I'm near certain that I've got a dead critter inside one of my home's walls. The stench is growing. I'm pretty sure that it may have fallen down inside the wall through an opening in the attic.

I've got calls out to critter removal companies to eliminate critters in the attic, but am not sure that such companies can handle dead critters inside walls.

I know the general location of the corpse from the smell, but not its precise location. What is the best way to locate the precise location of the corpse and remove it? I'd prefer to avoid removing vast quantities of sheetrock if I can.

We had the same problem several years ago. If you can wait a few months, it will completely decay and the smell will go away.

Just a thought - Maybe a thermal camera? I'm not sure if there is enough moisture or heat coming from dead critter.

TexAg2001 said:

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Just a thought - Maybe a thermal camera? I'm not sure if there is enough moisture or heat coming from dead critter.

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Good thinking. I also posted my question on the outdoor board and somebody there suggested purchasing an inexpensive endoscope, drilling a small hole in the wall, and poking the endoscope through that hole.

Where are you located?

If you are in the Houston area, call Wildernex Wildlife, they are good ags.

Unfortunately, I do not live in the Houston area. I live out of state.

Jabin said:

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TexAg2001 said:

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Just a thought - Maybe a thermal camera? I'm not sure if there is enough moisture or heat coming from dead critter.

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Good thinking. I also posted my question on the outdoor board and somebody there suggested purchasing an inexpensive endoscope, drilling a small hole in the wall, and poking the endoscope through that hole.

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That could end up a lot of holes. Difficult to see things with insulation in the walls.

Good luck with your problem.

Chase said:

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Jabin said:

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TexAg2001 said:

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Just a thought - Maybe a thermal camera? I'm not sure if there is enough moisture or heat coming from dead critter.

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Good thinking. I also posted my question on the outdoor board and somebody there suggested purchasing an inexpensive endoscope, drilling a small hole in the wall, and poking the endoscope through that hole.

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That could end up a lot of holes. Difficult to see things with insulation in the walls.

Good luck with your problem.

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My nephew in law came over to help and found it quickly for me. It was buried under the attic insulation right above the wall where I thought it was. It was a rat and is now long gone. However, I am still wrestling with the odor issue. I bought a cheap ozone generator and I am using it right now to see if that can help eliminate the odor.

I did the same thing. Bought an endoscope and made small holes in the wall. Only needed two holes before I found a small family of dead mice. Cut larger holes and removed. It had been getting pretty ripe so no way we could have gone on a month or more without removing. It was in an interior wall so didn't have to fight through insulation. The $80 I spent on the camera was worth it and I have used it for other things since.

Jabin said:

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Chase said:

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Jabin said:

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TexAg2001 said:

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Just a thought - Maybe a thermal camera? I'm not sure if there is enough moisture or heat coming from dead critter.

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Good thinking. I also posted my question on the outdoor board and somebody there suggested purchasing an inexpensive endoscope, drilling a small hole in the wall, and poking the endoscope through that hole.

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That could end up a lot of holes. Difficult to see things with insulation in the walls.

Good luck with your problem.

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My nephew in law came over to help and found it quickly for me. It was buried under the attic insulation right above the wall where I thought it was. It was a rat and is now long gone. However, I am still wrestling with the odor issue. I bought a cheap ozone generator and I am using it right now to see if that can help eliminate the odor.

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When we had to get rid of critter that had chewed their way into the attic, we came up with something that worked really well. Quoting something I previously posted, so apologies if something within seems out of context but maybe it can help y'all with the smell.

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I read that mice/rats really dislike peppermint essential oils so we were putting them around holes and entrances but this stopped them from leaving, as well. Here I got creative when we found out they had chewed their way into the flexible air ducts. We soaked felt paper in the peppermint and then pinned it to the HVAC air handler's air filter to send the smell all through the ducts and throughout the attic. I would imagine you could do the same just soaking cotton, polyfill or felt in it and putting it in on the attic floor but the ducting actually made it easy for us to spread the smell far and wide. Added benefit is that our house smelled minty fresh for a week or so. LOL

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Nice. I'll have to tell my wife I finally found a use for her snake oils.

BenTheGoodAg said:

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Nice. I'll have to tell my wife I finally found a use for her snake oils.

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Man, it worked wonders.