But the stench of the dead animal collects and lingers in the house below.
Found dead mouse in attic.
Wear rubber gloves and a dust filter mask or respirator when handling the dead mice to avoid contact with disease organisms.
Check in rooms crawlspaces basements attics garages storage sheds any anywhere else you can easily access paying close attention to the odor levels.
If there s no evidence to point you in the direction of an impromptu mouse graveyard follow your nose to the most concentrated area of the stench.
The attic is usually well ventilated.
More commonly mice die in your attic especially in higher numbers because someone has applied a mouse poison rodenticide.
To learn more about fresh wave click here.
Try to locate the origin of the dead mouse by walking throughout your home and smelling the air.
Mouse urine and droppings dry out relatively quickly but just removing moisture doesn t kill germs.
When you come along with your broom and dust mop or vacuum cleaner you scoop up most of the mess but microscopic bits are released into the air where they can be inhaled and spread.
This all comes down to air flow.
If you use mouse bait containing food and a rodenticide without trapping the mouse the smell of dead mice in the attic may be a problem.
Check the traps daily to dispose of mouse bodies and replace the bait.
Live traps such as box house mouse traps and glue traps are useful in getting mice out of the attic without killing them.
Out in the wild most mice are quickly eaten by housecats owls fox snakes and all sorts of predators.
It s not a pleasant or enjoyable task by any means but the odor will be stronger around the mouse.
If there s still no sign of the corpse it could possibly be in an air duct a wall cavity the attic the crawlspace or in the sealed underside of a kitchen counter.
If you can t find the source of the rodent odor apply odor eliminator regularly until the mouse completely decomposes and no longer emits the smell.
The interesting thing about a dead animal in an attic is that the odor is actually usually stronger inside the house than in the attic itself.
Inspect your attic and crawlspace too.