Missouri, private property
Dead Animal Under a Deck or in a Crawl Space in Missouri
Raccoons, opossums and skunks crawl under decks, porches, sheds and into crawl spaces to shelter, and sometimes die there. The smell usually rises through the floor or out from under the deck boards. None of the city pickups we found in Missouri says it covers this case.
Before you pay anyone. Find the existing way in: the crawl-space door or vent opening, a gap under the deck skirting, a board that lifts. Note roughly where the smell is strongest. If the smell is clearly inside a finished wall instead, read the wall-smell article.
What this covers
- An animal under a deck, porch, step or shed reached through an existing gap.
- An animal in a crawl space reached through the access door.
- An animal under a structure where a board or panel lifts without cutting.
Where the limit is
Cutting deck boards, flooring or finished surfaces to get in, and sealing the gap the animal used afterwards: neither is offered through this site. Live animals, trapping and odor treatment are not offered either.
Describe the access on the call: how high the crawl space is, where the door is, how low the deck sits and whether there is skirting. That decides whether the carcass can be reached and how.
A closed crawl space keeps a smell in and pushes it up through the floor, so it usually lasts longer there than on open ground. The size of the animal, heat and damp all change how long; no fixed time applies.
How a call goes
- Find the existing access and where the smell is strongest.
- Call or send the form with your ZIP code and a description of the access.
- If an operator covers your ZIP code, you settle the price and timing with them directly.
- If an operator takes the job, the carcass comes out through the existing opening and is taken for disposal.
Questions about this situation
Will the city remove an animal from under my house?
None of the Missouri city or county pages we reviewed describes collecting an animal from under a deck, porch or house or from a crawl space. Some cities collect a small animal once it is bagged and set at the curb.
Does the deck have to be taken apart?
Usually not, if there is an existing gap, a lift-out board or skirting that comes away. Requests passed on through this site are for animals that can be reached through an existing opening, without cutting.
Not sure this is the right page? Who removes a dead animal in Missouri works through the public and private split, and the locations page sets out what the larger cities publish.