Hi All
In a very off-putting development in our household there is a dead rat under my kitchen somewhere. 99.9% sure its a deceased rat as we had poison down, the poison disappeared and now the kitchen smells vile. I've checked the easy to reach spots like behind kickboards and so on but I'm pretty certain its in the very cramped narrow crawl space under the kitchen floor.
I have never done it myself before but I do know that its possible to access the crawl space via the hall and then sniper-crawl to the underneath the kitchen as we had a plumber manage this once a few years ago. I am really not very keen on doing this at all, yet alone to try and locate a dead rat.
But, I'm not sure what other options there are. I am thinking of buying a cheap bore-hole camera off Amazon so I can at least try and see what the hell is going on down there first.
I guess my questions are this:
Is it worth grimacing my way through this horrible job or should I just wait it out until it decomposes and mummifies itself?
Also, assuming I can even get to it, if the carcass is a disgusting pile of goo and I cannot bag it, is there something I could add to it to break it down/cover the stench? (i.e that I can legally procure and don't need to get off the dark-web).
Please tell me I'm not the only one this has happened to...I can't lie, its really put a damper on my week so far.
cat on a stick?
Get in that crawl space you massive wimp.
It won't be runny. Take a dustpan and brush and a binliner put the whole lot in the bag and deal with it outside.
My sister had this issue in her kitchen a few years ago.
They had a rat problem, which they got a pest control bloke to solve - he did it with poison & the rats who died ended up stuck in the roof-space above their kitchen which is a flat-roof extension.
The smell was grim. The pest control bloke said basically the best solution was to put up with it for a while, the rats will decompose, flies will lay eggs on it, the maggots will eat the rat until theirs basically just bones left at which point it will stop smelling.
They basically did this, as the only other option was to pull the ceiling down in the kitchen to get the dead rats out & have it all re-done.
But - I reckon you can still slightly smell it several years on. If the door is shut overnight and you are the first person in there the following morning then there is definitely a tang in the air. Maybe the rotting rat has permeated into the plaster a bit, and this wouldn't be the same problem under the floor.
If I was them, I would be considering pulling the ceiling down & getting it re-done.
I suppose you have two choices - put up with it for X amount of time and see if it eventually goes away, or just bite the bullet now & get it out. Regarding timeframes - my Sister's kitchen smelled pretty rank for a good few months, although I think they got used to it after a while. Either way, it is unlikely to be something that will fix itself in a couple of weeks.
If you leave it & see how it goes, you can always try getting it out down the line if the smell doesn't go away.
Get in that crawl space you massive wimp.
This. When I was a kid, I was sent under the floor on a couple of occasions as I was tiny and could fit.
Dead “rat in ma kitchen what ama gonna do…”
leave it as a deterence to other rats?
on a more serious note, whats the flooring in the kitchen? Would it come up relatively easily?
I dont consider myself claustrophobic and I work in the building industry... I'd be unwilling to crawl forwards into a space I was not sure I could crawl out of.
We had something die under our kitchen floor a couple of years back. No smell, but the flies were horrendous, and were crawling up through the floorboard cracks for at least two weeks. Get under there and retrieve said cadaverat. Things will get much much worse before they start to improve.
This. When I was a kid, I was sent under the floor on a couple of occasions as I was tiny and could fit.
Yep. Although in my case it was the small triangular eves in a masard roof. In through the hatch turn 90 degrees and basically dragyourself over the joists
I asked my dad years later what his plan was for rescue... Hammer through the lathe and plaster.
I still find it quite exciting crawling into tightspaces but i am really uncomfortable with the thought of it 😀
Years ago the basement where we used to send PhD students to work had a really nasty smell. We took up the covers over the pipes that run under the floor and pulled out nine partially decomposed rats.
Take up the hatch in the hall and see if you can see anything, if not borrow a small child from the neighbours.
Yep. Although in my case it was the small triangular eves in a masard roof. In through the hatch turn 90 degrees and basically dragyourself over the joists
I was also deployed one time to help a neighbour who had locked herself out of her house – my dad lifted me up to a small top window opening, I somehow managed to squeeze in, and unlocked the door from inside. I recall being given £1 by my neighbour 🙂
Had one die in the loft above the bedroom in an old cottage many years ago. I collected up the remains (trying not to look!) but the smell persisted for a few weeks. I think I put Jeyes fluid or similar on the area, IIRC. Mind you, that smelled pretty awful, too.
i have had beasties die under my floors. Dunno what varity but it smelled for a bit then stopped. I think they mummified rather than putrified but it is a dry void
Do cub scouts still do "bob-a-job"? Worth 5p of anyone's money.
Put some fresh fish behind a radiator, that'll take your mind off the rats, otherwise let nature take its course
My best mate had it under his hallway floor, I turned up at the weekend after said rat had been removed and it was the grimmest thing I've ever smelt. There's no way I'd be leaving it and putting up with that smell I'd do whatever it took to get rid ASAP.
Burn it with fire 😀
I am thinking of buying a cheap bore-hole camera off Amazon so I can at least try and see what the hell is going on down there first.
That's how I'd start. At least you'll then know if going all John McClane style into the crawl space is going to be worth it.
I once worked in a big Portakabin building where there was a problem with rats, mainly due to incorrectly disposed food waste. The pest control people put some poison down - the stink of rotting flesh pervaded the building all summer, as well as swarms of bluebottles.
in a rental house just after university we had rats in the house. Put down poison and put an end to the rats. Unfortunately one / some died under the floor. It was middle of summer...the stench was horrific for about a week then went. Sorry, no advice to offer!!
on a more serious note, whats the flooring in the kitchen? Would it come up relatively easily?
I dont consider myself claustrophobic and I work in the building industry... I'd be unwilling to crawl forwards into a space I was not sure I could crawl out of.
Simple solution for that...
Go in feet first. Might be a bit unpleasent when you realised you have smeared the rat from your toes to your chin.
Put a live rat in there, it'll eat the dead rat.
You could also try some very hungry caterpillars, but best to do this on Sunday, before they find where you keep the apples.
Ger some PPE from Screwfix etc gloves, mask, eye pro and overalls and just get in there.
Leaving it to mummify will be the worst option and you will probably end up getting under there anyway at some point when you tire of the smell
This is why poison is a bad idea. If you have any more rat issues, check out the Goodnature rat killing thing, lures them in then a CO2-powered bolt kills them instantly and conveniently in situ. Also, block rat access first or you're simply wasting your time.
I'm not massively claustrophobic but I HATE crawl spaces. My experience of boroscopes is they aren't great unless you know what you are already looking at. How rough is the ground in the crawl space? Could you get a remote controlled 4x4 car and strap a gopro/phone to it to see what you are looking for. If you are going in you want to spend the minimum time in there possible not hunting rotting rat by nose.
Put a live rat in there, it'll eat the dead rat.
And then the poison in the original rat will kill the second rat, resulting in two dead rats.
That's when you introduce a third rat....
Been there, done rat.
Best suggestions I had at the time were ozone piped at the issue, but I chose to stick it out. We rotated the rooms as they became ratty. Yeah the smell is like methyl mercaptain, gassy.
