Mouse died inside cabinetry, can't get to it, will it stop smelling? (now enhanced with pictures!) archived

We had a mouse visiting us under our sink. We put a trap there and I think it got hurt but got out of the trap. When we opened the under-sink cabinet, it ran/hobbled under the fridge and went into a hole in the (original) cabinets that is inaccessible. So now we can smell that it died. To get to it, we'd have to take apart our cabinets somehow. So my question is, will it ever stop smelling and just turn into a little mouse skeleton entombed in our cabinetry, and if so, how long will this take?

Roughly 3 months. The skin and organs need to rot.

Probably best to launch some crickets and spiders in there to hurry it up.

Oh dear. I don't know. My thoughts are with you.

Turning into a mouse skeleton will require the assistance of helpful insects which could then multiply and go looking for other food sources. It might be a good idea to remove the dead mouse now if you can.

Will the "thin" attachment on a shop-vac fit under there?

Ugh! My sympathies.

Something once died in the wall of an apt we rented. The super said he couldn't do anything about it and we just had to wait. The stink did go away, and I think it was less than 3 months, but I remember how awful the stench was! So sorry you're dealing with this!

Hope you don't have a dog, because that smell will drive them nuts and they will try to scratch through your cabinets to get at it.

In my experience, the smell starts to dissipate after a week or so, although it will certainly remain for a while at a lower level. You may want to cut an access panel in the back of that cabinet to get rid of it now.

sbenois said:

Roughly 3 months. The skin and organs need to rot.

Probably best to launch some crickets and spiders in there to hurry it up.

I don't know which is worse, the dead decaying mouse or releasing bugs to hasten the decay!?! :O :::::: feeling faint::::: I need to go lay down::::::::

The area that he got into runs along the bottom front of the cabinets. I might be able to get in there with some sort of vacuum attachment from the side hole he ran into if it was a very long, thin flexible one, but the cabinet length is 6 ft and I suppose he could be anywhere along that length, probably at the furthest point. RobB, do shop vac attachments come like that?

Is it possible to cut away from under the cabinet (through the basement) to get to it?

Sbenois, just went down there to check, but no. Maybe I can use this as an excuse to do a kitchen reno, huh?

rudbekia

Unfortunately, you may have to wait it out. I had this experience when I lived in Queens years ago, we had a mouse die in the walls. This happened a few times after putting poison bait down. Myself and roommates suffered for about a week. The smell does dissipate.

Look on the bright side, if he/she has any friends around, the smell of death keeps the mice away. Next time, buy some peppermint oil, put the oil on some cotton balls and place it where you see any evidence of mice. Believe me, it works!

How small is the opening in the cabinet? You said it's behind the fridge? How about cutting a bigger hole so you can at least see where the mouse is "resting"?

phenix, I will try that, thanks for the tip!

Does anyone have one of those flexible behind the wall camera scopes to lend Rudbekia?

We can pull the fridge all the way out for access to the side hole, which is quite large, looks like it was cut to put the electrical outlet in. But then to get to where I think the corpse is, you have to go to the right into a passage that runs under the fronts of the cabinets. Don't know why it's there, but the cabinets are original to the house.

Ahhh, maybe buy some candles.

Perhaps take apart a wire hanger to get it out? At least you can stretch it out and see if the corpse catches on. (Ugh… the thought of it.)

phenix, good idea. Maybe if he doesn't come out on the first length of hanger, I could attach another hanger...or, on second thought, maybe I could wait until my husband gets home and let him do it...

sbenois said:

Does anyone have one of those flexible behind the wall camera scopes to lend Rudbekia?

A colonoscopy camera would also work.

Wait till the flies come..

Meantime, here are some options to mask the smell I found online.

Option 1

If the rodent has died somewhere that you cannot find (such as under floorboards or in an air duct), get some white vinegar, fill a number of cups and place them in the areas that smell the strongest. The vinegar seems to cover up the smell of decay pretty well, but it does need refreshing every other day until the rotten rat smell has gone!

Option 2

Use an odor eliminator such as Oust or Febreeze. These products are made to get rid of odors and not mask them. Spray it generously throughout your house. You may want to do this once every couple of hours for a day or two and then the smell should be gone.

phenix, thanks so much for looking that up. I suppose I should be looking up as well. I've got a gallon of white vinegar. I'll put some in the hole right now. I wonder if baking soda would help too like it does in the fridge?

RobB said:

Ahhh, maybe buy some candles.

and perform an exorcism?

So I thought I'd attach some pictures, mostly because I'm dumbfounded by the weird tile floor I found under the cabinets. I knew there was a wood subfloor, then linoleum, then the pine plank that we put over it, but this is the first I've seen of the yellow/orange and green tile. So that's the hole he went in, and then I put my camera in the hole and pressed the button so you could see the turn it takes to the left and then along that whole length of cabinet. I guess these cabinets aren't original since they were built over this weird tile and I can see the rest of the original floor moulding.

Get some blue bottle flies. They'll eat off the mouse and will drop eggs onto the mouse creating maggots. The maggots will quickly eat the fly, leaving a dried skeleton.

Ewwwwwww. I mean, dude, you didn't see me screaming and crying when the thing ran across the room. Maggots??!! I'd have to move.

But what happens after they are done with the mouse????

They turn into flies and fly away?