That was hilarious!! Thanks for sharing! These things do happen and if an Inspector is in enough crawls they will eventually encounter the dreaded illusion. I’ve had one myself.
Never let your fears be known…
I hate the Fu*kers too.
Remember this one I found last year…
Gives me the creeps…
Yep, when you’re in that dark, dingy, crawl area, with little room to maneuver (or escape), your imagination can bring out some unfounded fears for sure! 
You guys better be careful. Emmanuel will be waterboarding you soon if you don’t give the answers he wants to hear. You will always be wrong if you don’t answer the way he wants you to answer.
It must be great to be him! :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:;-);-)
Yes I do, tell them it was NOT ACCESSIBLE (pick your definition from the many posted) and this is a better than not seeing it at all alternative.
Emmanuel has definitely filled the void left by JB
Absolutely it’s great to be me and my clients are very happy I am me since they know they will be treated right! You sound as if you’re not happy to be you? It’s said if you’re not happy to be yourself it is one of the signs of deep seated insecurities that may require counseling. Maybe you should seek counseling with the hostilities you display and the apparent lack of happiness with being yourself?
Would you care to share who you are referring to with the initials JB or do you prefer to hide behind inferences? I certainly hope your inspection reports are clearer than that for your client’s sake! :roll:
Thanks for the very informative replies. I appreciate the info. I went by the property today and was able to check out what I’m in for. It’s a large crawl space and the spiders seem to be only near the entrance. I have some good PPE so things should be good. I plan on a full evaluation of the space. Thanks again! Bill
Do not come in here!
Whether I can do all that or not I want one its pretty cool. However nothing can replace actually crawling under the home. But if you can’t get in anything can help. I just wouldn’t want to lose it under a house and have no way to get it.
EXCELLENT POST. Your 1st priority should always be your own safety. YOU are the most important person there.
When I was young and dumb like some of our fellow inspectors, I’ve gone into crawls that were so tight I couldn’t turn over if needed OR where I had to cut my belt off to get out OR where framing nails were rubbing my back.
DUMB, DUMB, DUMB. Guess we all have to learn. I’ve seen guys get electrocuted and killed crawling wet crawls when a wire was dangling somewhere. Others had heart attacks and were so far back nobody could get to them easily.
We don’t do wet or standing water crawls. We don’t do crawls we can’t maneuver easily in (typically gonna be 2’ or more tall). We don’t trespass on others territory
(raccoons, snakes, rats, black widows, brown recluses, etc).
1st inspection out today had 3 crawlspaces … One not accessible (under 12" tall); One about 18" tall but with pipes, boulders and ducts obstructing the path AND looked at but not crawled; One about 24" to 30" tall and crawled.
Yes nothing can replace actually crawling. However some times it is best to disclaim rather than going that extra mile. Using these crawlers is a very limited inspection of the crawlspace which already has one major problem and that’s if you can’t get under it then most likely a plumber, electrician, framer, foundation guy, etc., can’t get under it in its current condition! Framing is also to low to the ground to begin with. That is something that the client DEFINITELY needs to be told and helped to understand the ramifications of. If you can’t get in there the client NEEDS to be impressed upon they are flying blind with the purchase and taking the chance there is nothing significant there.
Unfortunately consumers are awed by fancy toys (thermal imagers, drones, etc., are no exception). When the little crawler doesn’t capture the severity of a water damaged floor with an ongoing leak for example, and the client later falls through the floor (drastic case but has happened) they will forget all about the WOW factor of the toy and be knocking on your door for recompense! All they care about is they picked you because of your crawler or they were WOW’ed by its use even if you explain its limitations. Even though I’m not a fan of drones, and do use thermal imaging, it is or can be much less damaging for you since those devices are easier to explain away or won’t miss a lot when used properly.
Do what your comfortable with , I use a pole if i have to . The crawler is good too , how ever it would only be a visual with limited access . A picture is worth a thousand words, as for calling thermal cameras and drone crawler toys has no merit and is just not true . Always disclaim what you cant prove 100 percent but try to give your 100 percent . And always be careful with your safety as others said . times change and methods too. Some just hate change . and use **The toy **as a reference to degrade the fact . I could care less what others do or say . been doing Inspections for many years ( not just Home Inspections ) Methods change , Technology changes . There may be some that still use the check list method without pictures .lol Bickering about how we do things will always happen but i prefer to keep a open mind for change. as for not being able to probe a area because of access a picture of the area could show possible defects so why would that be a liability? BTW if there is water in the crawl space there is no way i am entering if wires are on the ground . Is your live worth more than the fee i certainly hope so. As far as critters some could be hidden for sure . If a infestation is present? That should be treated and area cleared for safety . How ever ever place will have spiders and snakes . A infestation is a different matter
. Perhaps we should just have a thread for pictures of the oh **** look at this crawl space .
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If there are fleas… I ain’t going in. Nope!
Dave sending you a razor lolol What kind of spider do you know?
I had a home loaded , stepped in pants where covered i mean covered ( inside) out side the same . They sprayed 3 times it just pissed fleas off . lolol . There where rumors of a small pest guy disappearing .
I quit shaving my legs for the winter!