I opened my wooden storage shed last night and based on the smell, I'm
thinking something died either in it or under it. The odor isn't
overpowering, but there's no doubt that it's there.

If the creatures final resting place is under the shed, it's staying
there, if it's in the shed, I'd have to empty the shed to fiind it.

How long before it goes away if I do nothing?

Most of the items in the shed are "hard" so I doubt they would absorb
the odor, but there are some soft items like life jackets, folding
camp chairs, a canvas bag for my cargo carrier, etc.

I'd leave the doors open to air it out, but that's probably how the
creature got in there in the first place. I noticed some damage to the
plywood floor right where the 2 doors meet when closed, so I'm
assuming the creature got in when the doors were opened and tried to
get out through the only opening it could see. When it couldn't, I
think it must have crawled into a back corner and died.

On Thursday, August 23, 2012 10:30:18 AM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
I opened my wooden storage shed last night and based on the smell, I'm
thinking something died either in it or under it. The odor isn't
overpowering, but there's no doubt that it's there.

Approximately 30 days if you leave the carcass, 2-3 days if you can find it, remove it, and disinfect the area.

On Thu, 23 Aug 2012 07:30:18 -0700, DerbyDad03 wrote:

I opened my wooden storage shed last night and based on the smell, I'm
thinking something died either in it or under it. The odor isn't
overpowering, but there's no doubt that it's there.

If the creatures final resting place is under the shed, it's staying
there, if it's in the shed, I'd have to empty the shed to fiind it.

How long before it goes away if I do nothing?

Depends on what it is - the skunk which died beneath the gas tank in our
back yard took about 4 years :-) Small critters such as mice will
probably only take a couple of weeks (or quicker if it's under the shed
where other things can munch on it)

On Aug 23, 11:00*am, Jules Richardson
wrote:
On Thu, 23 Aug 2012 07:30:18 -0700, DerbyDad03 wrote:
I opened my wooden storage shed last night and based on the smell, I'm
thinking something died either in it or under it. The odor isn't
overpowering, but there's no doubt that it's there.

If the creatures final resting place is under the shed, it's staying
there, if it's in the shed, I'd have to empty the shed to fiind it.

How long before it goes away if I do nothing?

Depends on what it is - the skunk which died beneath the gas tank in our
back yard took about 4 years :-) *Small critters such as mice will
probably only take a couple of weeks (or quicker if it's under the shed
where other things can munch on it)

I don't think the odor is strong enough to be a skunk. We have mice,
chipmunks, squirrels in the yard. There's the occasional skunk or
raccoon in the neighborhood, but mainly near the woods, not in my
yard.

I know that there are chipmunks that hang around the shed, especially
under it, so I'm guessing that one got curious or the cat chased it
into the shed or maybe stashed it there for later. ;-)

If I wasn't going away this weekend, I'd empty the shed, but that's
not going to fit into my schedule until at least Monday. Oh well...

DerbyDad03 wrote:

Barrow a dog if ya don't have one, they will sniff it out. Let them
roll in it for the reward, then return it to the owner.

"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
...
I opened my wooden storage shed last night and based on the smell, I'm
thinking something died either in it or under it. The odor isn't
overpowering, but there's no doubt that it's there.

If the creatures final resting place is under the shed, it's staying
there, if it's in the shed, I'd have to empty the shed to fiind it.

How long before it goes away if I do nothing?

Most of the items in the shed are "hard" so I doubt they would absorb
the odor, but there are some soft items like life jackets, folding
camp chairs, a canvas bag for my cargo carrier, etc.

I'd leave the doors open to air it out, but that's probably how the
creature got in there in the first place. I noticed some damage to the
plywood floor right where the 2 doors meet when closed, so I'm
assuming the creature got in when the doors were opened and tried to
get out through the only opening it could see. When it couldn't, I
think it must have crawled into a back corner and died.

The following is NO ****!

I was in the ER yesterday, and I am awaiting blood culture test results for
hantavirus. It can be a fatal disease. It is carried by rodents. If I
were you, I'd find that carcass and get it out of there. Spray with hefty
amounts of 10% Clorox/water liquid. Bring in any dog, and watch them, and I
bet they go straight to the site. Good luck. You can let the smell go away
by itself, but will reoccur with rain or high humidity. And then, you may
have a raccoon or other carrion eater dig that one out, creating another
mess.

Steve

On Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:53:04 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:

Bring in any dog, and watch them, and I
bet they go straight to the site.

Agreed.
--

On 8/23/12 9:30 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
I opened my wooden storage shed last night and based on the smell, I'm
thinking something died either in it or under it. The odor isn't
overpowering, but there's no doubt that it's there.

If the creatures final resting place is under the shed, it's staying
there, if it's in the shed, I'd have to empty the shed to fiind it.

How long before it goes away if I do nothing?

Most of the items in the shed are "hard" so I doubt they would absorb
the odor, but there are some soft items like life jackets, folding
camp chairs, a canvas bag for my cargo carrier, etc.

I'd leave the doors open to air it out, but that's probably how the
creature got in there in the first place. I noticed some damage to the
plywood floor right where the 2 doors meet when closed, so I'm
assuming the creature got in when the doors were opened and tried to
get out through the only opening it could see. When it couldn't, I
think it must have crawled into a back corner and died.

This won't help for now but might be a preventative measure.
Mothballs. Get the old stinky kind, not the scented ones. Critters
supposedly don't like the smell anymore than humans do.
We had some skunks in our barn one winter. The barn has seen much
better days and isn't worth fixing. The moth balls seem to keep them
out. I put some moth balls in an old shop bench drawer. The mice
decided to move.

On Thu, 23 Aug 2012 07:30:18 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

I opened my wooden storage shed last night and based on the smell, I'm
thinking something died either in it or under it. The odor isn't
overpowering, but there's no doubt that it's there.

If the creatures final resting place is under the shed, it's staying
there, if it's in the shed, I'd have to empty the shed to fiind it.

How long before it goes away if I do nothing?

Most of the items in the shed are "hard" so I doubt they would absorb
the odor, but there are some soft items like life jackets, folding
camp chairs, a canvas bag for my cargo carrier, etc.

I'd leave the doors open to air it out, but that's probably how the
creature got in there in the first place. I noticed some damage to the
plywood floor right where the 2 doors meet when closed, so I'm
assuming the creature got in when the doors were opened and tried to
get out through the only opening it could see. When it couldn't, I
think it must have crawled into a back corner and died.

If it was a large animal, it would stink so bad you could barely stand
the smell. It's probably a dead mouse. The stink usually goes away in
a week. I hate mice!!!!

wrote:
On Thu, 23 Aug 2012 07:30:18 -0700 (PDT), DerbyDad03
wrote:

I opened my wooden storage shed last night and based on the smell, I'm
thinking something died either in it or under it. The odor isn't
overpowering, but there's no doubt that it's there.

If the creatures final resting place is under the shed, it's staying
there, if it's in the shed, I'd have to empty the shed to fiind it.

How long before it goes away if I do nothing?

Most of the items in the shed are "hard" so I doubt they would absorb
the odor, but there are some soft items like life jackets, folding
camp chairs, a canvas bag for my cargo carrier, etc.

I'd leave the doors open to air it out, but that's probably how the
creature got in there in the first place. I noticed some damage to the
plywood floor right where the 2 doors meet when closed, so I'm
assuming the creature got in when the doors were opened and tried to
get out through the only opening it could see. When it couldn't, I
think it must have crawled into a back corner and died.

If it was a large animal, it would stink so bad you could barely stand
the smell. It's probably a dead mouse. The stink usually goes away in
a week. I hate mice!!!!

Mystery solved...sort of.

I started moving stuff around in the shed and picked up what I thought was
an empty lawn and leaf bag that was lying on the floor. It had just a
little more weight to than it should have, so I looked a little closer.

There were few holes in it and lump in the bottom. I opened it (slowly) and
saw a lump covered with maggots. That was enough for me. I put it in
another plastic bag and sealed it up tight. I really don't care what it
used to be.

Now wait to see if the smell in the shed dissipates.

Did you check to see if the bag stunk?

nestork wrote:
Now wait to see if the smell in the shed dissipates.

Did you check to see if the bag stunk?




Do you think that a maggot covered mass wouldn't stink?

since the OP made this public..............

today the EPA will be at his door, demanding a EPA approved clean up
plan with site monitoring for a year and ground water testing......

I hope his homeowners covers things like this, the EPA approved clean
up contractor will charge 10 grand for clean up and shed removal,
necessary to prove all rules have been met

On Aug 27, 8:19*am, bob haller wrote:
since the OP made this public..............

today the EPA will be at his door, demanding a EPA approved clean up
plan with site monitoring for a year and ground water testing......

I hope his homeowners covers things like this, the EPA *approved clean
up contractor will charge 10 grand for clean up and shed removal,
necessary to prove all rules have been met

It's...um....not my shed. Yeah, that's it. I don't know how it got
there. I think my former neighbor...no wait...2 former neighbors ago
(long since dead) must have put it on my property. I've been using
it...errr... I mean....just maintaining it only because I'm a nice
guy. It's his dead rodent, not mine.