Attic cleaning begins by stripping out insulation that mice, raccoons, squirrels or bats have fouled with droppings and urine. The soiled fill is dampened, bagged and hauled off, and then the joists and roof boards are sanitized and deodorized so clean insulation has a fresh surface to sit on.
Animals in an attic leave more than droppings. They flatten and tunnel through the insulation, soak it with urine and drag in nesting material. We take all of it out and clean the wood underneath.
Each animal leaves a different mess. Raccoons tend to pick one corner as a latrine, so the worst of it is often in one spot. Mice spread droppings along runways across the whole attic floor. Squirrels leave nesting material and chewed wood near the eaves. Each pattern changes how the insulation removal is planned, and the quote reflects the extra time. The work is fully insured, and you get the price on paper before we start.
Southwestern Public Health lists hantavirus, salmonella and leptospirosis among the illnesses linked to mouse droppings. Roundworm eggs in raccoon waste are hard to kill, and most household disinfectants leave them alive. Bat guano can harbour the fungus linked to histoplasmosis, a lung infection. None of this is a reason to panic, but it is a good reason to treat the cleanup with care.
The health unit, which serves St. Thomas and Elgin County, advises against sweeping or vacuuming droppings dry. Its guidance is to wet them with a bleach solution, wait ten minutes and double-bag them. If anyone has been bitten or scratched by a bat, or woke up with a bat in the room, it asks that the contact be reported and that the person get medical advice.
A few droppings on a basement shelf are something a homeowner can clean. An attic full of soiled insulation is different. The space is hot and cramped, the material is dusty, and a shop vacuum blows fine particles straight back into the air.
Before anything is vacuumed, the fill is misted or treated, and everyone in the attic wears a respirator. The vacuum unit and its bags stay outside with the exhaust pointed away from the house. The insulation removal is then followed by a sanitizer on the joists and roof boards and a deodorizer for the smell.
Trapping animals and wildlife exclusion are outside our work. While the attic is bare, we note every gap we can see, and we coordinate with the wildlife company you bring in so each opening is shut before the attic gets its new insulation.
Bats are a special case in Elgin County attics. Southwestern Public Health notes that bat exclusion belongs in the cooler months, not in summer while bats are raising young, and that gaps larger than 3/8 of an inch should be sealed. That timing can shape when the cleanup is booked. Once the attic is clean and sealed, attic insulation replacement finishes the job.
Call or use the form, and tell us what animal you think was up there. We will come and look, take photos and write a quote. Our other services start from the home page.
These are the other attic jobs we quote in St. Thomas and across Elgin County.
Attic insulation removal takes every layer of old batts and loose fill down to the bare joists. A trailer vacuum in the driveway pulls the loose material out through a long hose, batts are bagged by hand, and the attic floor is swept clean before any new insulation is added.
View Attic Insulation Removal
Blown-in insulation removal clears settled cellulose and loose fibreglass out of an attic through a wide vacuum hose. The fill rides the hose down to collection bags parked beside the driveway, which keeps it off the stairs, the carpets and the furniture in the rooms under the attic.
View Blown-In Insulation Removal
Wet, mouldy and smoke-damaged insulation removal is for attics hurt by a roof leak, an ice dam, a bath fan exhausting into the attic, or a house fire. The ruined fill comes out, the wood underneath is checked, and each stage is photographed for the insurance file.
View Wet, Mouldy and Smoke-Damaged Insulation Removal
Vermiculite in an attic is left alone until a lab result comes back, because this fill may contain asbestos. We halt the job and have a sample analyzed. When asbestos is confirmed, we coordinate a trained asbestos abatement contractor to take it out, and we re-insulate after the air clearance.
View Vermiculite Insulation Removal
Attic insulation replacement follows the removal while the attic floor is still bare. Gaps around wires and pipes get sealed, baffles hold the soffit vents open, and fresh loose fill is blown in to R-50 or R-60, the depth Ontario's code packages set for new homes.
View Attic Insulation Replacement
Pre-sale attic work clears up whatever a home inspection finds overhead, from droppings to soaked fill to something that might be vermiculite. Buyers, sellers and realtors receive a written quote, and before and after photos of the finished attic are theirs to pass along.
View Pre-Sale and Home Inspection Insulation RemovalSend a few details about the attic, and we will book a free visit and write up the quote.
Fill in the form with your address and a short note about the attic. Photos of the hatch or the problem area help if you have them. We read every request and reply with a time for the visit. You are also welcome to call us at +1 (226) 400-3338.
