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Join Date: May 2005
Location: Houston
Posts: 5,469
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Best Way To Find A Decomposing Animal In Your House..Stinks!
Guys - I have been travelling alot lately and asked my awesome neighbors to check on my place while I was away, so I got an email today stating that they went inside my house and it stinks of a rotting animal. Maybe a mouse that got trapped or something..who knows..
DAMN! They looked all over the house and could not find anything... What do you think I should do to seek out the carcass? I do not own a curious dog or cat that could seek out the dead offender. The thought stinks...literally. Thanks in advance...need some big help on this one! Yasin
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Ole Skool - wouldn't have it any other way |
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04-12-2010, 06:04 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Mid-life crisis, could be anywhere
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I feel for ya... sometimes it can be tough to find them. I had something very large die in my house several years ago. Went up into the attic and couldn't find it myself so I hired a "specialist" for something like $150 to find it. He failed too. Few days later the meat flies showed up everywhere, hatching from maggots, I guess. I ended up staying at a hotel for 2 or 3 weeks until the damn thing dried up.
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'95 993 C4 Cabriolet Bunch of motorcycles |
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04-12-2010, 06:13 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Foothills, Ca
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Sometimes they die in the toe-space in the kitchen cabanets. STINKS
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1973 green 1.7 1973 Orange 2.0 1989 Ford F-150 |
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04-12-2010, 06:29 PM
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The Unsettler
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Lantanna TX
Posts: 23,885
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Not sure a dog or cat will help at this point. You may need some sort of carrion eater.
"Examples of carrion-eaters, or scavengers, include Hyenas, Lions, Vultures, Wedge-tailed Eagles, Virginia Opossum, Tasmanian Devils, Black Bears, Komodo Dragons, Bald Eagles, Raccoons, flying squirrels, and Blue-tongued lizards."
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"I want my two dollars" "Goodbye and thanks for the fish" "Proud Member and Supporter of the YWL" "Brandon Won" |
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04-12-2010, 06:31 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Northside, Brooklyn
Posts: 2,352
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Mouse died in the Hvac system in my BMW havent driven it much this year needless to say...
took apart the dash but still could not locate it.. It smells okay now 10 months later... small things can really stink big..
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jt '83 SC '96 M3 6 Bicycles 2 Sailboats |
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04-12-2010, 07:01 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
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If it's been awhile since you been home and don't use all the bathrooms/washer/etc, the P-traps can dry up and sewer gases can enter the house. It can smell REAL bad. Run water/flush/etc to fill up all of them.
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04-12-2010, 07:09 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Sherwood, Oregon
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Quote:
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Cary 77 Carrera RS w/3.2 #59 73 914S 2.0 AG 73 914 1.7 Driver ( daily driver, under complete rustoration ) 74 914 2.0, 71 914 Tub, 74 914 2.0 Tub + 73 914 donor |
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04-12-2010, 07:15 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Mid-life crisis, could be anywhere
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Hey Cary - Haven't seen you around these parts in a while
 I was just near you a few weeks ago, in Missoula. Do you still have the IGA?
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'95 993 C4 Cabriolet Bunch of motorcycles |
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04-12-2010, 07:17 PM
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Went through this over the winter...
If you're LUCKY its a mouse. If you're NOT its something larger like a squirrel. A mouse will take 3-4 weeks for the smell to leave. We had to abandon our ground floor bathroom for this period as a result. A squirell can take months.. ..racoon? Then you're drywalling the house. Every contractor basically told us they end up replacing 3-8 sheets of drywall per dead animal with a 50% success rate. Many many worse ones too. They suggested dealing with it. We had good luck with an ozone machine and carbon filters. Also drilled in a few small holes where we suspected it and dumped in a ton of activated carbon. Basically you tear out half the walls or wait for it to dry out...
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Chris ---------------------------------------------- 1996 993 RS Replica 2023 KTM 890 Adventure R 1971 Norton 750 Commando Alcon Brake Kits |
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04-12-2010, 07:27 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Reno, NV
Posts: 5,941
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Don't you hate it when the freezer you put your MIL in goes on the fritz the minute you leave for vacation ?
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"Todd" 98 Tahoe ,2007 Saturn Vue 86 930 black and stock, 80 930 blue tracdog 91 Spec Miata (yeah I race a chick car) "life"ll kill ya" Warren Zevon |
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04-12-2010, 07:30 PM
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The Unsettler
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Lantanna TX
Posts: 23,885
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Quote:
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"I want my two dollars" "Goodbye and thanks for the fish" "Proud Member and Supporter of the YWL" "Brandon Won" |
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04-12-2010, 07:46 PM
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Location: Houston
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Sounds great guys...I will definitely try the toilet flushing first and then move onto pulling the fridge out, washer, dryer out! X-fingers it is not a large animal like a racoon!! Thanks for all the suggestions.
Yasin
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Ole Skool - wouldn't have it any other way |
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04-13-2010, 03:19 AM
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Get off my lawn!
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We had a mouse stuck in the wall between the kitchen and the formal dining room. You could hear it scratching around trying to get out. Our daschund was going nuts. She pointed right where she thought it was. When the mouse died it smelled pretty bad. Our dog just camped out in the dining room waiting for a chance to eat through wall and get the "treat." We had to barricade that room to keep her out. It took several weeks for the smell to go away.
If you lived closer to me I would bring over our dog. She would find it in short order.
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Glen 49 Year member of the Porsche Club of America 1985 911 Carrera; 2017 Macan 1986 El Camino with Fuel Injected 350 Crate Engine My Motto: I will never be too old to have a happy childhood! |
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04-13-2010, 06:31 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: New Brunswick, Canada
Posts: 5,472
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BTDT
Find someone with a beagle. I bet a case of beer they find it in 15 minutes
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Jake Often wrong, but never in doubt. '81 911 euro SC (bits & pieces) '03 Carrera 4s '97 LX450 / '85 LeCar / '88 Iltis + a whole bunch of boats |
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04-13-2010, 06:55 AM
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I can't imagine leaving a dead mouse in the wall for weeks. I usually can find the spot where the animal died within a panel or two. Drywall patches and new paint, good as new.
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04-13-2010, 07:39 AM
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Banned
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Usa
Posts: 3,621
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I have a hyena if you want to borrow him.
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04-13-2010, 07:59 AM
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Posts: 6,950
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You can rent fiberoptic camera's from places like Home Depot these days. Seems it would be easier patching a small hole then replacing drywall until you found it. I've got a great nose, too bad I couldn't come over. Turn off all you HVAC and keep checking the house, you should be able to get a smaller and smaller radius to locate it.
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04-14-2010, 04:20 AM
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Wandered off somewhere...
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See if you can hook up with the local cop shop to get a cadaver dog to come over ?
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Mark... Porsche Boxster S 2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon..Crush Orange |
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04-14-2010, 04:49 AM
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1970 Porsche 911 S 
Carrera
Little Red
