Clear The Dead Rodent Out Of The HVAC Duct Just open the vent up, use your gloved hand to reach in and grab it, and then place the body inside of your durable plastic bag. You should be wearing gloves that are disposable. These can go into the plastic sack with the animal.
Just open up the closest barrier or vent cover, reach your gloved hand in, grab the carcass, and then place it in your bag. The gloves that you wear should be disposable. You will need to put these in the bag too, along with the dead animal. Seal everything up and then put it in the dumpster or waste bin outside.
You'll have to turn off your HVAC system and remove all the vent covers. You'll need to load a trap for each vent. Most do-it-yourself-ers use snap traps baited with peanut butter, meat, or cheese. Place the trap just inside the vent and wait.
It may take days or weeks for the carcass to dry out and the odor to naturally and completely disappear.
You should explain the situation when you call for service; some HVAC service providers may refer you to an animal control provider instead, but many HVAC technicians will be able to remove the dead mouse or rodent properly.
The smell of a dead rat can be harmful to a person's health due to the toxic gases and microscopic compounds of the dead animal that are constantly being released into the indoor air. Since most homes are not consistently ventilated, the gases permeate into the respiratory tract and can potentially cause illness.
Take The Dead Rodent Out Of Your HVAC Duct
Just open up the barrier, use a gloved hand to reach in, and then place the animal's body within your plastic bag. Be sure to have your disposable gloves on as you definitely don't want to touch the carcass with your bare skin.
A dead mouse should not be left to rot inside your wall, because its corpse could soon attract fleas. With an electronic borescope, you can locate the corpse's whereabouts by drilling a coin-sized hole, a few inches off the ground, into the drywall of the cavity that seems to be emitting the smell.
FAQs on Dead Animal Smell Coming from Air Vents
Then clean the area with an odor-neutralizing product to help eliminate the odor. What do dead mice smell like? Dead mice produce a rancid smell due to the gases released from the decaying body. The smell may resemble rotten cabbage, rotten eggs, and general decay.
Every duct is different in terms of depth and angles. If you can find the item, pull it out gently so that it does not drop again. Use a Wire Hanger: If you could not get the dropped item this way, you can try using DIY tools like a wire hanger.
Remove AC vents with a screwdriver and place the mouse trap with either peanut butter or whatever little piece of food you don't mind leaving up there. Use a flashlight to look for mouse or rat droppings. If you see a prevalence of them at a specific duct, leave more traps in that area.
Animals like squirrels, raccoons, and rodents can find their way into your house and into the ductwork. They can even make a new home in the ducts, which becomes a serious problem for your home. If you think you hear scratching coming from your ductwork, it's incredibly important to call professionals right away.
Turn off the Vent and Clean It
Thoroughly scrape the urine stains off the surfaces. After the system dries completely, spray hydrogen peroxide to disinfect the remaining microbes and kill the bacteria. Vinegar can help neutralize and mask the ammonia-like urine odor, and stop the pet from urinating again.
How long will the smell last? Answer: The odor will last about 10 days or perhaps a bit longer. There is no certain way that the dead mouse can be found, and there are no chemicals that will take the odor away.
Mice and rats commonly seek refuge in the cozy spaces in walls of your home. This is the most common place you will hear their quick light tapping and scratching sounds. FYI - walls act as a hidden highway system for them to move unseen through out a home.
In general, if you can't find the dead mouse, the smell may persist for up to several weeks but it will eventually dissipate with time, although it's important to try to find and get rid of the source for sanitary reasons.
Try to narrow it down to the smallest area possible. If you can't physically see the rat within this area, then the rat may be in your walls, under your floor or hidden in a hard to reach place.
If you believe the source of the smell is coming from a supply vent, then turn your furnace fan on to help pinpoint which duct the animal is located in. This will help move air past the dead and rotting carcass and concentrate the strongest smells in one of your vent's openings.
Follow the smell
Now comes the hard part. You see, the only way you can quickly pinpoint the spot is to get underneath your crawl space and follow the smell. Wherever the smell is most concentrated is most likely where the carcass is.
Clear The Dead Rodent Out Of The HVAC Duct
Just open the vent up, use your gloved hand to reach in and grab it, and then place the body inside of your durable plastic bag. You should be wearing gloves that are disposable. These can go into the plastic sack with the animal.
For a natural solution, you can try the following: You can use natural odor neutralizers, such as vinegar and baking soda to absorb foul smells. Vinegar is a natural disinfectant and can help absorb odors instead of masking them.
The decomposing smell will circulate throughout your entire home as long as the system is running. If the dead animal is a rat, you'll also likely notice yellow stains seeping through the ceilings or around the vent — the trail left behind when they urinated.