Mice are destructive little rodents who can cause big misery, especially when they end up dying in the walls of your home or inside your car. It's amazing how one cute little animal can make such a huge stink. What do dead mice smell like?
The odor of a dead mouse is a mix of sulfur dioxides, methane and other noxious gases that are produced as tissue begins to decompose. Unfortunately, this smell can be produced by any member of the rodent family mice, rats, etc.
However, you can look at some context clues to get an idea of what kind of critter you may be dealing with. Both mice and rats are nocturnal and prefer small dark spaces that offer a place to hide.
Mice love to make nests and will shred material, especially fabrics and paper, to line them. They may also burrow into upholstered furniture and claim your couch as their own before eventually dying there.
Do you see any animal droppings in your cupboards, drawers, attic or other more secluded areas of your home? Examining the size and shape of any waste you see could help you determine the animal causing the smell in your home. Are mice attracted to house plants?
Q Are mice attracted to or feed from common houseplants? Field Mouse vs. House Mouse. House Mouse Life Cycle. Signs of a House Mouse Infestation. House Mouse Enemies. Read More. More Like This. Expert Tips for Using Scent Repellents. VP - Articles - Email Signup. Woodstream Family of Brands. All Rights Reserved. Also, larger critters, such as maggots burrowing away into the dead mouse's insides, pose a significant risk of a secondary health-hazardous infestation.
So, to sum it up, always wear protective gear when removing a dead mouse or a rat to avoid becoming sick from any of these horrendous diseases: tularemia, hantavirus and so on. Finding exactly where the carcass of a mouse is in your home is not such an easy task. Naturally, you can try to follow the smell.
Another fact to consider is that a decomposing body can be smelled from dozens of metres away. This means that the dead animal could be anywhere around your property. So, our advice is to inspect every potential and easy-to-access hiding spot, such as:. Spreading and breathing in harmful bacteria and germs, carried by the mouse, is the last thing you should allow to happen. Unfortunately, the rodent sometimes meets its demise in a hard-to-reach spot, be it under the floorboards, up in the air duct or behind a wall.
And often, your only chance to get to the dead body is by using a flexible type of borescope. Say, you think the carcass is stuck somewhere in the wall cavity. You can drill a tiny hole just above the base moulding and inspect the space behind the wall with the optical tool you have at hand.
If your investigation fails to reap any results, try a different spot and drill another small hole until you locate the dead pest. When the suspected source of the vile smell is likely to be stuck underneath the hardwood flooring, you'll need to remove a floorboard or two and examine the gap between the subfloor and the floor joist. If applicable, check your underfloor area through the floor crawl space access door or vent. Now you know what to do if you ever find yourself in a dead mouse situation.
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