Help, dead mouse in kitchen, can't find it?

Question

I know this sounds like a totally stupid question but what can we do? We put out mousebaits & a mouse has died somewhere in our kitchen, it smells so bad but the smell seems to be coming from either the cupboard space (underneath where we can't get to) or in the wall cavities. It's been about 3 weeks now & it's still grossly putrid. We've got air freshener in there but it's only short-term in getting rid of the odour, DUH. Has anyone else had a hairy little mouse die in their house never to be found to be laid to rest & lived with the smell? I feel like hiring a builder to tear our kitchen apart!

Answer 1

Believe it or not the smell will go away eventually!  Once it finishes putrefying that is.

Answer 2

Empty all your storage space like drawers and cupboards and wash everything with Lysol ,move the stove and fridge and look under them as well , wash them as well ,keep your window open. If you cannot still find the dead mouse keep some Warfarin on hand you might get more mice in the future, but make sure to store it out of reach of children and other pets ,now about the mouse! eventually the mouse will disintegrate and the smell of decay will disappear. Keep all you cereal boxes well shut, or use plastic storage containers that you buy at the Dollar store to keep them in. Keep the windows open even a crack to let the fresh air come in .

Answer 3

Yah your kinda of stuck,,, the mouse is probably in the walls. The smell will slowly go away, I'm thinking in a week.

I learned pretty quickly not to use baits. Next time try using a trap. Catch and release or for some people trap and kill. Beats the smell.

Answer 4

You are in a tough situation now. I can't think of anything better than to try going through all the kitchen area. Also, it will come to pass in less than a week as you said it has been there for 3 weeks.

Tearing your house just to take out that rat is a bit costly.

Next time, i suggest do not place chemical baits. Rather, place a trap instead - whether mouse trap or a cage trap.

Answer 5

it's unorthodox, but what about 'relocating' some ants to the suspected area(s).... once they stop freaking out they should go back to their normal routine, which for most is search and dismantling food...

it's all i can think of short of tearing out cabinets/walls and finding it... although i'm willing to bet you got more then one dead rodent in the walls if it's been three weeks....

Answer 6

That happened to me once too.  I never found it--I guess the mouse was in the walls when it died.  You can't believe something so tiny can produce such a horrible, horrible smell, right? Air fresheners don't mask the smell for very long.  If it's been about three weeks now, you're almost done with the smell.  It lasts a good long while.