Rat odor: causes and how to remove the smell
As anyone who has dealt with a dead rat in his or her home can attest, the smell is one you will never forget. The putrid odor is a nasty mix of chemicals produced as the body decomposes, including sulfur dioxide and methane. The best way to describe it would be the rotting smell of death. The bigger the animal, the more tissue to break down, the more time needed to decompose. Rats are larger than mice, so the smell of a dead rat is likely to be stronger and last longer than that of a mouse. Still, unless you can actually see the animal, you might not be able to determine whether you have a dead rat or a dead mouse in the house.
Regardless of whether it's a rat or mouse, squirrel or opossum, there’s no formula for calculating how long the smell of a dead animal will last. It may take days or weeks for the carcass to dry out and the odor to naturally and completely disappear. Humidity can affect the process and make the nauseating odor even more intense. Therefore, if a rat dies near steam pipes or other moist areas in your home or car, it may be there for a long time.
Here are some of the steps to follow to get rid of rat smell:
LOCATE WHERE THE SMELL IS COMING FROM
What you are trying to look for is where the dead rat carcass is. If you're unable to find the dead rat or cannot reach them, look for the presence of insects since the decomposing bodies attract a slew of different bugs. Observe any insect activity, for instance, flies hanging around a wall or vent. This will be an indicator of where the dead carcass is. When the rat carcass is finally found, pick it up carefully and place the rotting body inside a plastic bag. Make sure that you are wearing gloves and have on a mask to protect yourself since dead carcasses can carry a variety of different diseases and are unsanitary.
USE BAKING SODA TO DRIVE THE SMELL AWAY
Baking soda is a very good deodorant for eliminating odor, use it to get rid of that unwanted smell in your house because of a dead rat that its location cannot be traced. Just make a solution with baking soda and water, and spray it within the affected area. Do this 2 to 3 times a day and you will see the wonders it will performs.
PURIFY THE SMELL WITH COFFEE GROUND
You can also use a fresh bag of coffee ground to mask out the dead rat smell. Place a bag of fresh coffee ground close to areas where you think the smell is coming from. You’ll stop noticing the smell after a day or two.
USE OF ODOR REMOVING BAGS
Absorbents are helpful when you know exactly where the rodent’s corpse is but for some reason you can’t actually remove the body from there. For example, when it is situated in the pipes, inside the walls or in the chimney. Odor removing bags are simple to use – there is no need to place them directly at the source of the odor, instead you can hang it above the crawl space and lock the room. The odor will begin to decrease in the first few hours and will be gone completely within the following few days or within a week at most.
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