Pets are cute, but this isn’t the case with rodents, especially when you have installed an air duct system in your home. Yes, you heard it right! Dust and debris are not the only things that can reduce the efficiency of your air duct. Rats and other animals are also equally responsible for destroying the insulation of your air duct system.
Moreover, the presence of these unwanted animals is also harmful to you and your family. They carry different germs that can cause infections. Sometimes they even die inside the air ducts. Therefore, regular usage of air duct cleaning equipment is necessary for keeping the air ducts clean and fresh. In this article, we will discuss how to deal with the dead mouse stuck inside the air duct. Read further to know the details!
Signs of Animals Being Stuck Inside the Air Duct
Animals can get inside your ductwork through small holes or electrical openings. Small animals like rodents can make their access easily. You must be cautious about the signs of animals or rodents stuck inside your air ducts. They can either be living or dead.
If you have rats living inside your air duct system, you might hear the sounds of screeching and scratching. You might even notice animal waste at some places in your home. You can also see the damage caused by chewing the ductwork. On the other hand, if the animals are dead inside the air duct, you might experience an unpleasant rotting smell throughout the house.
These signs are enough to figure out that these small and irritating creatures are stuck inside your ductwork.
Impacts of Animals Living Inside Air Ducts
There are many negative impacts of animals stuck inside the air ducts. Some of them are given below:
- Above all comes the negative impact on health. It destroys the quality of air and causes health infections.
- Air ducts regulate the temperature and the quality of air throughout the house. But when an animal is stuck inside the duct, either alive or dead, it releases harmful bacteria deteriorating your health.
- These animals can also chew your pipes and create perforation on them. They destroy the insulation, as a result reducing the efficiency of the air duct system.
- The waste of these animals can cause the formation of mildews.
Hence, they are very harmful to the health of the people living inside the house.
How do Animals Get Inside the Air Duct?
Small animals and rodents can easily make their way inside the air duct system of your house. They don’t need big entrances; rather, they can easily peep inside, even through the smallest openings in the air duct system. It’s not difficult for a rodent to chew the metallic surface to make its way through it. It can also enter through the air ventilation holes.
You need to follow technical maintenance tips and tricks to prevent them from entering your duct system. Stay tuned for learning about different prevention techniques to prevent animals from getting inside the air duct system.
Remove the Animal from the Air Duct
Removing a dead animal or rodent from the air duct is one of the most typical and trickiest tasks. You can even call for professional help to sort this out for you. If you are brave enough and opt for doing it yourself, follow the steps given below:
Find the actual place
The first step is to find the actual place from where the smell is coming. The human nose is very sensitive to the decaying smell of dead animals or you can even use different smell detecting instruments available in the market.
Remove the mess
After locating the actual place, gather your stuff like a respiratory mask, high-quality gloves, air duct cleaning equipment, etc. Always remember not to touch any dead rodent without wearing gloves. A respiratory mask also helps prevent the decaying smell from causing infections through respiratory organs. It might contain harmful viruses and bacteria and cause infection. Dispose of the animal carcass in plastic along with the gloves.
Clean the mess
Removing the mess is the most difficult part. After this, you need to clean the area and spray the disinfectant to avoid infections. Air ducts are important for maintaining the indoor quality of air. Hence, any loophole in their maintenance can be harmful to your health.
Make sure to seal all the holes through which rodents enter the duct system. You can even take professional help to deal with the issue.
Techniques to Prevent Animals from Getting Inside the Air Duct
After cleaning the mess, you need to take some follow-up steps to make sure that the same problem never happens again. Here’s a list of some important follow-up steps for the maintenance of the home air duct system:
- Find and close all the holes and accesses inside the air ducts.
- Conduct a home energy audit. It will also help in checking the efficiency of your air duct system and reducing energy consumption.
- Make sure to clean the area properly and regularly.
- Schedule professional maintenance visits to keep a check on your air duct system.
- Call a professional and experienced technician to fix and repair all the damage caused due to the presence of rodents.
- You can even look out for rodent-proof options available in the market.
Conclusion
Small animals or rodents generally like to live in small and compact places like air ducts. They can live there for more than years. But their presence inside your air duct system is alarming and harmful for you and your family members. Therefore, proper maintenance and regular cleaning of the air duct system are necessary.
We have provided all the insights regarding the presence of rodents and their impact in this article. We hope that you have got all your doubts cleared. Stay healthy!