Washington, private property
Dead Animal Under a Deck, Porch or Shed
Raised decks and porches are everywhere in Washington, and the gap underneath is dry, sheltered and easy for an animal to get into and hard for it to get out of. It is one of the most common places a carcass ends up, and one of the more straightforward to deal with, because the access is almost always already there.
Before you pay anyone. Look for the way in before you look for the animal. Lattice panels, skirting boards and a loose section at the low end of a deck are usually the entry point, and usually the way back out too.
What this covers
- Raised deck and porch voids
- Under a shed, workshop or detached garage floor
- Behind lattice or skirting panels
- The gap under a raised entry landing or stair run
- Under a hot tub surround or built-in bench
Where the limit is
Cutting or demolishing deck boards as a standard stepSealed structural voids with no existing openingRebuilding or replacing skirting as part of the removal
Most of these voids open from outside without tools, or with a panel that unclips. Where a board genuinely has to come up, that gets discussed on the call and agreed before anyone starts.
A raccoon or a large opossum under a deck is a different job from a rat, mostly because of reach. The animal is usually further in than an arm's length, and getting to it without damaging the deck is the whole skill.
How long the smell lasts is not something this site will put a number on. No Washington agency publishes a decomposition or odor timeline, and the figures that circulate come from studies done outdoors in other climates.
How a call goes
- Describe the structure and where the smell is strongest
- Work out whether there is an existing opening
- Agree the price before anyone sets out
- Recovery, then the area is cleaned down
Questions about this situation
Will someone have to take my deck apart?
Almost never. The usual route in is a lattice panel, a skirting board or an existing gap at the low end, and that is enough for most recoveries. If a board genuinely has to come up, it gets raised as an option on the call rather than done as a surprise.
Do I need to call the state before anyone touches it?
If it is wildlife and you are removing it yourself, Washington says yes. WAC 220-400-040 requires you to telephone the Department of Fish and Wildlife or the Washington State Patrol before removing wildlife found dead on your own property, giving your name, address, telephone number and a description of the animal. Rats and house mice sit outside the statutory definition of wildlife, so that step does not apply to them.
Why under the deck and not somewhere else?
Because it is dry, dark and hard to get out of. An animal that is already sick or injured looks for exactly that, and a deck void is the most available version of it on a typical Washington lot.
Not sure this is the right page? Who removes a dead animal in Washington works through the public and private split, and the county pages give the published position where you live.