How to Get Rid of Dead Animal Smells

This page is an expert guide on getting rid of dead animal smells in your home using the products and methods suggested by our experienced pest control specialists. Follow this guide and use the recommended products, and we guarantee you will not have any lingering dead rat, dead mouse, or dead animal odors in your home.

Finding a dead animal inside your home isn’t a situation anyone would want to get into. However, this can be an issue a homeowner may face at some point. Small animals, such as rodents, often enter your home through inlets in the house structure, such as the attic or basement, searching for shelter and food. What makes matters worse is if they end up dying within your home and begin to decompose.

Solutions Pest and Lawn has a wide selection of odor control products that are proven effective in eliminating even the worst dead animal smells, even when they cannot be found. These products are used by professionals and work quickly to neutralize odors and make your home livable again.

On this page, you will learn more about some of these featured odor-removal products and how to eliminate dead animal smells yourself.

Identification

Many different animals and pests have a knack for trespassing into homes and creating problems, but the animals that most likely die in a home and begin to leave an awful smell are rodents. Rats and mice, in particular, sneak into homes and, either on their own or from consuming rodenticide bait, may die in an area where they can't be disposed of, and this is usually when the odor is noticed.

As the dead mouse or animal decomposes, the dead carcass's odor can be awful and overwhelming. Various chemicals, including sulfur dioxide, methane, benzene derivatives, and long-chain hydrocarbons, generate the smell. This mixture of noxious gases produces an awful smell that cannot be ignored.

A dead rat, mouse, or other animal smell can linger and produce an even stronger odor as time passes until fully decomposed, which could take 6 to 10 weeks. During this time, filth flies and other insects may arrive and consume or breed on the rotting body, creating more problems.

Inspection

After you have identified the decomposing rat, mouse, or animal, you will need to inspect the odor source and dispose of it quickly so the dead rat or mouse smell doesn't get worse.

Where To Look

If you notice a dead animal inside your house, throw it away without delay. Small animals such as rats, mice, possums, and raccoons prefer hiding underneath your home or behind different objects. Therefore, you can’t notice them quickly. However, the following signs can indicate there is a dead animal inside your house.

• A pungent stench inside and outside your house
• Stains on the floor or walls
• Swarms of flies in a particular area

 Check attics, air vents, wall voids, and your basement, as these are common areas where they could be found.

What To Look For 

What you are trying to look for is where the dead animal carcass is. If you're unable to find the dead rodent or cannot reach it, look for the presence of insects since the decomposing bodies attract many different bugs. Observe any insect activity, such as flies hanging around a wall or vent. This will be an indicator of where the dead carcass is.

If you don’t want to put your health at risk, disposing of the carcass should be your top priority. The most common method is to bury them in your backyard. You can keep dead animals in sealed plastic bags and throw them in the garbage bin. You can also contact professional animal control services to get rid of them. Get in touch with the local authorities to know about the legal ways of discarding dead animals.

Treatment

Once you have removed the dead rat or mouse carcass (if you found it and could reach it), you will still have to deal with the lingering odor. What you can use to eliminate the odor will depend on the animal that died in your building and where. Our top recommendations are odor neutralizers like Rat Sorb Odor Eliminator or Nature's Air Odor Eliminator.

Step 1: Thoroughly Wash the Space

If you have found and removed a dead animal carcass, you should thoroughly wash the area where you picked it up. Doing so improves hygiene conditions and allows you to remove most of the lingering smell.

If you are in a non-residential structure like a warehouse, barn, or commercial building, it may be wise to bring in a spray hose to clear out the remnants. Wear gloves and scrub the area well with a good disinfectant cleaning product.

Step 2: Apply Rat Sorb Odor Eliminator

Rat Sorb is an odor-neutralizing product used mainly to eliminate dead rat or mouse smells that may be coming from inside walls, attics, and other hard-to-reach areas.

All you need to do is soak a cotton ball in rat sorb or dilute rat sorb into a sprayer and apply it where the odor is strongest. Continue to reapply the product until the smell of dead rats or mice is completely gone.

Step 3: Use an Odor Removing Sponge

For much stronger odors, we suggest Nature's Air Sponge Odor Eliminator. This product is essentially an odor absorbent and will quickly remove the stench of the dead animal. Just place the sponge in the area where the smell is the strongest, and it will be gone in as little as a few days. The sponge can also be placed farther away from the smell and still work just as effectively in absorbing the odor.

Prevention

After the smell of the dead animal is completely gone, we are pretty sure you wouldn't want to experience such an issue again. To ensure you don't have to, you must make it hard for a rat, mouse, or any other rodent pest or animal to sneak into your home. Here are the preventative measures we suggest:

• Seal holes and cracks since they are the main entry points for small animals. 

• Utilize an exclusion tool such as Stuf-Fit Copper Mesh in areas around plumbing and outdoor entry points.

• Take immediate action if you hear scratching or tapping behind walls.

• Keep your surroundings clean. Don’t let water stand outside your house.

• Don’t leave fallen fruits or vegetables in your garden. They’ll attract rodents and other wildlife.

• Regularly trim the plants and grass in your garden so that these animals don’t have any hiding places.

• Clean your kitchen and take out the trash regularly. Seal the garbage tightly, both indoors and outdoors, to discourage animals from seeking out your home.

Key Takeaways

Why are Dead Animal Smells Such a Problem?

• Dead animals such as rats and mice decomposing in your home produce strong, unpleasant odors that can linger for weeks.

How to Get Rid of Dead Animal Smells (Rats, Mice, etc.)

• We recommend applying odor neutralizers, such as Rat Sorb Odor Eliminator or Nature's Air Sponge Odor Eliminator, which are designed to absorb foul smells. 

How To Prevent Dead Animals and Odors

• Prevent dealing with dead rat and mouse smells by carrying out exclusion and sanitation measures to make it less likely for animal pests to trespass and die in your home.