Dead Rodent - Rat or Mouse Smell in House or Walls

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How To Find A Dead Rat or Mouse In Your House
Rats and mice can be a big problem for many homes, and when it comes to finding out about the problem the major trigger will usually be a foul smell which will indicate there is a dead rat in the building. The smell itself certainly isn’t pleasant, but often it will be difficult for people to actually find the corpse. Rats will not usually die in the middle of the floor, which means that it is vital to find the carcass so that it can’t be removed.

Where Is The Smell Strongest?
For many people it may simply be the case that the stench fills the whole house, but a good place to start is to go to the room where the smell is strongest. As a rule rats and other rodents will usually prefer dark spaces, and this is a good place to start when looking for a rat carcass. If it will have died in a room then it will usually be under a wardrobe or behind a desk, somewhere that is dark and rarely accessed, so looking in these areas is the first step.

If this doesn’t turn up the obvious source of the smell, the next thing to do is to see if there is a particular part of the room that is particularly pungent. This will usually be near to the floor, or up towards the roof. Rats will often die in the attic or roof cavity, or in some cases will die in the cavity wall. If it is possible to find a way to see what is in these cavities, this will often turn up the source of the problem, otherwise there will be no choice but to cut a hole to allow access into the cavity.

Look In The Favorite Hideouts Of The Rats
We know that rats will tend to look for dark and warm areas of the home to make their nest, so looking in areas of the home that are rarely accessed will also be a very good place to look. The attic cavity is one of the most common parts of the home to find rats, because it will have access to other areas of the house, and is also warm and comfortable. It is also smart to see if there are any spaces in and around a boiler or the kitchen area where rats could hide.

If you’re struggling to see where the dead rodent is, then it can be an idea to think about how they actually got in to the house, and follow the trail from there. One of the typical signs that a rat has entered into a home is that there are signs of chewing around the woodwork or plaster on the inside or outside of the home. It will often be in an area where people will not necessarily think to look, such as in a corner or near an outlet.



Conclusion
Hopefully, by this point you will have found the offending carcass, and will be able to remove it safely. If it is apparent that there is a rat infestation, or it is in a difficult to access area, getting a professional in is certainly a wise choice.

This is one of the main reasons people shouldn’t use rat poison if they know that they have a rat problem, because a rat will go to a comfortable place or to its nest to die. If you don’t know where the nest is then when the poison does its work you will still have the unpleasant task of finding and disposing of the body, which can require more specialist equipment.

This site is intended to provide education and information on removing dead rodents, rats and mice specifically, so that you can make an informed decision if you need to deal with a dead animal problem. This site provides many dead animal control articles and strategies, if you wish to attempt to solve the problem yourself. If you are unable to do so, which is likely with many cases of dead animal removal, please go to the home page and click the USA map, where I have wildlife removal experts listed in over 500 cites and towns, who can properly help you with your nuisance dead animal.

Click here to read more about how to get rid of dead animals inside a house.