Damage to Insulation in Attic
Damage to Insulation in Attic

Dead Rats or Mice in Ceiling

Dead Rat in Ceilings of homes is a very common call in Auburn. Rats and mice will get into walls and attics to make their home on long cold winter months, they are very thinly furred and they will often seek shelter during these cold snaps. What better place to find shelter than in the attic area of your home.

Mice and rats are the most common rodent problems that people have in the winter months of the year. One very common call we receive is to find and remove dead rats and mice from the ceilings of homes and buildings. This is sometimes a very difficult thing to do. They are rather small and it takes lots of patience and skill to often find a dead one that has made its way into the walls or ceilings of your home.

How Did a Dead Rat Get Into My Ceiling?

Rats can get into almost any part of an attic or wall space of a home that has not been properly excluded. A rodent exclusion is a method of sealing all parts of a home or building to prevent any possible entry to the area by them. This process can also be performed to keep out squirrels, bats and other types of wildlife that are typically found near homes or buildings.

After they have made access to your home or building, they may come in contact with poison that is set out by a pest control agent or possibly the homeowner. Today’s poisons are very toxic and it sometimes only takes a day for a rat to die and start the decomposition process. Once the decomposition process starts to take place and the body starts to break down the smell will become very bad.

Some people think that once enough time has elapsed, the smell will just go away, this is not true, if a rat or mouse decomposes in the ceiling and is laying in insulation, the insulation will have a very bad odor until it is removed and replaced with new insulation. Same goes for sheet rock, all items that a decomposing rodent comes into contact with must be removed, the entire area deodorized and material should be replaced. This is the only way you will ever completely eliminate the odor of a dead rat in the ceiling of a home.