I think there's a dead animal in my wall.

[Anonymous]

Help. How long until this stink fades? I really don't want to have to cut open the drywall.

[Anonymous]

Ugh. It happened to me last year. I think it was a mouse, even though the stench was pervasive. It took about a month for the death smell to fully clear. Open your windows, run fans and bide your time.

[Anonymous]

Yes. A mouse. It was gross.

[Anonymous]

Yep. Cut open the dry wall and remove the dead mouse. 🐁

[Anonymous]

This happens at least once a year at our house - smell usually goes aways after 4-5 days, maybe a week

[Anonymous]

Put a big open container of coffee grounds in that room.

[Anonymous]

Cut the drywall open. It's not that hard to fix.

[Anonymous]

Update: I think the smell is gone now. Lasted about 5-6 days. The worst were days 4-6, and then it seemed to go away quickly.

Thankfully the weather was cool and nice (other than those heavy rains earlier this week), so we could open the windows. Going to double check any possible entry points today!

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry, what? you need to get it removed. You can't just leave it there.

[Anonymous]

Next will be the maggots and flies. Even flesh eating wasps that bore through wood.

Of course... Hantavirus or plague.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, what? you need to get it removed. You can't just leave it there.

Yes, you can - and many do. Mice die in places you can't find or access them all the time. After a week they dry up - and the smell goes away. I worked construction for many years when I was younger as we found dead mice in walls and ceilings all the time. Unless you have a recurring problem and its really bad - the occasional mouse doesn't warrant tearing open walls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cut the drywall open. It's not that hard to fix.

We tried this and ended up having to cut holes in several places and never found it - it's not always easy to determine whether the smell is coming from (ceiling, wall, which cavity...).

[Anonymous]

Ugh, this is the worst and it's almost impossible to pinpoint.

There is a product on Amazon called Ratsorb or something like that. It helps remove the smell faster than doing nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cut the drywall open. It's not that hard to fix.

Not that easy in many cases. We had this happen in our master bathroom, where custom tiles from Italy (the prior owners did this) go halfway up the wall. We let the (presumably mouse) rot, and the stink went away in a week.

[Anonymous]

No smell. Out of sight. Out of mind. Move along.