As Amazon associates, we earn from purchases made on the website. If you make a purchase through links from this website, we may get a small share of the sale from Amazon and similar affiliate programs.

How to get rid of a dead rat

They say that dead rats tend to smell bad. This is something you’d notice if you’re ever unlucky enough to find a dead rat in your kitchen or other areas of the house unless it’s been there for weeks, and even then, the smell would probably be pretty darn bad.

In any case, dealing with a dead rat, you don’t want to leave it as is all day long because the stench will make things very unpleasant for everyone living inside the building. So if you woke up one morning and saw a deceased rodent on your floor, here are some useful tips that’ll help you get rid of that smelly pest.

How to get rid of a dead rat
How to get rid of a dead rat

Use baking soda

After removing a stinky rat from your house:

  1. Add about 1/3 cup baking soda into 2 cups water and mix them well together until they become bubbly enough when combined.
  2. Pour the solution into a spray bottle and use it to clean up any areas in your house that are stained with blood.
  3. Get rid of lingering odors by removing all the baking soda residue using water, then using an air freshener for freshness.

Place a bowl of vinegar inside your house

If you can’t find any distilled white vinegar in your home, then pour ordinary apple cider vinegar into a bowl and leave it at its last location. A dead rat’s pungent smell is very strong, so this method works best when used overnight but before it becomes hard to breathe because you’re smelling straight-up vinegar all day long. This works on How to get rid of a dead rat or mouse if you don’t want to deal with the physical removal of the rodent from your property using tongs or a shovel. Whatever you do, clean up afterward because vinegar is not a natural cleaning agent.

Use dryer sheets to get rid of the dead rat smell

You might have noticed that dryer sheets are used in clothes dryers, but did you know that they can also be effective when it comes to Getting Rid of Dead Rats? If you don’t want to deal with vinegar or baking soda, then try using one or two dryer sheets for this purpose instead. The strong aroma of fabric softener will make your home smell fresh even if there’s a dead rat inside your property, and these things also work great on clothing too so if they happen to break down while trying to remove a stinky rodent from its last spot in your house, no biggie.

Use coffee grounds for this purpose

Coffee is known to be an excellent deodorizer, so if you don’t have washing soda, baking soda, or vinegar in your home or if they aren’t working out on their own (or not working out well), then try using coffee instead. It’ll make things smell better, and it’s also great in eliminating other nasty odors in the air like weed smoke, and burnt food smells in general. Just put some freshly grounded coffee over the affected area where there’s a dead rat until all its stench has been absorbed by the beans, then leave it overnight to do its magic. Sweep all the coffee grounds up later with a broom and dustpan while wearing rubber gloves because these things are seriously nasty when they break down.

Use cedar chips

Pour in a good amount of cedar chips into the affected area, then leave it overnight or for around 4-5 hours before vacuuming all the wood shavings up with a vacuum cleaner. Cedar is well known to be an excellent deodorizer when used indoors, especially because these things are often used by people who have mice problems at home, so chances are you’ll never run out of this stuff inside your house unless you’ve burned every single piece you have.

Clean up with bleach solution

Mix 2 cups water with 1 cup bleach and use the solution to clean up any areas where blood has spilled over on the floor. You can also use this method on the walls if you see them covered in blood, but be careful not to mix your bleach solution with vinegar or baking soda because that’ll release toxic fumes for humans and animals alike. Clean up thoroughly and leave it overnight (or for around 4-5 hours) before grabbing a broom and dustpan, then sweeping all of the dead rats remains into a bag and throwing it away at once.

Mix baking soda with enough water to form a paste

Put some baking soda directly onto where you see blood or see the carcass itself but avoid getting this stuff into your eyes because that’ll be extremely painful. Let it sit there for 10 minutes or so before wiping everything clean with paper towels. Baking soda is great for eliminating tough odors, plus it’s pretty cheap these days, too, so stock up on this stuff whenever necessary if you don’t want to deal with vinegar or baking soda altogether.

Use a small shovel to scrape the carcass out

This method on How to get rid of a dead rat is more of a quick fix if you have no other materials readily available, but using a sharpened shovel will still be effective in removing the rodent from its area entirely, so grab one and start digging into that thing until it’s out completely. You can then dispose of it properly later by either burning it or bagging it up together with your trash outside after wrapping everything in some plastic sheeting for safety measures.

Cover it in salt

Salt is another effective way on how to get rid of a dead rat quickly, so sprinkle some all over the carcass itself until no blood can seep through any longer (if you’re using this method indoors), then sweep up everything and throw it all out in a garbage bag at once.

Use ammonia

Ammonia is another substitute solution for those who want to get rid of dead rat odors in a hurry, so grab some straight from your local supermarket and start sprinkling it over the affected area (be extra careful if you’re doing this in an enclosed space like a closet though). Let it sit there for about 10 minutes or until the smell is completely gone, then vacuum everything up all at once to get rid of what’s left.

Bury the body outdoors

This last solution on How to get rid of a dead rat is probably one of the most common ways out there. Still, it does work best if no other chemicals are available: pick up whatever leftover blood, fur, bones, and other bits may be remaining after you dispose of them properly instead of over some holes located far away from any water source. Bury them under the soil to get rid of them away from the sight before covering everything up with some rocks, then get rid of any potential odors left by sprinkling dirt or sand over them for good measure.

Conclusion

These are your alternatives solutions on how to get rid of a dead rat safely and efficiently. Choose wisely depending on the circumstances, then follow these instructions carefully for the best results. Most of these methods require to be used at once to eliminate any traces left behind by these rodents.

How to get rid of a dead rat
Scroll to top