Q. I had a dead rat in my attic. The smell was awful! How do I get that smell out? Secondly, as I removed the carcass using my wife's rubber gloves, these wormy looking things scattered in every direction. They were about a half-inch long and moved like a caterpillar. What were those things?
A: If I were to name the worst job in pest control, rodent removal would be No. 1 on my list for the very same reasons that you just described. Oil of wintergreen is a great deodorizer.
Of course, your house will smell like Ben-Gay for a few days, but that's a welcomed alternative to the odor of rotting flesh! You'll find that at smaller pharmacies. The big ones may special order it for you. Eventually the smell will dissipate soon after you have removed the carcass.
The "wormy" looking things you saw were maggots. Now I know this sounds completely disgusting, but it's nature's recycling program.
Eventually, the entire carcass would have been eaten by the maggots leaving only the skeleton behind.
You just get into town after being up north all winter. You go up in the attic and discover that one rat trap you forgot. You were successful and got your rat, but all you had left was the skeletal remains. Just a note of caution: thus far, no diseases like hantavirus or rhinovirus have been associated with our No. 1 rat, the Palm rat.
But I take no chances and wear at least a surgical mask when removing rodent carcasses. As I mentioned before - it's the lousiest job in pest control. I usually try to get someone else to do that task - a rookie!
By the way, most pest control companies will not do the removal, which makes no sense at all. Anyone can buy a rat trap at the hardware store and set and bait the thing! To not remove the trap or monitor it is not good pest management. I should mention that now comes the hard part, finding out where and how they are getting in.
All they need is a hole the size of a quarter to gain entry.
That's about all the room I have for this week. See you next time and as always, thank you for reading Ask the Bug Guy.
Peter Masi is the Florida Certified Operator for West Coast Pest Control. He welcomes your questions and comments.
Masi can be reached by e-mail at masi
pest@aol.com, by phone at 389-PEST. Visit his Web site at
www.masipest.com