Hardcrab wrote:
"Alan" wrote

I can get powder down there probably. Where does one tyically to
go to buy lime?

In the produce section of your local grocer. Usually next to the
lemons.....

Man, you sure cover all the news groups. g

Dan..........from ASC!



You do too!


--
bmickey9


Getting kinda crowded in here....

Sandy K.

Anyone have a cigar?? ;-)

in my Grey Poupon voice

"Butt of course!!!"

;-]

The Other Dan