woolybear Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Something is definitely rotten in the state of....our home. I'm pretty sure it's a dead animal either in the wall or behind a bookcase which is bolted to the wall. Dh is NOT enthusiastic to move the bookcase and it could be all for naught anyway, because this might be in the wall. So....does the smell just go away on it's own? Is it very unhealthy for us to breathe it in? Bottom line--can we just leave it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolfromIL Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 A rotting animal may decompose for months. I have heard that skunk smells can linger for years. This can not be healthy for you. I would either start tearing down the drywall yourself or call a contractor. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 There's no harm in the smell, just the unpleasantness. Whether you wait it out or dig it out is your call. My main concern would be making sure that never happened again so I'd scour the outside for any possible entry points for rodents and go at them with steel wool and spray foam insulation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Ick. It's probably not dangerous, but so disgusting. I'd move the bookcases, dh be ****ed. I'd do it myself solo if I had to. If I didn't find it back there, I'd start ripping into the drywall. Grrrooossss. :grouphug: good luck! (Men! I could totally see my dh telling me not to worry, leave it, it'll go away . . . And me having a freaking conniption fit and throwing all the books into laundry baskets while he is still mumbling about wasting all that time.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Another issue is how long the critter was in the wall before it expired. If there's a lot of fecal matter in there, that's not good for you. Our neighbors had a squirrel take up residence in the attic after a storm damaged some facia, and did not know he was there when they had it fixed, so he was stuck. He managed to wreak a bit of havoc before kicking it and leaving a real mess in a ceiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 Sigh. It smells gross AND it's in our school room. Yup. I'm kicking dh's butt into gear on this one. And as for making sure we don't get any more. It seems almost impossible here. We have a very old house, built into a hill, so one side of the house is up against the soil. We regularly get creatures here. Even with two prime Amazon huntresses (kitties). We actually had a snake in the kitchen a few weeks ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 There's no harm in the smell, just the unpleasantness. Whether you wait it out or dig it out is your call. My main concern would be making sure that never happened again so I'd scour the outside for any possible entry points for rodents and go at them with steel wool and spray foam insulation. :iagree: I know that squirrels last a good long time.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I'd be in a hotel, waiting for dh to confirm there are no live, scary things coming in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Not to sound crazy but could it be a "dead" potato? They smell freakishly similar to something decomposing. I once ripped my mother's pantry apart, sure I was going to find a dead animal but it was a potato that had ended up behind some rarely used items toward the back of a shelf. (OTOH, someone I know had a similar experience in her dining room and it turned out to be a mouse in an outlet. :ack2: :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 Having once found a mouse that the cats had killed but then got stuck under the couch (or maybe it ran under there and was too scared to come out and died there) I'm pretty sure I know the smell. Can I just say it was so gross, I almost threw the couch away. The smell did go away as I got rid of the source and cleaned up R E A L L Y well. I'm just sayin......I think I know dead animal smell.:ack2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 We have this happens with mice. Usually the smell lasts about 1-2 weeks. Probably depends how big it is :tongue_smilie: There is nothing quite like rotting animal smell. Blech! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Not to sound crazy but could it be a "dead" potato? They smell freakishly similar to something decomposing. Here's another crazy thought. We once thought we had a dead animal in a garage wall. Dh was willing to find the thing, just dreading it. We spent a couple days trying to figure out how to go about it. During that time I somehow realized it was the Amdro (fire ant bait) and took the bag outside. Voila--no more dead animal smell. Not sure why it suddenly starting smelling like dead animal--that bag had been in there for awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 We lived through several wood rats in the walls before hubby found the gap. They would get in and I'd hear them scrabble for a couple days before dying. The noise was worse than the smell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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