Who could find a dead rat in a house?

MichaelR

Hello,

A rat died in the house, either under a ventilated floor or inside a wall cavity. The smell is a problem, of course. We try to plug drafts but I guess we probably need to get someone to find and remove the rat. The question is - where do I look for a professional who could do that in Limerick?

I would expect that an endoscope would be needed. I am ordering one too, but Amazon delivery can take a long time, and besides I don't have the necessary experience. Dyno-Rod and the like have endoscopes but I doubt they would do this kind of work?

drunkmonkey

How do you know it's a rat, this time of year with all the rain it's possible water is leaking in under the floor, is it in one particular room?

MichaelR

Poison used, noise ends, smell appears. Rather clear.

drunkmonkey

Is it in particular room, what's it smell like. Have you seen rat poop. Smell should be gone a couple of weeks after it's dead if a rat.

whisky_galore

It will go away eventually.
I guess you can employ someone who will happily rip your house apart fruitlessly looking for a body. Up to you.

If you don't want it happening again, don't use poison.

Stihl waters

MichaelR wrote: »

Poison used

There's the problem, use a live trap next time

MichaelR

Stihl waters wrote: »

There's the problem, use a live trap next time

Traps just didn't work. Live and kill were both tried. I tried calling professional services but they use poison too.

Treppen

Make sure to check AND COVER your water tank in the attic even if you do find 1 Rat
I've had bad experiences...
When rodents are poisoned they seek out water.

RandRuns

Give Ali Campbell a shout, he'd a similar issue.

Gary Owen

RandRuns wrote: »

Give Ali Campbell a shout, he'd a similar issue.

Ya, but that rat was in the kitchen

MichaelR

I would also expect some new technology now, not available back in 1986!

MichaelR

Happy ending - new technology defeats old rat! Though frankly, "beginner's luck" also contributed.

A "snake camera", which I ordered with priority delivery, duly arrived from Amazon (Depstech dual lens). I could not see very far in the cavity wall without drilling more holes, but before trying that I decided to try pushing the camera in different directions inside a small space under the floor, and there was the dead rat. I used an electric jigsaw to cut the boards, then retrieved the rat carcass with a pipe wrench, double-bagged it, and binned it. The smell went away.

Comhrá

MichaelR wrote: »

Happy ending - new technology defeats old rat! Though frankly, "beginner's luck" also contributed.

A "snake camera", which I ordered with priority delivery, duly arrived from Amazon (Depstech dual lens). I could not see very far in the cavity wall without drilling more holes, but before trying that I decided to try pushing the camera in different directions inside a small space under the floor, and there was the dead rat. I used an electric jigsaw to cut the boards, then retrieved the rat carcass with a pipe wrench, double-bagged it, and binned it. The smell went away.

rip

sioda

MichaelR wrote: »

Happy ending - new technology defeats old rat! Though frankly, "beginner's luck" also contributed.

A "snake camera", which I ordered with priority delivery, duly arrived from Amazon (Depstech dual lens). I could not see very far in the cavity wall without drilling more holes, but before trying that I decided to try pushing the camera in different directions inside a small space under the floor, and there was the dead rat. I used an electric jigsaw to cut the boards, then retrieved the rat carcass with a pipe wrench, double-bagged it, and binned it. The smell went away.

Well done don't have many to the funeral 😜

denismac

From my own experience the smell can last for months and will only disappear when the body is found. I had one in between floors on two occasions over the years and it was very hard to find the bodies. You might literally have to smell along the floors (or walls) to find where the smell is strongest and try probing there. A long scope would help of course if you can wait that long.

fryup

Fianna Fail? they have a track record

MichaelR

denismac wrote: »

From my own experience the smell can last for months and will only disappear when the body is found. I had one in between floors on two occasions over the years and it was very hard to find the bodies. You might literally have to smell along the floors (or walls) to find where the smell is strongest and try probing there. A long scope would help of course if you can wait that long.

Amazon priority delivery took less than a week, in fairness. I do recommend a "dual lens" model, which has a front and side view, because where the probe ends up pointing is a bit random; I think I first noticed the fur in the side camera.

Here's the one I got. It's not the cheapest, but because of the wi-fi connection it has maximum compatibility. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08NT4GJ33/

Thoughts and prayers