Frustration is a dead mouse in the wall.
Frustration is a dead mouse in the wall. The smell comes on slowly, bit by bit, so that you barely notice it at first. Too soon though, the stench becomes overwhelming. You bolt into action, pulling boxes, furniture, junk, out and away, searching for the source. But there is nothing. No ragged carcass to deal with, no limp ball of fur to be simply flung out into the darkness and the cold.
No, the source lies inside the walls, behind the cold, hard solidness of drywall, insulation and wood, deep in the warmth of some quiet mousehole, where the weak and powerless reside. Age, injury or poison, it makes no difference. The smell is just as strong, and though the source is small, it is unreachable, unattainable. And so, it may as well be the very walls of the house which rot, which stink, which reject you out of hand with one final and terrible insult: So long, and thanks. Thanks for everything.
Of course, the time goes by and the bacteria and scavengers have their way with the mouse’s body. Another cycle of life complete, the stench fades and then is gone. Things will return back to normal, and you will go about your merry way. This is an opportunity to learn.
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January 24th, 2005 at 5:45 pm
I really do have a dead mouse in my wall. My question is, How long will it smell? Send me an email and let me know!
January 24th, 2005 at 11:35 pm
Laura,
Sorry to hear about the mouse in your wall. My experience went like this: as I recall, the smell peaked in a week or two and faded out over the course of several months, the worst of it being over after a few weeks. Mind you, this was in a basement office, which had very poor ventilation. I kept a box fan on at the door of my office all the time, and that helped to keep the air moving. I talked to the maintenance guy, and he said that there wasn’t much we could do short of start tearing out walls to try and find the thing’s carcass.
Hence why I say, it was very frustrating. I hope your experience is better than mine. Thanks for stopping by.
February 9th, 2005 at 10:33 am
I am now plagued by a dead mouse inside the wall directly next to my desk. Is there anything that can be done about the smell? I’ve tried air fresheners, nuetralizers, and even tried lighting matches. How long did it take before the worst of the smell was over? I’m at my wits end!
December 26th, 2005 at 1:31 pm
I recently had a mouse in my wall at home in the wall next to my bath shower. We looked from the attic trying to find the dead body but could not see it. We knew it had to be in a certain wall because of the smell. There were two possible openings we could see from the attic that were possibilities going down into the wall beside the shower. We poured cat litter down the two openings first and then on top of that we poured baking soda. (we used the big package of baking soda from Sams ) It worked, the odor was almost completely gone immediately. We now have forever a buried mouse in the wall, but no more odor.
January 27th, 2006 at 12:02 am
Ok… I too have a horrible dead mouse smell, but I suspect it is in the duct work of my mobile home. The company I called wanted $450.00 to clean the ducts. Not an option! I don’t think I should pour kitty litter in there, but what about baking soda? Is it safe to put it in the ducts, do ya think? This odor is driving me right out of my mind. Any suggestions?
November 14th, 2006 at 3:13 pm
I have had two (so far) and the first never really smelled at all, although I am quite sure it was a mouse as it squeeked and scratched for hours. The second just died in another wall, and I plugged up all openings there with the spray foam that hardens…so far, no air is coming through…
November 17th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
There is nothing that can be compared to the stench of a dead mouse. We live in the country and are used to odors. This smell makes liquid manure seem like Chanel #5. I have had one in the wall of my bedroom closet for only four days and I have already contemplated burning my house down! I cannot sleep with this smell. Last night I emptied the closet and washed it down with Clorox, calked the spaces between the planks on the floor, and filled the tiny openings under the mop-board with expanding spray foam. I also have a thing from the hardware store called a bad odor sponge that is supposed to absord the smell. It is better, but still there. My sympathy to anyone who is living with this. How long will it last?
April 6th, 2007 at 9:22 am
I had a dead mouse in my living room wall. The smell went from a faint mercury, to full blown fetid in about two weeks. I was beside myself, as my house is on the market. I had a showing at 5 p.m. and as of 7 a.m. that morning the smell was offensive. I checked out this blog and found the suggestion about kitty litter. Well, I figured, it couldn’t make the situation any worse. I ran out to the shop and picked up a 35lb box of it, along with a substantial amount of baking soda. I liberally poured it down every bay (from the attic) that I could pinpoint the odor to. I then left the house for a couple of hours. When I returned there was no notable difference. However, by 5 p.m. I couldn’t detect it. I left the house for the showing, and when I returned there wasn’t even a trace. I have a sense of smell that could be called problematic. I can smell traces of pheromone chemicals that would be undetectable to other people. I realize that it isn’t possible for everyone to use this method, but if you can, do. I am relieved beyond my wildest imaginings. Now I can show my house with confidence, not to mention live in it, all because of kitty litter(Arm & Hammer). Thank you Ruth Ann!!!