In the case of very small animals like a baby mouse the scent may only last a day or two.
Dead animal in wall smells like fish.
The best way to eliminate the smell of a dead animal inside your wall is to find the animal and remove it.
If you can t find the offending animal or don t want to cut into your walls you ll have to do what you can to keep the odor contained and cover it up as much as possible it typically takes up to two weeks for the smell to fade but it can take longer for larger animals like raccoons.
Instead it is overheated plastic in electrical components.
A dead animal of some sort that you can t quite locate as the smell has spread and filled the interior to the brim.
Eventually i got as far as too smelling every square inch of the wall in the room that had this smell.
Or with a larger animal you might find a damp spot or a stain on the wall or ceiling.
Flies in the room may lead you right to the spot some technicians have been known to release flies to find a carcass.
If you smell animal waste dander cat boxes or any other pet smells that s probably what it is either prior or current pets in the building.
Once completely decayed or dried out the smell should subside.
However if the smell if a noxious sickly smell most likely you have an insect nest or dead animal s somewhere in your plumbing or duct system.
This can make a house uninhabitable until the stench has been eliminated.
As i approached the electrical outlet i didn t smell anything but it felt warm.
Follow these steps to eliminate the odor problem.
Top 5 strange smells.
The plastic used in these components contains a chemical that emits a fish or urine like smell when it gets extremely hot or burns.
As long as the animal is decomposing it will emit a strong smell.
If it s a larger animal or multiple small ones decomposition would take longer and the odor would persist longer obviously.
However if the animal dies in or around damp conditions this process will take longer.
Finding the source of the smell.
Well then let s get down to business and find out what could be the most likely culprit behind this putrid reek.
Usually the smell is bad for a while but it gradually goes away completely.
You may see maggots migrating away from the carcass.
The most common cause for an unexplained fish odor in the home is not mold or dead animals in the crawlspace as many people might think.
A single small animal like a mouse or a bird decomposes very quickly.
I ve had plenty of dead mice in walls under floors etc.
And yes the smell was sort of like fish or dead animal.
How long will a dead animal smell.
To locate a dead animal in a wall void use your nose.