Ever had something die in your wall?

[SMKR]

Few weeks ago we swore we heard something scurrying in the wall in the middle of the night. Havent heard it lately but last week started to smell something in that area. Walked in today and the smell has gotten s lot worse.

What is the best way to locate this smell with minimal sheetrock damage? Anyone else dealt with something similar? Sucks we close in ten days and have to deal with this now.

[DON SVO]

It's gross, but sniff for it. Find where it's strongest. Use a drill with a 1" hole saw bit a foot above the molding from the floor. You can use a "mirror on a stick" (available cheap from Vato Zone) and a light to check for the critter. Depending on the critter's size, you could use a biological deodorant and pour it onto the animal (small, like a mouse) or you could then cut a bigger hole in the same spot and fish it out.

[ZYouL8R]

[SMKR]

Yea holes in the walls was my fear. Do they make a mirror on a stick with a light?

What will kill or atleast mask this smell?

[Shaggin Wagon]

I would think in 10days, the smell should be gone.

[Kyle]

I would think in 10days, the smell should be gone.

If you can deal with the smell, it will dissipate within a week or maybe two at most.

When I was growing up, they developed a field next to my house. This caused all the mice to seek shelter in the surrounding houses. We were putting poison and traps out to take care of the problem, but occasionally one would die in the wall. After fishing a few out we discovered within a week or so of them smelling it goes away. You just have to wait for the critter to dry out.

[DON SVO]

Yea holes in the walls was my fear. Do they make a mirror on a stick with a light?

What will kill or atleast mask this smell?

A light on the mirror will do fine, it'll reflect a bunch of it. A small hole is easy to patch, if you're lucky and it's a mouse all you gotta patch up is a 1" hole in a very unnoticeable spot (foot and change off the floor).

[347Mike]

[Lason]

I had the same issue and ended up being a baby bird. Luckily I got it out before it died. I was expecting a mouse and out came a damn bird, freaked me out! Luckily I just put down new floors and hadnt put the moulding back on yet so I punched out a hole with a hammer and let it come out. Second pic is when I tried to let it out, it stopped at a plate my kids just put down with pancake crumbs on it so it stopped to eat. I think it was stuck for almost a week.

[Shaggin Wagon]

I had the same issue and ended up being a baby bird. Luckily I got it out before it died. I was expecting a mouse and out came a damn bird, freaked me out! Luckily I just put down new floors and hadnt put the moulding back on yet so I punched out a hole with a hammer and let it come out. Second pic is when I tried to let it out, it stopped at a plate my kids just put down with pancake crumbs on it so it stopped to eat. I think it was stuck for almost a week.

That is awesome, good job!!

[bcoop]

best response yet

[SMKR]

Going the odor elimination route first in the return air vents.......

[Forever_frost]

I had mice in the wall that drove my chow nuts. He finally took it upon himself to eat through the trim and the sheetrock, get in there and get the mice himself. Haven't had an issue since

[SMKR]

well I did speak to a cool exteriminator. He said he could tell me how to remedy this for free, or come to my house and do it for $150. So i took the free route.


1- get liquid odor eliminator. soak rags in it. remove the return air vents and hang them inside the vents.
2- put a 1-2" hole in the wall, find the source. put baking soda next to it as well as a wax-based odor eliminator. Said it would take a week or two but that would eliminate it

[BradM]

Just hope it's something small. I had a fat hooker stink up my garage for the better part of a year.