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[Sappho]

I can't believe I am actually in a situation where I need to ask this, but... how long does it take a rat corpse to decompose?

Apparently, the landlord of this apartment building decided to put down rat poison to deal with the rodent problem. About two weeks ago we started to notice a horrible smell, but we couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Finally we figured out that it's coming from the walls. The rats ate the poison, and died in the walls. I am literally breathing in the miasma of a rotting rodent, all day, every day.

It seems to be mainly in the living room, so we've opened the windows all the way and left the door closed for the last few days, but the smell is not going away. If anything, it's getting worse. The landlord refuses to pay to fix it, even though it's his fault, because it would involve breaking open the walls. So.... does anyone know how long it takes a rat corpse to decompose and stop smelling? It really feels like a major health hazard, but there's not really anything I can do about it. I'm just a visitor here until I'm allowed to return to the Czech Republic in May, and the friends I'm staying with are off on a holiday all week.

[SirQuiamus]

Ew. That's terrible It might take anything from a few weeks to a few months, I guess? There are so many variables to decomposition that even a microbiologist would be hard pressed to give you a reliable estimate, but the rule of thumb is that the smell will persist longer than you can endure it (you can't beat a corpse in the waiting game).     

[Cryxis, Prince of Doom]

I would say if it's out in the open you could put (Lyme? That white powdery mineral that you can get out here in MURICA, not sure if they well it everywhere else) and it can cover the corpse keeping the smell from spreading too far as long as it's covered and make the decomposition to faster.
But this is in a wall and (Lyme?) is not the safest of things and IIRC it's a bit corrosive .-.

I'm not sure if there is a way to shorten it but what sirquimas is right, too many variables to know for sure
Sorry

[TempAcc]

Depending on the environment, it can take several weeks for it to actualy decompose completely, but thats a worst case scenario. This is why you usualy think of a way to remove the bodies when you use poison in a residence :v
You can try using lyme if you cant remove the body like Cryxis said but it can be dangerous and cause some irremovable stains since its corrosive, also breathing lyme isn't probably very health :v

[Urist Arrhenius]

Not a clue on decomposition time. But activated charcoal would help get rid of the smell. Cheapest set up would be a filter and a box fan.

[SirQuiamus]

Lyme

lyme

I hope you guys are talking about slaked lime, not burnt lime or lye. (Please don't pour lye into your living room wall. It's a bad idea.) 

[martinuzz]

Isn't there some local office of an organization where you can report misconducting landlords over there? Like they will make him fix it, or fine him?

[Cryxis, Prince of Doom]

Lyme

lyme

I hope you guys are talking about slaked lime, not burnt lime or lye. (Please don't pour lye into your living room wall. It's a bad idea.)

ya thats it
not lye

[TempAcc]

Ye. It can still cause stains since its somewhat caustic, and I believe breathing it isn't very confortable, if healthy at all.

[Cryxis, Prince of Doom]

Ye. It can still cause stains since its somewhat caustic, and I believe breathing it isn't very confortable, if healthy at all.

ya thats why I said I'm not sure how well it would work inside .-.
usually use it outside

[wierd]

Sadly, traces of the odor can persist for YEARS after the death of the afore mentioned rodent. Kinda like heavily soiled carpet with pet odor.

The best solution is to remove the corpse early, and dispose of it. Allowing it to decompose just allows the stink to "Soak in".

[ChairmanPoo]

. the smell of revenge should be sweet on your nose. Inhale deep and learn to enjoy it.



*dadada dum da dum dum dadada dum dadum dum* http://youtu.be/BHfE682mm3c

[Sappho]

I'm a foreigner staying alone in my friend's apartment. The friend isn't exactly legal around here either, and he's away for a few weeks anyway. Not much I can do about authorities, I think.

The corpse is in the wall. No access to it without using a sledgehammer to break a big hole in the wall. And I suspect there may be more than one corpse. The landlord is an idiot for using poison to kill the rodents, but there's nothing I can do about that now.

I don't have any money to buy any stuff, really. I'm barely scraping by on savings, trying to buy food, looking for temporary extra work I can do until I'm allowed to go back home to Prague (where walls are made of SOLID BRICK or concrete and rodents can't die in them). Stuff like fans and whatnot are out of my price range. There is a bit of incense here which is helping a little, but too much of that can get to be too much as well.

Fortunately the smell is pretty much contained to the living room, and I don't have to go in there at all. I'm continuing to leave the windows wide open and the door firmly shut, and I hold my breath whenever I go inside. But I just can't believe it's still so bad. I mean, it's worse than ever, and it's been weeks...

May 9th, that's when I'm allowed to go back home... Just gotta survive another 9.5 weeks...

[wierd]

The rodent got into the wall somehow.

Depending on how the drywall was installed (and what kind of insulation is in there) it might be possible to use something like a shopvac to remove the corpse.

[Sebastian2203]

Welp, nothing beats proper concrete walls of Czechoslovakia.

If I were you, I would just try to avoid that smell area and install hundreds of those anti-smell things around. I hope your bedroom is not in the smell radius, I would jump out of window if I had to sleep in such conditions everyday.