dead animal/rodent removal? (Katy, Howe: how much, house, kitchen cabinets)

[behtypa]

We have a smell coming from the wall. Could anyone recommend the business/individual that you had positive experience with?
How much does it normally cost? So far I reckon it would be around $300 for removal from air ducts and $600 and more from behind the wall/attic. Is that around that price range?

[texas7]

May need a company to remove and someone else to repair Sheetrock.

[bassman21]

Honestly you're just better off living with the smell for a few days. It will dry out in a few more days and the smell will fade. You may have some flies around for a little while, but not too long, especially with this cooler weather. Believe me, it isn't worth wasting your money to try and find it and have it removed. You'll also have to pay to repair the damage to get to it.

Last year I exterminated my parents house for rats and they had the same problem once the rats started dying. Within 3 days the smell was gone.

[behtypa]

Originally Posted by bassman21

Honestly you're just better off living with the smell for a few days. It will dry out in a few more days and the smell will fade. You may have some flies around for a little while, but not too long, especially with this cooler weather. Believe me, it isn't worth wasting your money to try and find it and have it removed. You'll also have to pay to repair the damage to get to it.

Last year I exterminated my parents house for rats and they had the same problem once the rats started dying. Within 3 days the smell was gone.

Thanks.

Could someone else confirm the same approach?

[SL Hawkeye]

I've had the same problem in the past. I did everything I could to pinpoint the location, short of ripping at the drywall. Several days later, the smell was gone.

[DanielWayne]

Exactly what I was wondering. How are you going to find it without tearing your walls apart?

[DSL_PWR]

I would find someone to come out and see if they can pinpoint what access points where used to enter the home and try to fix those (seal up holes, netting or close square wire over openings, etc) so that you don't have this issue again.

[bassman21]

Originally Posted by DSL_PWR

I would find someone to come out and see if they can pinpoint what access points where used to enter the home and try to fix those (seal up holes, netting or close square wire over openings, etc) so that you don't have this issue again.

This is the secret to having a rodent free home. My house is sealed up so good I have not had a single cockroach inside in 4 years. I sealed the attic so well I had to add a few soffit vent so my attic fan didn't create a negative pressure in the attic. If vermin can't get in, there is no need to exterminate the inside.

No matter what I do can't keep the ants out for good though

[HookTheBrotherUp]

My secret is the Bengal brand of roach/ant spray. 'Not sure what is in it, but it works, kills them all, and keeps them away for months. We use this now in Montrose where we have tons of trees.

An exterminator once contacted me when I lived in Katy offering services, and I told him I did not have a problem. He asked if I had an ant problem (no), he then asked if I had a roach problem (no), then he asked if I had a spider problem (no again). He was puzzled and asked if I was sure I had no spider, or roach problem. We did not, we did not exterminate either, we just did not have problems. Like the previous poster said, I did always make sure our home was sealed well, including baseboards, kitchen cabinets, etc. I think the most effective was a good/sealed threshold, and door weather stripping.

However, I think what made our home free of these pests is that we always left the lights on by the entry doors (we never use our front door). The side, and front doors were always lit with either CFL bulbs, or the last few years, LED bulbs, so we were not concerned with energy consumption. I believe that all the Geckos we had took care of any insect that came to the door at night. We would see them munching every night, the kids really like to see them there. I guess it was a natural solution.

[TexasCatherine]

Originally Posted by behtypa

Thanks.

Could someone else confirm the same approach?

I agree with bassman21. We had a rodent die in our walls and the smell was awful, but it went away in a few days. Granted, we opened windows and put fans on high for most of the two or three days it took, but the smell did go away.