Southern Nevada’s urban areas are home to a number of rodents that infiltrate our homes. Some of the most common rodents found in Southern Nevada homes are the house mouse, white footed mouse, and the roof rat. These rodents often penetrate into our home through attic and dryer exhaust vents. It’s not too difficult for rodents to chew their way into your air duct system and sometimes they unfortunately expire inside them. Within a short period of time your home will be filled with an unpleasant odor. Luckily this scenario isn’t very common but when it occurs many homeowners are left wondering what to do with this situation. Air Supply Heating & Air Conditioning will share what can be done if a rodent died in your air duct system.

Dead Mouse or Rat in Air Ducts?

Step 1. Follow Odor Coming from Air Conditioning Vents – When an animal dies they will begin to decompose and leave behind a very distinct odor. If they died in your air ducts, as your HVAC systems are in use, you will be circulating this foul odor throughout your home. Unfortunately, you will need to use your nose to locate the deceased rodent. Start by turning off your heater or air conditioner. Now it is time to put your nose to work. Go to every HVAC exhaust vent and take in a deep breath. The vent that smells the strongest is probably the location closest to your dead rodent. You’ll want to remove the vent cover with the worst odor. Use a flashlight to look inside your air duct system. Hopefully the rodent is within reach. If you’ve searched every single vent and you couldn’t locate the rodent, make sure the rodent didn’t die in the attic or crawl space. If you know for sure there is a dead rodent in your air ducts, but can’t locate it, contact a professional air duct cleaner. If you have located the rodent, proceed to the next step.
Step 2. Clean Up & Disinfect Ductwork – Don’t just grab the rodent and throw it away. Rodents carry a number of diseases and it needs to be removed with some thought. Make sure to wear rubber gloves when you pick up the corpse. Place it into a garbage bag and then discard. However, it’s not over yet. With a spray bottle filled with diluted bleach, spray the area down. If feces are present you will still spray the area first. Allow the area to dry and then with a vacuum cleaner, suck the entire area clean. Remove all of the feces and dust that was in the area. Once again spray the area down with bleach, but this time, wipe down and clean the area. Do not use a hand broom or feather duster of any kind to clean inside the air ducts. In so doing, you can cause particles that could hold a disease or virus to go airborne. Use bleach or a strong disinfectant when cleaning after rodents.
Step 3. Inspect Air Ducts – After removing and cleaning up after the dead rodent, inspect your air duct system and locate how they got inside there in the first place. You will want to prevent your air ducts from becoming a rodent haven. Find and repair the source of entry. If you’re not familiar with air ducts systems you can ask a professional HVAC technician to inspect your air ducts for you.

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In this scenario, Air Supply Heating & Air Conditioning can help in many ways. We can inspect your air duct, repair the source of the leak, and even perform air duct cleaning services. For all of your HVAC needs, contact Air Supply Heating & Air Conditioning today.