Do Dead Animals Smell Like Body Odor

Preventing and Eliminating Odors from Dead Rodents (and Other Animals)

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photo © iStockphoto/Norman Pogson

Dead animals volition odor until they are completely decomposed or dried out

Photograph © Pinto & Associates, Inc.

The Smell of Expiry

Ooooh that smell
Can't you lot smell that odor
Ooooh that smell
The smell of death surrounds you

—From "That Smell" by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Scientifically, information technology's a combination of sulfur dioxide, methane, benzene derivatives and long chain hydrocarbons produced as various body parts decompose. Merely to those familiar with the stench of dead bodies, it'due south but the smell of death. Like all smells, it is hard to depict. Only unless y'all're a real vulture, you'll notice the smell disgusting and sickening.

Mayhap in that location is an evolutionary reason for our gut-wrenching reaction to the smell of death. We're repelled by the bloated corpse, and it's a good thought: its flesh harbors disease, it tin sicken and kill. By avoiding rotting brute carcasses your ancestors lived long enough to pass on their genes!

The olfactory property of expiry can be a major customer relations problem in pest control. You've gotten rid of the pests, say a group of rats, but the resultant olfactory property may brand your customer think that the solution is worse than the problem!

You tin preclude odor issues past using traps...as long as you bank check them oft

Photo © Pinto & Assembly, Inc.

Dead animals will smell until they are completely decomposed or until they are stale out. The damper the site, the longer the smell will last. If a rat dies near a steam pipe, the smell tin can be horrible for weeks. The smell from a dead mouse may concluding merely a day. In fact, there may be no noticeable olfactory property from a single dead mouse, only several dead mice in the same area could exist a problem. A dead rat may smell really bad for a week, only there can exist some lingering odor for as long as a month.

The obvious solution is to find and remove the dead animal or animals, then ventilate the site.

But a better solution is prevention. In residences, offices or other sites where odors from expressionless animals are a concern, apply pest-proofing and other IPM tactics to prevent pests from inbound the structure. If there are rodents inside, apply a control method that holds the animal rather than one that allows information technology to wander off and die in inaccessible areas. Use traps rather than baits so that you lot can dispose of the carcass. Bank check traps and glue boards oft to remove dead animals.

Accumulations of expressionless insects can also crusade an aroma problem. For example,

• Expressionless insects can rot in an insect light trap (ILT) catch tray. Be sure to empty and make clean them frequently.
• An insecticide-treated bee nest in a wall void can become quite stinky as the dead bees and the brood rot and as the the dear deteriorates.

Eliminating Odor

I of many deodorizers and olfactory property neutralizers that are available commercially

Photograph from epoleon.com

There are several ways to go rid of odor issues in a building.

• You can take the odor out of the air by using an air cleaner with an absorbent filter.
• Yous tin add something to the air that neutralizes the odor.
• Or you tin add a new, more desirable odor that temporarily masks or covers up the bad olfactory property.

Air cleaners usually use a replaceable absorbent filter such as activated charcoal or silica gel. When room air circulates through the filter, it absorbs and removes particles.

Aroma neutralizers often contain leaner or enzymes that pause down the organic compounds that are causing the scent. Others use ionic minerals to neutralize odors. Some scent neutralizers as well contain an artificial fragrance, but many do not. Scent neutralizers are bachelor as powders, granules, sprays, or every bit rods.

Masking deodorants are highly full-bodied fragrances that simply comprehend upwardly the bad smell. They don't neutralize it. They tin can be practical as granules, aerosols, mist sprays, or released through a cotton wick. Since they take a very strong fragrance, utilise them advisedly to be sure they aren't more offensive than the original odor.

Finding the Source of the Smell

To locate a dead animal in a wall void, use your olfactory organ. Flies in the room may pb y'all right to the spot (some technicians have been known to release flies to detect a carcass). You may see maggots migrating away from the carcass. Or, with a larger animal, you lot might find a damp spot or a stain on the wall or ceiling.

If the animal can't be removed, apply a deodorizer or other product into wall void

Graphic from CDC

The best solution is to remove the carcass. But if you think y'all've constitute the dead animal and it can't be removed, drill a pigsty through the wall one foot above the flooring and pour or inject a disinfectant, olfactory property neutralizer, or masking solution. Do the same for the voids on either side. Using a multidirectional spray tip will give you meliorate coverage inside the void. Be sure to plug the injection holes afterward. If you can, seal off any cracks that are allowing the aroma to escape from the void. Then, use a fan to draw fresh air into the treated area, forcing the old air out. Identify the fan to accident air out of the window or vent that information technology is placed in and to draw in fresh air from some other window or vent across the room.

If you can't locate the carcass (or carcasses), y'all will have to utilize a neutralizing or masking amanuensis to the general area. Use a misting or ULD machine to treat the entire room. You volition need to repeat the application until the carcasses are dry.

You also may need to treat for accident flies, dermestid beetles or other pests that infest decaying carcasses.

We covered a related smell issue in the September ten, 2006 consequence of Techletter, our preparation letter for pest control technicians. For a PDF file of the article, click Banishing Skunk Odor: Some Tips for Deskunking People, Pets, and Spaces

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