A sudden, worsening odor inside the house usually means an animal has died somewhere you can't see — inside a wall cavity, under attic insulation, or in a crawl space. It is one of the most common calls we get in Blair County's older homes, where a squirrel, raccoon, bird, or bat that got in through an aging soffit or chimney ends up trapped in the structure.
The smell typically starts a day or two after the animal dies, peaks over the following one to two weeks, and slowly fades as the carcass dries out — but it can linger far longer in a cool wall cavity, and it draws flies and secondary pests the entire time. Waiting it out is rarely worth it. Locating and removing the source is faster and stops the fly problem before it spreads.
Finding an animal inside a wall is the hard part. We work the odor gradient, check the most likely entry routes for the season, and use the home's construction — stud bays, insulation lines, chimney chases — to narrow it down before opening anything up. In older Altoona housing, the access point and the death point are often not the same place, so a methodical search saves needless drywall damage.
Once located, we remove the carcass, clear contaminated material, and sanitize and deodorize the area to neutralize the smell and the bacteria that come with it. Then we deal with the real cause: the open entry point that let the animal in. Sealing it is what keeps the next one out — the same attic and exclusion work that prevents a repeat problem.
In-wall, attic, and crawl-space removal, sanitizing, and permanent sealing so it doesn't happen again.
(814) 800-3215