Stop Bad Smells

If you have ever had a rat die in your house and be unfortunate enough for it to have died somewhere warm and poorly ventilated, you may have experienced the unpleasant smell from the rotting carcass. You will then be motivated to prevent this happening again.

Keep Them Out

The first and best way of preventing such bad smells is to prevent rodents, possums and other animals getting into and infesting your home or other buildings.

Before any find their way in, check around the building for places animals could enter; gaps under doors, broken vents, trees overhanging the roof, vegetation growing up to the eaves, gaps around pipes or cables, etc. All are potential entry points for rodents and possums. A mouse can squeeze through a gap a pencil will fit. Seal up or remove all such entry points.

Control Them as Soon as Possible if They Get In

Don’t let a population build up in your property. The more animals the more likely to get a bad smell from death by ‘natural’ causes. Large populations can also produce a musty odour from many live animals and their droppings and urine. So, as soon as you see or hear signs of infestation carry out control.

The most effective methods of rodent control are the use of rodent bait, such as NO Rats & Mice One Feed, and good quality snap traps, such as NO Mice One Touch Traps orNO Mice Wooden Mouse Traps, used in conjunction with the bait. Rodenticide baits are effective and can control whole infestations. Traps are used to catch and remove rodents. Once rodenticides begin to take effect the likelihood of being caught in the traps rises, so that the bodies can be removed. Traps on their own may not be enough to remove a whole population because trap shyness can build up where rodents that set off traps, but are not caught, will not venture near them again.

Get Rid of the Bad Smell

If a rodent or other animal has already died and you are detecting the bad smell you should attempt to locate and remove the carcass. This can be difficult if the animal has passed away in a wall or other inaccessible place. Because of air currents the smell can seem to be coming from somewhere other than where the carcass is. The appearance of maggots or blow flies may be an indication of the carcass location.

If located, wearing gloves and mask, collect the carcass in a plastic bag and dispose of it. Clean up the area and improve the ventilation. If the carcass cannot be found, improve ventilation and use an odour neutraliser. Neutralisers work better that masking odours/perfumes that often make the smell more intolerable.

How long the smell lingers will depend on the size of the animal, the temperature and the ventilation. A rat may smell for a week or more.

Prevention is better than cure.

David Brittain
Kiwicare