Squirrel aftermath - damp under kitchen unit, drying etc?

Hi,

The ongoing saga....

The dead squirrel has been removed from its hiding place. The area was very damp (is this normal for a dead corpse? I presume so)

Anyway, I have removed the bottom of that cupboard unit and it is damp underneath, complete with maggots and woodlice. The maggots have made a pilgramage from the squirrel to the crawl space... although there was a wooden panel blocking the two, it was not fit flush to the floor so they just went underneath it.

The damp has gone under a patch of lino at the other end of the crawl space. Not nice.

I want to dry this out as fast and efficiently as possible. General advice much appreciated.

Thanks,

Tris.

Reply to
tristan
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Leeching of body fluids, my paramedic daughter comes across it every now and then - but not with squirrels.

Remove & dispose of old lino, scrub everything with hot disinfectant solution. Maybe twice.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

You can hire big dehumidifiers for drying out new buildings from HSS etc.

Owain

Reply to
Owain

I've disinfectant-scrubbed the carcass area and crawl space now, after removing the maggots and wood lice.

Is there any possibility of the lino drying out and being good now carcass is removed and everything scrubbed, or is it a definite replacement job? I'm just wondering whether it is worth a wait-and- see before ripping it up.

What will help increase the speed of it all drying out?

Reply to
tristan

More to the point: how did you manage to get the beastie into this envied state?

S

Reply to
spamlet

ITYM "leaching"

"leeching" is a rather different technique and not one I thought paramedics used.

Owain

Reply to
Owain

Roadkill cookery program ? :-)

Don.

Reply to
Don Spumey

What, dead? ;)

It was there when we moved in (nice). Property has sat empty since we agreed to buy (surveys etc) for several months due to the paperwork involved (read: delays when solicitors were writing to the wrong addresses to get the information they needed).

Reply to
tristan

Hair dryer

>
Reply to
Mary Fisher

I stand corrected :-)

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

Just be patient. Without the body, the stuff will dry up rapidly. Without a food source, the bacteria fungi and so on that live off the corpse will die..or bugger off somewhere else.

Let nature take its course and stuff a clothes peg on yer nose.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Thanks.

The lino and carpet which were impacted are smelling much better now. Not _quite_ back to normal but near it. The lino was four feet away from the body, and the carpet around seven.

The smell has changed to a more "sweet" one now (albeit still not nice). But the area I've exposed under the cupboards to dry of body fluids is still slightly damp and the smell is coming from there. It was very wet at the time of discovery...mmm, body fluids. The squirrel-shaped outline has vanished though.

I'll give it another disinfectant scrub (or six) today.

Tris.

Reply to
tristan

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