Help! Dead rat smell in our basement (I think)...wait it out??

[Uppie1414]

Just like the title says

I'm worried about a couple things:

--is it unsafe to leave it? health problems, etc...
--how long will the smell last?

My roommate doesn't think the smell is terrible and it's not overpowering or anything (been about 3 days now), so I'm guessing it's a rodent. I have no clue where it is. It's a strong smell about 5 steps down into the basement and that's it, but it doesn't smell under the steps (1995 townhouse, so it's not an old house--I can see everywhere under the steps).

What the hell could this be? Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[bignateyk]

I think I might have the same thing in my closet... It kind of smells like a skunk, but ive looked all over and can't find any one object that smells, or any animal carcass. I'm thinking something died in the wall.

The smell has been there for months. I'm moving out in about 3 weeks though so I don't really care much.

 

[isekii]

just get a dog to sniff it out.

 

[Modelworks]

Could be anything from a dead rat to a broke sewer line.
It is one reason I do not use poison to kill rats.

 

[StageLeft]

Happened at my parents' place last year and took several weeks to go away. It was horrific but eventually waned.

 

[SonnyDaze]

It's Jimmy Hoffa.


Hey OP, is there a toilet in the basement? Could be that the ring has gone bad.

 

[CptCrunch]

Originally posted by: SonnyDaze
It's Jimmy Hoffa.


Hey OP, is there a toilet in the basement? Could be that the ring has gone bad.

or a shower/sink that has a trap low on water

 

[nanobreath]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
It is one reason I do not use poison to kill rats.

Never ever use poison to kill rodents!!! All they do is crawl into the walls and die, leaving you with god awfull smells till they stop decomposing.

As also mentioned in the thread, check all your drains. Run some water in them to ensure the trap is full. Had this happen in a bathroom I never used. Toilet ran, so I had shut off the water to the toilet, and eventually all the water in the bowl and trap evaporated. One flush and it's all good.

 

[skyking]

Originally posted by: isekii
just get a dog to sniff it out.

Perfect. My dog will point out anything like that. If you get him worked up he will help you dig for it.

 

[Brainonska511]

That sucks dude. I had that in my old place around this time last year, but it was caused because of me (used poison instead of a trap and didn't think about the smelly consequences until the first dose of poison had been eaten).

The best you can do for the smell is open a lot of windows. Put some fans on to circulate the air and maybe get an freshener of some kind, but be careful to try and avoid one that will be more nauseating with the carcass smell. The smell lasts about 10 days, dependent on how big it was and how dry the environment is.

Be prepared for flies a few days after the smell stops if you can't find the body.

 

[Uppie1414]

How do I check that? Bathroom isn't bad....just a spot by the wall.

 

[Uppie1414]

Be prepared for flies a few days after the smell stops if you can't find the body.

Yeah, had about 6 today....so I'm getting to the end of it?

 

[JulesMaximus]

The smell will go away in a few weeks or so. If you can't find it there really isn't much you can do about it.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: Uppie1414

Be prepared for flies a few days after the smell stops if you can't find the body.

Yeah, had about 6 today....so I'm getting to the end of it?

Getting to the beginning of it.

My situation: smelt for a little over a week. A week of no smell and no flies. Then a few days of a massive amount of flies.

 

[Lamont Burns]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511

Originally posted by: Uppie1414

Be prepared for flies a few days after the smell stops if you can't find the body.

Yeah, had about 6 today....so I'm getting to the end of it?

Getting to the beginning of it.

My situation: smelt for a little over a week. A week of no smell and no flies. Then a few days of a massive amount of flies.

That Stinks.

 

[John P]

Never ever use poison to kill rodents!!!

Roger that, gotta have verifiable body count.

 

[mesthead21]

There is only one solution:

Nuke it from orbit

 

[rudder]

Do have any appliances down there? If so, I would check the clothes dryer. My old neighbor used to be a corn field. When the corn got cut the mice would come in. They would crawl in the dryer or oven and get shocked on the wires inside. Pretty rank after a few days/

 

[TruePaige]

Just let it be, unless you think it is in an appliance or something.

 

[Freshgeardude]

did it come out of your air conditioning machine?

 

[Squisher]

If you have floor drains with grills, the traps for those could have gone dry.

 

[V00DOO]

This is happening to me right now. The smell is in the kitchen right underneath the sink. It's god awful smell. After a week the smell finally dieing down. I do not want to crawl under the house to remove it. God knows what else is down there. You can always pay someone to do remove it for you.

 

[0roo0roo]

well and thats not the worst they do, they chew through plastic and stuff, leaving shredded stuff and piss/poop everywhere they hang around. when i had one it chewed its way into a box of knick knacks and then proceeded to chew up things like plastic toys and stuff. i got him in the end with a rat trap but the damage was done. the one time i used poison i got lucky, the thing crawled out to the yard and died.

 

[D1gger]

Sorry about the smell ... I couldn't find a better place to leave the dead hooker than your basement.