I smell a rat!

OK, so I'd spotted little mouse poopies around my wood storage (inside). I figured I'd spare the wife the sound of a trap snapping and just put out some bait (re poison). Well, something ate the bait a couple of days ago and now our kitchen, which is a floor above where I placed the bait, makes you practically gag when you walk through it! I haven't been able to locate the critter and believe me, I've tried everywhere, even in the attic. Anyone have an idea as to how long a tiny dead mouse can reek havoc (ha ha) on us? Hurry, it's really BAD! Dave om Annandale

Hey Dave, been there done that-- now a trap is the best-- with peanut butter!
Answer-- ONE LOOOOONG MONTH! Take a vacation.

Takes about 1 month for it to clear well enough to where you don't recognize it any longer. Looking for a dead mouse is like looking for the preverbial needle in a haystack and the stack of hay keeps moving. :eek: :rolleyes:

did you check under the refrigerator, perhaps in the drip pan? I've heard that some rat poisons make them thirsty. I had a mouse die in the drip pan one time; it was bad! Good luck finding it. DB

Sometime about 6 month's back i had a "smell" someplace in the area between my kitchen and my computer room. It drove me "NUTS" because it seemed to follow me around and i was beginning to think it was ME:o. Eveerytime I walked into this room and sat down i wuld smell it, and evertyime I walked into the family room to sit down I would smell it. *sigh*. SO, one day Ihad had enough and decided to find the smell, turns out our cat had killed a mouse and depositied it up and under one of the dust plates on our corner hutch:mad::mad:, so whenever I walked BY this hutch I would stir up the smell, which is why i thought it was me....That was the single most gagging smell i have ever smelt in my life when I found this carcass, I can't even IMAGINE what ...well never mind, but I think you get the idea...find the mouse and get rid of it!!!

About a week ago our aussie dog kept sniifing in the car grill (bumper scoop), inthe exact same place. I knew instantly that there had to be something dead in there. I went to check it out and sure enough I could smell it, but dang if I could find it. I vaguely remember a bird flying up from the side of the road, and thinking, "there's no way I didn't hit that bird".

Anyway I searched extensively with a drop light, under the hood, in the grill, behind the grill, in the scoops, nothing! Plenty of smell, but no sign of anything dead, great or small. That was until I tried to remove what appeared to be the wing off of a beetle. Well it turned out to be the tip of the iceburg, or would that be "ice-bird"?

After wrestling with the rotting creature for a few minutes I was finally able to extricate the bird buried deep inside the bumper. I even had to use one of those retriever claws to aid in the process. It couldn't have been more wedged in to the weirdest, most inaccessible place. Thank goodness I got it out. It's starting to get plenty warm around here.

Next time you have a mouse, and beleive me you will, use one of the super sticky plastic trays. No noise, no smell and cheap enough that you won't mind tossing it out.

Mike

I found one after literally following my nose. I could smell it upon entering the house, it got weaker as I climbed the stairs. It was stronger in the den than the foyer. It was stronger at the door to the storage room, much stronger in the storage room. It got weaker towards the back wall and so on. I found the mouse inside a beer bottle in a case from my beer making days. The case was under some more stuff, but the smell got to the point that I was ready to cut holes to find it.

A hint. turn the AC blower off and you can follow the scent better. You might find it easier if you close your eyes and sniff.

Good Luck

It's funny how even after the source of a bad smell is gone, you still smell it forever. Even after the requisite 1 month, it will always be in your head. In my college days, I once drove an extremely drunk guy home. Naturally he threw up out the window during the drive, but some of it made it in the car. I cleaned the car up, and eventually the smell went away. But I swear - every now and then I would smell it. It had to be in my mind, because no one else ever smelled it. Years later, I'd be driving along and take in a big breath. There's that smell. And then it would be gone. He got me a cd to repay me for my troubles. It's on my Ipod and when it comes on during shuffle, there's that smell :)

I would suggest hypnosis after the month :)

Stefan

Thanks for all your horror stories! I still can't find the critter. Resorted to one of those bags of lava (or some kind of rock looking stuff). Believe it or not, it actually works pretty good. Heck, I just guess I'll sell the place and move out after the smell is gone, that way I won't be around the familiar sights that conjure up that aroma!