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Is dead rat smell harmful to health?

anjalid
17 years ago

I've read many of the posts here talking about dead rat smell. We have a similar problem in one of our closets.... for almost a month now, we've emptied the closet and checked the attic, no body found... so we think it's in the walls....not sure if we want to tear down our walls.

I've tried everything and the smell won't go. I am going to try one of those odor bombs.

But can it also be harmful to health? Should I disinfect the closet, any suggestions on products to use?

Comments (57)

  • radioguy4ever
    16 years ago

    we have what we suspect to be a dead mouse in one of our heat ducts. we are pretty sure it is a mouse because lately we have had a bit of a problem with them, so we out some posion in the basement. we know that seem to like the ductwork, as we have found droppings next to a few vents.

    we dont have any way to get into the duct without tearing it apart, so removing it isnt really an option.

    is there anything we could use to neutralize the smell?

  • western_pa_luann
    16 years ago

    "is there anything we could use to neutralize the smell?"

    No - as stated above, it will go away in a few weeks.

  • kevin45
    13 years ago

    Like western_pa_luann stated. You cannot neutralize the smell. It will go away in a couple of weeks. If you live in the country you kind of get used to it in the fall or winter.
    What you have to do is get in the attic and try to find where they got in the wall at and close off that source. Rats and mice will follow urine trails of other rats and mice. So if it happens once you have very good chances that it will happen again. one place that is a bad area for it to happen is the soffit area of a kitchen (if you have soffits above the cupboards) The way they are designed a mouse can get in them, walk along to the end and drop into a wall cavity. Once in the wall, they cannot get out. A mouse can go through a hole the size of a dime, so you really have to look around the perimeter of a house to see where they are getting in. And yes....mice do get into attics very easily.

  • pris
    13 years ago

    We used to put out poison for mice where I used to work. Don't do that. They die in the walls and you have the odor to contend with until they fully decompose. Finally switched to snap traps and assigned one of the janitorial crew to check and change them. But, when we had the odor problem we burned scented candles until the odor went away. Doesn't eliminate the odor but did make it bearable. Just make sure you snuff out the candle before going to bed at night. You could probably use those plugins but I've never had one I could stomach and I'm not so sure plugging an oil into an electrical outlet is any safer than a candle.

  • FatHen
    13 years ago

    Be careful using anything to eliminate or cover the odor if you have pets or people w/asthma, etc in the house. The fumes can be deadly or at best irritating. If you must use something look for products that are safe around pets and use with caution anyway. If your weather permits at all, open windows as much as you can, to get fresh air.

    We used to live in a house that frequently got squirrels in the attic. They can rip open holes thru wood, metal, screen, etc, if they want to bad enough. When they die in your walls it can stink to high heaven for weeks. If it's bad enough, the odor can cling to clothing, etc. Health food stores often sell products based on enzymes to kill odors on furniture, carpet etc that helps.

    One incident like this should have to looking hard for the ways animals got in, and preventing them from getting in anymore. You might have to look in some normally inaccessible places like your roof, around chimneys and vents, etc. One of the places squirrels kept getting in for us, was an eaves vent that was not really visible from the ground due to the meeting of some roof angles. The rodents just strolled right up to the vent, tore off the cover, and invited themselves in. Trees and fences, sheds, cars, etc, can make it easy for them to get to the roof.

  • gurlswithattitudes05_yahoo_com
    13 years ago

    what is a bowl of charcoal or kitty litter going to do?? I have this smell in my office right now... the only thing I have found so far is scented candles (glade scented candles)BUT how can we stop them from coming back?

  • brickeyee
    13 years ago

    "what is a bowl of charcoal or kitty litter going to do?? "

    They absorb odors.
    Baking soda works also.

    The 'germ theory' of disease eclipsed the other theories.

  • lilprincessruth_yahoo_com
    13 years ago

    The smell of the dead rat has indeed infected my "Psychological Health" to the comment way above, everyone else has been able to wash it out there nostrils but I can still smell it, it's very strong in the kitchen and we thought it was behind the laundry so we moved the machines but no rat, then we moved the stove and it was not there either. The rat is in the wall and we cant get it out because it costs LOTS of money especially with the electrical currents. Please please, tell me how to get rid of this smell, because it's spreading through the house and I cannot bare it much longer. It's sickening.

  • zulu2441_aol_com
    13 years ago

    what if the poison given to the rat contains a pathogen? This can be present in the air on droplets etc. Does this mean the air that is tainted by a dead rat is toxic to humans?

  • AliceHasLeftTheBuilding
    13 years ago

    Um . . . no. A pathogen is a bacteria, virus or fungus. A poison would not contain a pathogen; it would contain a poison. Live rats carry pathogens which are potentially harmful to humans. The smell of a dead rat, while certainly unpleasant, is not toxic and will go away as the rat decomposes and dries up (fortunately a fairly quick process). Unfortunately, decomposition produces chemicals that the human nose can smell at very low concentrations, lower than can be detected by all but the most sensitive instruments. If you absolutely must have the smell gone immediately, the rat carcass must be removed.

  • georgetown47_hotmail_co_uk
    12 years ago

    a rat died under sealed floorboard a few days after my ex died the smell is horrible now the smell is around our bed at nights from the lower ground floor is she haunting us after 3 weeks she was a vindictive person. 21/04/2011

  • Jkhashijan_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    You need to check along the base of all exterior walls for points of entry...and use concrete or something to patch it....anything else they can chew through....you must cut off their access or you will never solve your issue then cut off their food...and use sticky traps or the traps that kill them and you won't have to deal with the smells just the bodies...lol

  • jmcmillian_paypal_com
    12 years ago

    We have the same-nightmare. A colleague told me about RatZappers. They electrocute, no poison! I ordered 2 and dropping off today. Ultra and the Classic. She caught 3 and there was no smell. They crawl in, it kills them instantly so humane, and you then just dump the body in a bad.

  • roco0101
    12 years ago

    Yes, Texasredhead, I KNOW this is an old post so please don't ask. Even old ones can be helpful as vermin have been dying in walls since we all moved out of log cabins.

    My hint is not timely for those suffering with the smell but:

    We live next to an open field and were plagued for years with field mice.....never could find where they came in at. We couldn't poison as we have inside dogs and snap traps just scare the bee-jeezus out of me, 'specially when I can hear the poor mouse flopping around in death throes.

    My Dad suggested those plug in thingies that supposedly run through the wiring in your house (?). He swears by them. What the heck, if they don't work, we're only out 30 bucks for two of them - one upstairs and one in the basement.

    We haven't had a mouse one for several years since we plugged them in. We got two more for our cabin and never found another chipmunk nest in our bed. Mice were a problem up there too - can't poison them because of other critters that eat them and you can't snap trap them because we weren't always there. That'd be a nice little stench to invite a bear break in. Oh! Our neighbors got a couple for their cabin too! No more mouse/chipmunk problems for them either. Three homes can't be wrong.

    We ordered ours from Amazon.

    BTW, it doesn't bother our dogs - Chihuahuas.

  • bellowbelle
    12 years ago

    I live in an old house that's hard to keep clear of critters, much less mustiness. One solution is to run an aroma diffuser with peppermint - in particular, one of the ones sold by diffuserworld (see link). I have a few different kinds. If you must have it totally quiet, try the Aroma Sonic with some peppermint or other oil added to the (distilled!) water. But if you really want to blast the place, try the Aroma Ace (does not use water). (These all will need an electrical outlet.) You can adjust: time on, time at-rest/off, and output amount.

    Hmm... just looked, and I see they have a new one I haven't tried yet!

    Vitacost sells 4-oz. bottles of peppermint (and other) oils, for one place. I've used a few different brands. I also got some atomizers (by Aura Cacia) and I keep peppermint oil, etc., in those and spray corners of the house now and then.

    It has to be oil -- extract won't do it!

    Rodents don't like peppermint, either. Though, it needs to be sprayed fresh every so often. Just leaving a dab of it here and there for a long time isn't enough.

    ....And keep track of sweet potaters... once, I left a bag of sweet potatoes somewhere in the house, and forgot about it. Stuff got set on top of it. After a few weeks... what a horrible smell! I was certain that a rat had died in the wall. I was ready to tear down the house. Then, I finally found the sweet potatoes. Or, what was left of them!

    Here is a link that might be useful: diffuserworld

  • redlips_whitelace_hotmail_com
    12 years ago

    Hey there,I am having similar issues with the dead rodent in the wall. In the guest bathroom I kept hearing strange noises in the walls before I went on vacation. I'd be in the tub carrying on, when a rustling,furry,scratching startling noise would catch my attention. Scared me half to death to be honest. It sounded like it was stuck sort of shaking around trying to get out and sounded much bigger than a rat, maybe even an adult possum?(Possum problems where I live)
    Anyway I left for about a week and came home to a rank disgusting smell(we know the drill)
    We literally sat around debating to go rent a hotel room..
    But who has money for that these days? We tried the vinegar and sat out baking soda with vanilla ex on cotton balls.
    It sort of helped but only a little while before the rank comes back stronger. I fear the animal is larger and I'd like to knw if its say a possum, how long will it take to dry up? We can't even eat in our kitchen and spending $ on going out to eat is getting expensive, not to mention running to mcdonalds to eat isn't healthy either. If this is going to be severals weeks to months, we need to get the animal out! We can't live with the smell even if it is natural..I looked at diffuserworld.com listed above-and a diffuser is like $60.00 or more, I can't afford that! And say I could afford it, a lot of oil I'd have to go through? I'm considering cutting into the wall where I heard the scratching loudest. Its hard to guess about where it is though. I can't just cut into our walls hoping I find this dead rodent. Any help?

  • trudyndaniel_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    Listen.. All of a sudden it stunk in my garage. My wife said we must have a natural gas leak. I came home and it did kinda smell like propain or mercaptain. But I doubted it was that. I took our empty bottles to the depot but doubted they were the problem. It was odd that the stink just showed up all of a sudden one day. By night fall. I could smell it upstairs. It was nasty. I went into the garage again and suddenly it smelled like death. I started moving tool boxes,my washer,dryer and then the deepfreeze. Omg. It was coming from my deepfreeze. I got down on my knees and sniffed the side panel. It was coming from inside. Then, at that moment, a fly crawled out and flew away. It was then I knew there was a dead rodent in there. A hole in the back of the deepfreeze where the power cord comes out was big enough for a rodent. We don't have a rodent problem. At least we didn't. I think it was an isolated incident. One must of come in when my garage door was open? I unscrewed the panel and found a dead rat. It got electrocuted and died. It couldn't have been there long cause it didn't have rigamortis. But the smell won't go away. Will that take weeks too? How long do you think it was there? Does anyone know approximately?

  • kjessi22984_hotmail_com
    12 years ago

    I put steel wool in my duct work 2 yrs ago because I found a mouse in my house..I would like to know if particles of steel wool can come out into the air even if you we not touching it or anything?

  • Lisa Carter
    8 years ago

    Steel wool is very effective and won't move around if you don't touch it. We had a mouse problem a couple of years ago and discovered that they were coming in around the wood stove insert. We stuffed it up all around and the problem has ended...BUT we now have something dead behind the hearth. I read above about the Norwegian rats and soffit issues. Me thinks that may be the problem. I saw the soffit over our deck moving and could hear rather loud footsteps. Creepy for sure.

    I bought an air freshener with changeable filters, which I read might help. Just waiting to see, and will just let the smell die down once the carcass has dried out. Oh, life in the country!

  • toxcrusadr
    8 years ago

    The odors that come from rotting flesh are usually nitrogen-containing compounds, and without getting into too much chemistry, they are either acids or bases (weak ones). Therefore they will be attracted to bases and acids respectively. Baking soda was suggested which is a base. Another idea is a dish of vinegar which is an acid of course. You can also put out a tray or three of activated charcoal like the stuff they sell for fish tanks.

    Steel wool is just steel, which is very dense material, so even small particles of it will not float around in the air.

  • Lisa Carter
    8 years ago

    thanks for that! we bought the air filter unit, which has an ultra violet band around the top,and charcoal filters. we haven't used our wood stove in a week and the smell is almost gone.

  • Esther Sanz Patiño
    8 years ago

    I want to share our story with you.

    We had noises between walls for a month.

    One day we saw a rat in the dinning room eating cured jam we had left outside. The rat run downstairs and dissapeared.

    Day after all the products (shampoo,...) were in the bath.

    Next night, the rat took the tpilet brush out and left it on the floor. Amazing!


    We found the hole outside and inside (in the bathroom).

    We put poison in the bathroom, as pest control advised. The rat ate more than I expected. The rat didn't die in any of the traps we put. We always had the door shut.

    We found little feaces after 6 days since we first gave this poison.

    Noises dissapeared and 1 month later, it started to smell awful.

    The rat was under the oven, so we had to take it out and clean with thick bleach. The smell dissapeared in 1 hour after cleaning and ventilating.



  • jemdandy
    7 years ago

    It could be a dead rat or squirrel in the attic above the closet.

  • Michael Adkins
    7 years ago

    I am at work. and we had a lot of rates and mice. we laid out poison and they died in the walls we found 6 in the back room. We do not know how many were in the walls but we talked about busting it open. We did not. about a month ago from me posting this or month and a half ago i got sick after the smell finally went away. I went to a Nurse practitioner That was a waist of money and time. :( I had a fever of 101 they gave me 2 Tylenol and a Flu test. Which hurt by the way. but i passed the flu test and they said they did not know what was wrong with me. So that was great. So my immune system fought it off. and still fighting it off right now a month and a half later. I lost my fever the second week for sure but now just coughing and nasty nasty SNOT. Now take how you will BUT the smell from the dead rats and mice 3 weeks 4 weeks later i can taste it in the mucus! I can blow my noise and the thick snot smells like the dead rats! Like i said call it what you want but its nasty. If anyone has had this problem please email me @ hondaintegraxsi8@yahoo.com or spayellowaccord8@yahoo.com Thanks so much. one rat or mouse might not be harmful but a whole bunch of them i do believe are. This is my story.

  • shane82reese
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    We found rat droppings and have had sightings of rats. We laid out poison and not even a week later theyve eaten 5 entire blocks of poison placed in different places throughout the house. About 2days ago we started smelling something dead and ive looked everywhere for the source of the smell assuming its dead rats. I think they crawled into the walls and died. The wall coming down to remove the rat is not an option as there is furniture along it and our landlord is against letting us tear down walls even if it is to look for the rats. My biggest concern is we have a 3week old baby and i am worried about how the smell could affect her? We live near a large field so rodents are to be expected sometimes. The house is immaculate other than the stench coming from the hallway and our bedroom where our daughter also sleeps. Can the smell from the decomposing rodents make us sick? More importantly can it make our daughter sick?

  • Michael Adkins
    7 years ago

    my office is a 7-1/2 x 11 and my office was hit the hardest on the poison we laid out. we found 4 to 6 RATS not mice RATS in the back room and when you walk out of my office and take 4 to 6 steps to the right you are in the back room. The rats were dead in the walls by my office. I am just saying i have a pretty strong immune system but a week after the smell finally started going away i got so so sick. read what i put above. my flem and SNOT smelled like the dead rats. It Was something out of this world how all this happen. VERY NASTY!

  • Angela Mills
    7 years ago

    iv been thinking the same if the smell has any effects on my health I found rats behind my sink they were in my kitchen draws and also in the loft this has been since the end of September iv had bait put down and found 2 dead up to now under my dinning room floorboards the smell is vile the smell then same in my living room I found another dead one under my room floorboards I knew id another pair to find iv the smell since Iv had boards in in room more than a few times trying to find it found holes in bricks which have just been sealed but I can not find the dead rat for love nor money its doing my head in cant cope with this cant sit in my room its that bad and knowing they are above my bedroom and under my feet I want to move out


  • SaltiDawg
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    couple of defective or inoperative keys

  • 902 Juanita
    7 years ago

    Not to be an alarmist, but many North American species of rats carry hantavirus, that YES- airborne? Can cause a variety of issues, from simple allergies to real pulmonary disease. Their feces, even absent dangerous viruses, can and do emit allergens that can affect humans negatively- especially in encloses spaces and if it gets into the HVAC. Dead rats?

    If you have rats, get in their way in the most aggressive way possible. DO call a reputable pest control company. Pay the money for full remediation, which includes finding out how they get in, and fixing the issues plus real clean-up/They will set traps, remove dead rats, fix the "holes"in your home that let them in. And any pest control company worth their calf will offer this as a part of their initial service- we work until they are gone.

    If you are a renter? Get in front of your landlord as aggressively as possible, and in writing. If you get no response, contact your local Tenant association. Contact Code Control. Contact the Health Department.

    Rats and humans aren't meant to live together in structures.


  • patriciamcgrath68
    7 years ago

    A dead rat in between my neighbours and my kitchen wall. Smell is horrendous as you know. Going to take washing machine and cooker out Tomor and if have to the cupboard and sink to find the hole. I think the smell really does affect you. It's very depressing as me and my young daughter have not been able to have anyone round for Christmas. The smell is literally killing our apetites

  • freebyrd622
    6 years ago

    A mouse got into the broken bottom drawer of an old dresser, which was filled with linens, and died. It's been there long enough that I'm smelling "dead mouse" whichis how I found it. If i throw out the only set of sheets it was touching, am I able to salvage all the other linens in the drawer? And if so, can I just steam wash in washing machine several times or what?

  • SaltiDawg
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Why throw out the sheet(s) that were in contact with a dead mouse without trying to wash them?

    Washing cloth diapers come to mind.

  • toxcrusadr
    6 years ago

    Hot water and bleach, if they're white. If not, use a color safe bleach. They should be OK after that, unless there are permanent stains, in which case I'd use them for rags and get some new ones.

  • toxcrusadr
    6 years ago

    People seem very concerned (earlier in the thread) that the rotten odor actually makes them sick, i.e. is toxic. I think it's more of a nuisance and a mental thing than a serious toxic threat. Not that this diminishes the horror of it. It may still drive you out of your house, but it won't give you cancer or whatever.

    One thing that works in addition to charcoal/baking soda/etc. is candles. Not the aroma, but the flame itself. A candle essentially processes the room air through a combustor. A tiny one, but over a period of hours it can help. These stench chemicals are fairly easy to destroy this way. If the weather is hot or cold and you can't have windows open, you might try it. Obviously you have to be careful - I recommend a candle in a glass jar, on a ceramic coaster or plate. That way if you forget about it, it won't set the table on fire. If necessary, use several. I don't even like the scented ones, I stick to unscented in my house.

  • Gregory Fournerat
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I can relate. Just about a week ago, I found a freshly snap trapped rat which snuck in and ate our dogs food in a back solarium area attached to the house but not part of the main house. The problem was that the local waste pickup had already come and I have to wait another week. Thinking myself bright (not), I sealed it up in a zip-loc type bag hoping that the smell would be contained. A week later, I just about vomited as I went to the side of the house where it was in a waste bin with lid on. Garbage comes tomorrow and I put the zip-loc into another bag to hopefully seal it in. This morning. BARF. The stench is permeating the yard. I handle these with rubber gloves and wear a mask but ran out of the N95 respirator masks so had to use a surgical mask (not as effective). I have to kill these little buggers but might need to have pre-dug graves for them and cover them up instead of waiting for the corpse to fester. Oh 100 degree plus days in Texas don't help.

  • SaltiDawg
    6 years ago

    A dead deer rotting in the woods behind the house, ugh.

    A dead mouse or rat, not so much.

  • toxcrusadr
    6 years ago

    Oh man Gregory that is awful. I was going to suggest burial and you beat me to it. I've done that with birds and mice and whatnot. Much better solution than inflicting it on the poor trash collectors.

  • Jemma ...
    6 years ago

    Thank you for this thread - thought I was alone in this horror... Not knowing what it was, was the worst. I bleached everything - walls, ceilings, floors - cleaned all the furniture and covered every vent in the house. Had the carpets and ducts professionally cleaned, and there it is - faint, but still it's there. It's been about 3 weeks - hoping it ends soon. Every window in the house is open. Now, my only concern is using the heating or air conditioning - once it's 'dried up' and done decaying - will anything be coming in through the vents? I'm thinking not - because they were thoroughly cleaned - thinking maybe it's just the odor left now, within the walls. I've NEVER smelled such a horrible odor, it just stays with you. THIS is truly - OCD HELL.

  • toxcrusadr
    6 years ago

    Once the thing has decomposed and dried up to a mummified husk, it shouldn't smell anymore. Your ducts should not be allowing random vapors into them from the surrounding spaces anyway, unless they are poorly constructed and leaky. Hang in there, it'll be fine. At least it didn't happen in winter when you can't open the windows!

  • sprink1es
    6 years ago

    Sucks but I wouldn't be too concerned about the dead rat itself. However, rat feces/urine can be toxic/fatal when the dust is inhaled and I'm must more concerned about that. Not a big deal if it's from 1 rat in your walls, but if it's continual...

    I shouldn't have started looking for articles on this, I just read that 1 rat can produce up to 3 gallons of urine in 1 year ugh

  • SaltiDawg
    6 years ago

    " I bleached everything - walls, ceilings, floors - cleaned all the
    furniture and covered every vent in the house. Had the carpets and ducts
    professionally cleaned, and there it is - faint, but still it's there."

    One recently divorced woman never did find the cause.


    On the first day, he sadly packed his belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.

    On the second day, he had the movers come and collect his things.

    On the third day, he sat down for the last time at their beautiful
    dining-room table, by candle-light; he put on some soft background
    music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle
    of wine.

    When he'd finished, he went into each and every room and
    deposited a few half-eaten shrimps dipped in caviar into the hollow
    center of the curtain rods.

    He then cleaned up the kitchen and left.

    On the fourth day, the wife came back with her new boyfriend, and at first all was bliss.

    Then, slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything; cleaning,
    mopping, and airing-out the place. Vents were checked for dead rodents,
    and carpets were steam cleaned.

    Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to
    set off gas canisters, during which time the two had to move out for a
    few days, and in the end
    they even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting.. Nothing worked!

    People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit.

    Finally, they couldn't take the stench any longer, and decided they had to move,
    but
    a month later - even though they'd cut their price in half - they
    couldn't find a buyer for such a stinky house. Word got out, and
    eventually even the local realtors refused to return their calls.

    Finally, unable to wait any longer for a purchaser, they had to borrow a huge
    sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place.

    Then the ex called the woman and asked how things were going. She
    told him the saga of the rotting house. He listened politely and said
    that he missed his
    old home terribly and would be willing to reduce his divorce settlement
    in exchange for having the house. Knowing he could have no idea how bad
    the
    smell really was, she agreed on a price that was only 1/10 th of what
    the house had been worth ... but only if he would sign the papers that
    very day.

    He agreed, and within two hours her lawyers delivered the completed paperwork.

    A week later the woman and her boyfriend stood smiling as they watched
    the moving company pack everything to take to their new home . . .

    . . . and to spite the ex-husband, they even took the curtain rods!

  • HU-426714703
    5 years ago

    Absolutely disgusting ... the smell of a dead rodant in the wall. My parents house was just diagnosed with mouse and a type of rat infestation. We live near a farm field. They are in our attack and basement. I heard them in the wall in the wee hours of the morning. All entry points were located and sealed. Mouse traps placed everywhere including in the garage. It’s gross to come home from work and pull into the garage with traps all over the garage. Something about being in a closed area with a rodant is discussing and scary at the same time. Waiting to see what the next faze of the extermination process is. The smell is awful and is specifically in the stairwell going upstairs to my room. Has anyone heard about the virus you could get from mouse dust? Did anyone get tested? It sounds serious. Let me know.

  • Jemma ...
    5 years ago

    We faced the same situation a year ago this June - we're moving.


    It is the WORST smell I have ever smelled & it doesn't go away. It does get better, not much. Once they're in - you'll have to do more than get rid of them. They leave behind urine, feces... EVERYWHERE. Basically - you have to gut your home anywhere they were, and most likely - that's most everywhere. We spent a few thousand trying to first, even find out what it was, and second to rid it - unsuccessfully.


    As for Health Risks - there are many - some deadly. Not to frighten you, but inform you.

    Be very disciplined when cleaning up after them.


    Here are a couple of links to the CDC:


    This one is relative to various diseases from rodents, as well as cleanup cautions:

    https://www.cdc.gov/rodents/index.html


    This one is specific to the Hantavirus from rodents: https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/index.html


    Please take this information seriously. Our landlord did not. We had to do all of the investigative work to find the problem. When we found it, almost 7 months later - he finally believed us that something was very wrong. It had gotten so bad by then, they infiltrated the furnace... we stopped using it when it all started - the smell was coming in through there. We hired in HVAC and there it was - urine feces all throughout the furnace. Ducts were cleaned twice, and attempts at cleaning the inside of the furnace were unsuccessful. The Landlord took the blower motor to his place to clean it. I offered him gloves - he laughed. He passed away several months later.


    Exhausted & disgusted - we're moving. Many of our things have been ruined and discarded - the smell just sunk into everything.


    Best to you... it is an awful experience, I will not soon forget.

  • HU-426714703
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Thank you! I shared your experience with your message to my father who is dealing with an exterminator. I had to show him this because of the possibility of contracting the hantavirus.

    Serious matter. Thank you again for sharing your experience.

  • toxcrusadr
    5 years ago

    The vast majority of hantavirus cases are in the West and Southwest US. Not that there aren't any elsewhere but it's basically a western thing. Be careful but don't worry unnecessarily. Many of us clean up after mice regularly (I have them in my shop building) with no ill effects. Just use common sense & sanitation.

  • HU-426714703
    5 years ago

    So far our extermination project for the rodents consisted of steele plating and sealing with sealant all entrants into the house. The molding on the garage door needs to be replaced at the bottom where the rodents chewed to get in. They placed mouse traps and larger traps in the attack, basement, and garage. Also in the crawl space in my bedroom closet. Peanut butter is the capture bate on the traps. Exterminators are coming back middle of the week. To see what they find. Yikes!! So far no more noises in the walls! The smell of the dead rodant in the stairwell is almost gone. My father bought an air purifier for my bedroom.

  • toxcrusadr
    5 years ago

    Sounds like you are on your way.


    I have not had much luck with peanut butter. Seems the little buggers will lick it right off the trap without setting it off. I catch more mice with tiny squares of cheese jammed tightly into the bait holder so they have to chew at it to get it.

  • HU-450743088
    5 years ago

    Baking soda does not work.I have a dead rat now under the house.I used vinegar in a plastic cup near the vents and I put dry coffee grounds in the heater vents which worked given a couple of days.Kitty litter and baking soda do not work!!!!

  • Klee James
    4 years ago

    ONION!!!