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  1. #1
    Registered User Scherf's Avatar
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    Temp and smells associated with rat breeding

    So I understand there will a smell of sorts with rat breeding... that is not my issues or concern to an extent....

    but it I do understand with summer heat coming that there will be an elevated smell due to water consumption, poo, and urin during these times....

    what i I would like to discuss is how to combat this when it does happen....

    i have ave been thinking ideas as to how to deal with this, seeing that lowering the temp in my garage is an option as well as keeping the air moving.... I am located in central Ky so I know I will have to have air moving with peak summer heat..... for those of y’all that have the same kind of weather or constant hot humid weather, what do you do?

    I have two windows in my garage and have thought about an ac window unit with a mix of vent fans depending on peak temps for the time of year. But come peak summer, having an AC unit plus a vent fan to pump out seems counter intuitive.... but come early summer two window fans to create circulation wouldn’t be a bad idea and easy on the electric bill.....

    what are your your tires and true methods?


    Ps: I know cleaning will have to ramp up and that’s ok, I already clean a few times a week and the only smell I have is the bedding currently
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  2. #2
    Telling it like it is! Stewart_Reptiles's Avatar
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    The key is an exhaust fan
    Deborah Stewart


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  4. #3
    Registered User Scherf's Avatar
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    Re: Temp and smells associated with rat breeding

    Quote Originally Posted by Deborah View Post
    The key is an exhaust fan

    Ok so go the exhaust fan route, how much air would you say I need to be pumping out? I figured I’d lock my garage door open 1-1 1/2 open then pump air out thought the windows. So do you have a recommendation as to how much air I should be moving?
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  5. #4
    BPnet Senior Member cchardwick's Avatar
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    An exhaust fan will cost you too much money, you are moving out all the heated / cooled air. I have rats in my basement and there's not a smell at all. Use a box fan with a couple layers of carbon filter pad, use Air Wick filters, the plug in type, and change out your rat bedding every 5 days. Be sure to spray down the inside of tubs with bleach water and rinse and dry when changing out bedding. Also be sure to take out the trash / old bedding when cleaning up. Also, be sure to check for dead rats if you do smell something foul. One dead rat can smell up the whole house. Also, use plenty of bedding, at least a couple inches in each tub. I found that Cypress Mulch keeps the longest with the least amount of smell, it will last up to 7-10 days, but it's a lot more expensive than other options. I just found a 'screened pine' bedding from a local feed store that is cheap and seems to be working well. doesn't last as long as the cypress so I change it out every five days. If you overload your tubs you may need to change it out more frequently, with fewer rats less often. I have 50 tubs of rats and mice and can't smell them unless I go past seven days without cleaning. I visited the rodent room at the pet store, the smell was unbearable. I'm guessing they didn't spray bleach in their tubs between bedding changes and probably overloaded their tubs.
    Last edited by cchardwick; 03-23-2018 at 12:07 AM.


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  7. #5
    Registered User Scherf's Avatar
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    Re: Temp and smells associated with rat breeding

    Quote Originally Posted by cchardwick View Post
    An exhaust fan will cost you too much money, you are moving out all the heated / cooled air. I have rats in my basement and there's not a smell at all. Use a box fan with a couple layers of carbon filter pad, use Air Wick filters, the plug in type, and change out your rat bedding every 5 days. Be sure to spray down the inside of tubs with bleach water and rinse and dry when changing out bedding. Also be sure to take out the trash / old bedding when cleaning up. Also, be sure to check for dead rats if you do smell something foul. One dead rat can smell up the whole house. Also, use plenty of bedding, at least a couple inches in each tub. I found that Cypress Mulch keeps the longest with the least amount of smell, it will last up to 7-10 days, but it's a lot more expensive than other options. I just found a 'screened pine' bedding from a local feed store that is cheap and seems to be working well. doesn't last as long as the cypress so I change it out every five days. If you overload your tubs you may need to change it out more frequently, with fewer rats less often. I have 50 tubs of rats and mice and can't smell them unless I go past seven days without cleaning. I visited the rodent room at the pet store, the smell was unbearable. I'm guessing they didn't spray bleach in their tubs between bedding changes and probably overloaded their tubs.
    i figured cooling then pumping out the air is dumb, just one of the many ideas that i am spit balling.... as for pumping to air though this is in a garage... no central air ever reaches the garage, i just happened to pick up some window units for other rooms so i dont have to load down my hole house to a chill 65 degrees LOL

    this carbon filter pad and box fan idea... thats on point, i did that with crickets and it didnt last long (was tired of them escaping lol). what filters do you use? i bought stupid small ones for a computer fan.... also pumping air out of the garage due to no central air isn't a problem to keep it flowing...... and the plug ins are a great idea as well. also how often are those carbon filter being changed?

    trash and bedding is Always taken out no matter what lol i am a clean freak when it come to this because of smells.....

    spraying bleach/water mix.... currently i am using a brown listerine/water mix, should i move to bleach with this, i just use that mix because if some IS left in by mistake, it wont hurt the rats/snakes/animals in my house (and it does wonders with the retic after his business lol)

    over loading tubs, this is double edge lol i hope i can over load the grow out tubs but at the same time i hope i am moving them just as fast selling lol.
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  8. #6
    BPnet Senior Member CALM Pythons's Avatar
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    Re: Temp and smells associated with rat breeding

    I'll tell you now what some people think as "no smell" totally stinks to others. I can't stand smelling rodents and I breed rats. I can tell you you will smell them after just a couple of days changing litter. Scented candles or plug-ins will NOT help. Instead you end up with a flowery flavored smelling piss. Thats even nastier.
    You need to circulate air period. The exhaust fan is the best idea possible. You can simply install one in a piece of plywood and put it in the garage window if you can keep the Rats close to it, it will work. Then open another wondow far from them. Circulating air will also keep the heat down during summer. As far as winter I don't have any recommendation for you except you'll have to heat the Garage.


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  10. #7
    Sometimes It Hurts... PitOnTheProwl's Avatar
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    Kept my shed in the mid 60s with A/C and not using too much pine flake in the tubs helped a lot.
    There will always be a smell.

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  12. #8
    Registered User Scherf's Avatar
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    Re: Temp and smells associated with rat breeding

    Quote Originally Posted by CALM Pythons View Post
    I'll tell you now what some people think as "no smell" totally stinks to others. I can't stand smelling rodents and I breed rats. I can tell you you will smell them after just a couple of days changing litter. Scented candles or plug-ins will NOT help. Instead you end up with a flowery flavored smelling piss. Thats even nastier.
    You need to circulate air period. The exhaust fan is the best idea possible. You can simply install one in a piece of plywood and put it in the garage window if you can keep the Rats close to it, it will work. Then open another wondow far from them. Circulating air will also keep the heat down during summer. As far as winter I don't have any recommendation for you except you'll have to heat the Garage.


    iPhone using Tapatalk
    the garage is heated currently and i have been able to maintain warmer temps in 10 degree weather. As for circulating air I plan on doing that, I am going to get some window fan units to pull in and pump out, unfortunately I will not be able to have them set up right next to them. But I will have another box fan going with some carbon filets on it. I found some online at a decent price, so I will be bulk ordering them
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  13. #9
    Registered User Scherf's Avatar
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    Re: Temp and smells associated with rat breeding

    Quote Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl View Post
    Kept my shed in the mid 60s with A/C and not using too much pine flake in the tubs helped a lot.
    There will always be a smell.
    No I understand there will always BE a smell no matter what I do, like I missed cleaning yesterday and the smell is starting to surface more, but I put yesterday’s cleaning off due to more tubs coming in the mail and my watering system, so I plan to clean and set that up tomorrow
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  14. #10
    BPnet Senior Member CALM Pythons's Avatar
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    Re: Temp and smells associated with rat breeding

    Quote Originally Posted by Scherf View Post
    the garage is heated currently and i have been able to maintain warmer temps in 10 degree weather. As for circulating air I plan on doing that, I am going to get some window fan units to pull in and pump out, unfortunately I will not be able to have them set up right next to them. But I will have another box fan going with some carbon filets on it. I found some online at a decent price, so I will be bulk ordering them
    Save yourself the money I bought boxes of carbon filters because I was told they work.. It absolutely did nothing.


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