How did this catfish die under a house? No water under there, silly.

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I commonly extract dead animal carcasses from homes and property. The very animals that commonly invade houses die inside houses, and when they do, they create a very unpleasant odor as the carcass decays. The successful removal of deceased wildlife definitely requires experience and knowledge of building architecture and animal behavior. I've cut and pried open every nook and cranny imaginable to locate and remove rotting critter bodies. I am the best - I always find the animal, deodorize and decontaminate the area, and seal up the hole I've cut open. If you want to learn more, please read my How To Get Rid of Dead Animals page.

A Catfish under the House - As amazing as it sounds, finding a catfish under a house is not that uncommon in a state like Florida. Due to the presence of ocean, the water table in Florida is high and requires people to build houses that are elevated from the ground. Unlike houses in most American states, the houses here do not have basements but have a crawlspace left behind due to the elevation. But the question remains, how does a catfish enter the crawlspace? Again, this is not a rare incident for houses that are built close to the ocean. Fish of different kinds may sometimes get seeped in your property thanks to the water table.

Now, what happened with this poor soul is that although it got flushed with the water table and into someone’s property, it could not survive for long due to insufficient water. As a result, it died right under someone’s house, causing the homeowners to place a call to me. This happens to be one of the smelliest cleanup jobs I have done. Imagine the smell of fish and top it with the smell of something rotten (gross, right?). I could feel for the homeowners and got down to my job right away.

The moment I had entered the property, I knew the site of incidence was somewhere out of the house because the smell in its surroundings was just unbearable. My instincts immediately told me that whatever it is, it has to be somewhere in the crawlspace. And so, out came my Tyvek suit, my headlight and other equipment. The most difficult part of cleaning up under the house is the lack of space you have. Anyways, thankfully I found the fish soon enough and after placing it in a disposal bag, proceeded with my cleanup routine. Once done, I disinfected the place and voila, I was ready to go home.

AAAnimal Control is a privately owned wildlife removal and pest control business, located in Orlando Florida. I deal strictly with wild animals including ones that have died inside houses. I am not an extermination company, but a critter removal and control specialist. The above photos are some of the many that I've taken in the field over my years of work. Please email me if you have any questions about the above photographs, or any questions about wildlife problems or dead animal removal issues.