Ghastly Stench In Car

[rodriguezpoultry]

OK. So I drove back to OK for a day (not even 12 hours!). The next day, I worked a 9 hour shift. I get in my car to leave, get everything settled and think "Good Lord. Don't they ever clean out the trash cans out here?!" I shut the door. That's when it hit me full blast. There is something dead of dying in here.

The next day, I get in the car (after venting it VERY well). The stench is even stronger. I remember the smell, it's a rodent. Of some sort. We don't have anything small anywhere near us, so it's gotta be the biggest mouse or rat ever. I use my sniffer to find out where it was. It's somewhere by the passenger front seat. I clean out everything, every little thing, from the passenger side and there is no dead body! Where the heck is it?

All of a sudden, it hits me. It has to be under the carpet. Whelp. I can't go dragging up the carpeting to retrieve a dead rat. How on EARTH do I get rid of the smell?! It is gawd awful. You can smell the thing without me opening the doors on the passenger side. It is so gross!

I sprayed Hawaiin Febreze in my car. Now it smells like the mouse had a funeral with tropical flowers spread on it. What on earth can I do to outlast the stench?! (Eventually the stench WILL go away...right?)

 

[Pupsnpullets]

Gross!!! At least it's not alive eating through your wiring and yes I think the smell with eventually disappear. How bout and open box of baking soda to help things along?

 

[Jaguaress]

Some suggestions:

1. Newspapers. (Old Heloise trick for removing odors in a fridge. Just pile some in there, then change out daily.)

2. Activated carbon. (You can typically buy it at fish stores, or maybe even pool supply stores.)

3. Cedar. (Doesn't get rid of the smell, but smells nice. You can buy bales of it cheap for dog bedding.)

4. "Industrial" pet odor remover spray. (Depending upon how long it was dead in there, it could have seeped into the carpet and such. Clean the area well with whatever cleaner and then spray a really good pet odor remover on it. Enzyme action is good, too.)

5. Baking soda. (Sprinkle all over the floorboard once the pet odor remover spray is dry, if using any. Maybe sprinkle, let sit about an hour, then vacuum it up and sprinkle more. Repeat.)

Good luck.

 

[suzettex5]

Just wondering, could the varmit be in your A/C or heat vents? If a mouse gets under the hood to nest or chew wires, it can get into all kinds of tiny spots, and could even have gotten roasted on a hot engine.

We had a mouse eat some wires in one of our cars, it was trying to build a nest under the hood- we found it one day all dried up on the ground under the car.

 

[kellipzo]

Vinegar is a great odor remover. Put some in a spray bottle and spray the carpet down.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Quote:
It's not in the vents, I turned on the AC to see if it was there (thanks to watching a Reba episode). The car smells better when I turn on the ventilation.

 

[SarahFair]

If its small like a mouse or rat in this heat it shouldnt last long.
I remember when we had them in the house we put some poision down and wow. It never lasted long though

 

[annie3001]

the dead rodent will break down, it may just take some time.

my sister in law had a mouse die in the wall of her house, the smell was awful, evenutally the smell went away, after decaying happened.

 

[JetBlack]

Get a mirror and look under the passenger's seat. Somebody burrowed in and died.

 

[SarahFair]

Quote:
Id rather smell the stench than to have to see that

...or dig it out