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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Dead rat

53 replies

Unusualusernames · 15/09/2021 17:28

Sorry to any animal lovers. I saw a giant rat in my kitchen the size of a kitten last week and put down poison. Now my whole kitchen reeks of fetid rotting rat. I assume it's dead under the floor boards. Taking them up is not an option. Does anyone have any advice????

Not sure where else to put this. I know I am BU but the smell is driving me mental and I'm working from home Sad

OP posts:
BleachEyes · 15/09/2021 17:29

Kinda serves you right for poisoning it rather than trapping to release. Horrible, painful death.

Mamamia7962 · 15/09/2021 17:30

Kitchens have solid floors don't they? It's probably behind the kitchen units. Take the kickboards off and look behind them.

valerianroot · 15/09/2021 17:31

We had similar in our house, where one got trapped under our floorboards. We just had to try and hide the smell with candles and air freshener, which helped but it didn't totally go. It only lasted about a week so not too long. Sympathies though, it's grim!

x2boys · 15/09/2021 17:31

@BleachEyes

Kinda serves you right for poisoning it rather than trapping to release. Horrible, painful death.
Its a rat 🙄
Mamamia7962 · 15/09/2021 17:32

BleachEyes - Why would you want to release a rat? They are vermin that spread disease.

itsgrand · 15/09/2021 17:32

@Unusualusernames

Sorry to any animal lovers. I saw a giant rat in my kitchen the size of a kitten last week and put down poison. Now my whole kitchen reeks of fetid rotting rat. I assume it's dead under the floor boards. Taking them up is not an option. Does anyone have any advice????

Not sure where else to put this. I know I am BU but the smell is driving me mental and I'm working from home Sad

oh its awful isnt it!! and then it starts to smell like gas. fresh air, plug in air freshners, try them all. but yeah like previous poster said can you check under kickboards etc and see if you can see him so you can remove him completely?
VeganVeal · 15/09/2021 17:33

There's a rat in me kitchen what am I goin' do?

Annoyedanddissapointed · 15/09/2021 17:33

@BleachEyes

Kinda serves you right for poisoning it rather than trapping to release. Horrible, painful death.
Trap and telease is NOT as humane as some people like to think...
Annoyedanddissapointed · 15/09/2021 17:34

The smell subsides after few more days... We had dead one under shed🤢 it went from meh to omg evacuate to meh and nothing withong a week

dannydyerismydad · 15/09/2021 17:34

The smell will get worse and worse.

Then you'll experience the house full of flies. Once the flies appear the smell goes.

Good luck. I hope it's warm enough for you to be able to have the windows open

Saucery · 15/09/2021 17:35

Do you know where it got in? You might be able to trace where it went off to die.

CarrieMoonbeams · 15/09/2021 17:39

I know, I know, I know to the people who say "it's only a rat" or "they're vermin" but still ... Sad.

Anothermothernamegame · 15/09/2021 17:40

Arghhhhhh

isupposeitsverynice · 15/09/2021 17:45

i'm pretty sure you're not actually allowed to trap and release vermin in this country, if you trap it you must humanely kill it also. i can't be bothered to check this however Smile it is a shame, rats are very cool as individuals but wild rats are a colossal pain in the arse and carry all sorts of horrible shit, you'd be mental to leave them pottering round your kitchen. anyway none of that helps op except possibly to assuage any residual guilt induced by previous posters - i hope the smell dissipates soon

Bargebill19 · 15/09/2021 17:46

Cat litter is good at soaking up smells. You could try filling old tights or socks and putting them down, if you don’t have any spare trays or are likely to tread in them.
Buy lots of fly spray.
Have a really good look in and under your cupboards - the kick boards are usually just clipped on to the cupboard legs and will pop
off. Check behind fridge, washing machine, cooker etc.

Cryalot2 · 15/09/2021 17:46

You are brave . I think I would have moved out. A mouse ( or 2 as there never is 1) is one thing but a rat 🐀 no way. I hope you get rid of the smell and find out out how it got in so you have no more.

StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind · 15/09/2021 17:48

You are brave . I think I would have moved out.

I'd have burnt the house down! Aaargh! This is the stuff of nightmares for me.

Annoyedanddissapointed · 15/09/2021 17:50

@isupposeitsverynice

i'm pretty sure you're not actually allowed to trap and release vermin in this country, if you trap it you must humanely kill it also. i can't be bothered to check this however Smile it is a shame, rats are very cool as individuals but wild rats are a colossal pain in the arse and carry all sorts of horrible shit, you'd be mental to leave them pottering round your kitchen. anyway none of that helps op except possibly to assuage any residual guilt induced by previous posters - i hope the smell dissipates soon
Well off to google because I see this "trap and release" often. Funny they never provide an address of where to release😁 Also, taking an animal and randomly releasing it in the middle of some fields is pretty shitty way to kill it.
mrcow · 15/09/2021 17:51

@dannydyerismydad

The smell will get worse and worse.

Then you'll experience the house full of flies. Once the flies appear the smell goes.

Good luck. I hope it's warm enough for you to be able to have the windows open

You forgot the spider stage when they feast on the flies!
Frogsonglue · 15/09/2021 17:52

Yep you've just got to ride it out, it's grim. And as pp said, you're not allowed to trap and release rats, and it would be a shit thing to do on all sorts of levels (for the rat and for other people). So poison is your only option really unless you're good with a shotgun.

pussycatlickinglollyices · 15/09/2021 17:52

@VeganVeal

There's a rat in me kitchen what am I goin' do?
😂😂
Medievalist · 15/09/2021 17:54

We once had to pull floorboards up to get to a dead mouse because the smell was so horrific. Shudder to think what a dead rat will be like.

How do you think it got in? If it didn't wander in through an open door you need to find out how it got in to stop any others.

Persipan · 15/09/2021 18:00

It will last for months. Sorry. To minimise it you want Earthcare Odour Remover bags. Don't use the Rentokil ones, they smell almost as bad as the rat corpse.

Your bigger problem is that if there's one, there's a way in... Get someone round to check and sort the problem or it won't be just this rat...

TheWinterSmoulder · 15/09/2021 18:01

As a former cat servant I can attest that the smell will subside in a week or so.
In the meantime windows open, febreze or similar solid thing on the floor somewhere, not up high, fly spray/ papers as yes it will get bad.
Lemon juice and vinegar wiping down cupboards and floor if you want to minimise chemicals but also get a clean smell, and yes (if you can bear it) look behind kickboards or at the back of the sink cupboard/washing machine/boiler cupboard, anywhere where pipes come in and out.
Worst case scenario, toast coffee beans on grill, or put out a mothball. Horrible but cleaner horrible smell.