not AGAIN!!!! smell war!!!

[justinO]

So I got a call from the apartment manager.... wants to "discuss something"..... it's the smell from the rats i'm sure.

Today I went and bought 2 different air filter machines (true air and some other one) and will see how they work out...... although from what i've read from this topic on here, they won't work.

I thought living in an apartment building would be kewl, we are quiet, keep to ourselves and pay our rent every month. We have had TWO inspections so far, both of which were extremely stressful and were passed with flying colours.

Ever since the first inspection and complaint of smell, we have cleaned the rats every 2-3 days, light scented candles whenever we are home, spray air freshener inside & in the hall when leaving, and are generally more careful when it comes to stink!
If I didn't save a crap load of money raising my own, I would off them all till I have a house where no one can bug me like this. But until then, I would prefer to keep them.

I don't know what they hell they want this time, but I will be putting both air filters in tonight, along with killing off several growing up, cutting my production drastically and selling some as well.

Is it the same with rats as mice, do males smell/mark more than the girls? Does the baking soda thing work (do you just put it on the floor???)??

Any last minute tips too keep these intrusive a-holes off my scent, so to speak.....??

thanks for any suggestions!

Jessy & Justin

[M_surinamensis]

Stall dry, sold in forty pound bags at feed and grain stores to absorb the ammonia in horse urine... A small scoop underneath whatever shavings you might be using will take care of a great deal of the problem. It's a bit dusty if you're flinging bins around cleaning at full speed, but it won't harm the rodents or your snakes and is nothing five minutes work with a paper towel or duster twice a week won't fix.

[annieb_mice]

While there may be a slight odor with the rats, my guess is that you are being harrassed because the manager KNOWS you have them. Many people still carry the stigma that rats are disgusting disease ridden creatures that should be killed on sight.
Try the stall dry and if you are STILL getting harrassed, ask the manager what he wants you to do. He may very well tell you to get rid of them, in which case you have two options.... kill them all off, or find another apartment and make SURE you don't mention the rats.
Good luck!!
Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~

[latazyo]

if you're bruning candles and praying in the hallway and your apartment....how do you live with it??

I can't imagine that the smell could be that bad, BUT I also don't know how many rats your'e dealing with

[asphyxia]

Along with my Ion and ozone air purifer I just installed a ventalation exhaust fan, it is working out well...

You may want to try try venting it through the bathroom fan or an air vent.

Good Luck
Brian

[asphyxia]

Along with my Ion and ozone air purifer I just installed a ventalation exhaust fan, it is working out well...

You may want to try try venting it through the bathroom fan or an air vent.

Good Luck
Brian
Brian

[V.hb]

Open a window. If you're in an apartment i dont understand how someone could possibly smell anything from a seperate unit. Does someone know something they shouldn't? Some people like to B!tch about things even when they don't have any physical effect on them, but some people complain just knowing their neighbor has something that they wouldnt go near... Just a thought..

[Linds]

Originally posted by annieb_mice
Many people still carry the stigma that rats are disgusting disease ridden creatures that should be killed on sight.

Even if the manager is accepting of rodents, he may be encouraged to want them out by legal reasons, or by other tenants. In many residential places breeding rats is considered a health hazard or possible pest infestation threat, this would especially be a problem in a shared building.

Originally posted by V.hb
If you're in an apartment i dont understand how someone could possibly smell anything from a seperate unit.

Crappy buildings. My fiancee's parents apartment stinks of the apartments surrounding them. It comes up through the plumbing. They have a lot of allergies, hence they don't smoke, but the neighbours do and smoke always comes in to their apartment, as well as whatever they happen to be cooking, etc.
In another incidence, a friend of mine used to have an apartment full of cats and other assorted warm and fuzzy animals, way back when... His apartment stunk up the whole floor, it was terrible.

[justinO]

sonofa..... i wrote out a huge reply and it got erased.... i hate that!!!!!!

short version, to answer some questions:

I have about 100 rats (10 breeders, 30 or so babies, 60 growing up)

The manager does not know about the rats.

I put an air filter in the room itself, plus one beside the front door.

They are in a small storage closet with no way to vent, but we do have an air conditioner that keeps the place cool and does vent some of the air.

It's a nice building and the hall always smells (usually of ethnic food).

I spoke with someone in the office who said the hall smells, but also the stairwell smells bad all the way up to the fifth floor, i actually remember thinking in the stairwell today, "wow, it smells like fresh orange in here"....... so they are full of crap. They also said they have never had a problem with smell before, which is also a load.

So it looks like I have to cut/stop my production. poo!

[Cruciform]

http://www.greenwayhp.com/pages/prod...ir/vap206p.htm

This was 80 bucks at Walmart, and was an excellent buy. It sucked up the smoke from our downstairs neighbors when we lived in the duplex, and when put beside the rat cage does a real number on the smell from them too.

Anything with a HEPA filter should help. If it doesn't have one, then it's just blowing the particulate around and spreading allergens/odor farther.

I'm not sure why but my GFs three female rats stink to high heaven. Even 30 minutes after a cage change. Somehow they'll poop 20 times in the first hour too.

The filter has helped with them considerably. It needs to be right beside the cage though.

As an afterthought, have you ever tried curried chicken? Falafels? Maybe it's time to try Curries and garlic should fit right in with strong smelling foods from neighbors, and actually surpass the odor from the rats Plus they can be quite yummy, if you don't mind your friends knowing your coming 2 minutes before you round the corner

[Cruciform]

Yay! That only took two hours to successfully post!

Where's the forum hosted at anyway?

[annieb_mice]

If your building smells so much, how can they track the smell down to YOUR apartment? With 100 rats, there is definately going to be a smell, even if you clean them out every second day. What do you do with the shavings/bedding? If you leave it just inside your front door for the day until you take it down, perhaps that's what is causing the smell? Maybe you can clean half the cages one day, and then the other half the next day... and so on? Have you got any other animals that might contribute to the smell, such as cats? A cat litter box can get VERY smelly quickly, especially RIGHT after the cat used it. :P Perhaps try using incense? Candles are good when you don't have so many animals... but I find that incense works pretty good and lasts a LOT longer and is safer. I'm not sure what else to suggest. :P
If your building is always "smelly" then perhaps the manager simply doesn't like you for whatever reason? When I lived in an apartment years ago, the manager and I were friends, and she told me that she really didn't like one particular tenant even though he didn't do anything wrong. He just had a bunch of tattoos and piercings and had longish hair. I had talked to him several times and he was a really nice guy. He lived next to me and was the best neighbour I ever had, but since the manager didn't like him, she kept giving him "notices" and such saying that there were lots of complaints about him when there wasn't. In the end he finally wound up moving. :P The people who moved in after him were horrid, even though they were a "family."
Anyways... just throwing in my less than .02 cents worth of comments... LOL!
Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~

[annieb_mice]

Mmmmmmm..... curried chicken!! YUMMY!! Dang it... now I want some curried chicken... :P Hmmm.... or garlic... Nummy!!! LOL!! Oh poop. Now I'm all hungry again... and I just ate! Oh well...
Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~