Dead vermin, trash not getting picked up for a week?

March 29, 2016 9:34 AM

I found a dead rat today, and the trash had literally been picked up hours before. So now I'm going to have a (double bagged, disgusting vermin) sitting in my trash can for a week while the temperatures get well into the "make dead things smell very very dead" levels. Is there anything I can do to stop my trash cans from smelling like death for weeks?
posted by aspo to Home & Garden (17 answers total)

Bury it? Drive it to the landfill?
posted by Fister Roboto at 9:36 AM on March 29, 2016

Dig a hole 2-3 feet deep. Toss a shovel of quicklime into the bottom of the hole. Place the unbagged carcass in the hole, in the center of the quicklime. Toss another shovel of lime on top. If excavation has revealed any sizeable rocks, place them on top of the carcass as well. Fill the hole.
posted by gauche at 9:48 AM on March 29, 2016 [3 favorites]

If it's double (sealed) bagged it's not going to smell.
posted by CaseyB at 9:49 AM on March 29, 2016 [6 favorites]

Is there a public can nearby? City sidewalk can, or gas station you patronize, possibly? These will get emptied sooner. Barring that, I would leave it next to your can and put it in when the next pickup is due.
posted by sageleaf at 9:55 AM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Viking funeral?

Triple bag it, then after next week's trash day fill your garbage can up with water and baking soda and let it glisten in the sun for awhile.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:56 AM on March 29, 2016

Ziploc bags.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:57 AM on March 29, 2016

What CaseyB said. I've had the same thing happen, and I double-bagged it, and things were fine.
posted by Etrigan at 9:58 AM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

You don't want to hear this, but double ziploc and into the freezer until trash day.
posted by dirtdirt at 10:04 AM on March 29, 2016 [6 favorites]

It's wrong, but this is when I head to the big apartment complex near my house and toss the offending item in one of their dumpsters.

If it were food waste like a raw chicken wrapper (why do I always seem to make chicken right after the trash is picked up??), I'd wrap it securely and put it in the freezer until next trash day, but I don't think I could do that with dead rat.
posted by cecic at 10:05 AM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Oh, longshot PS, if you have a regular pest service, they will come and remove it as part of your service.
posted by cecic at 10:08 AM on March 29, 2016

I wouldn't even think of putting a dead animal in the trash unless there were no other option. Bury it under a bush or another garden spot that won't be overturned soon.
posted by zennie at 11:37 AM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

In the lab, when we sacrifice a rat they get "double bagged" in a black garbage bin liner (it goes into the bottom of the bag, bag is twisted, folded back over itself, twisted, and tied off) and it goes into the freezer until it's collected.
posted by porpoise at 11:44 AM on March 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Put it in a dog poo bin
posted by KateViolet at 2:46 PM on March 29, 2016

add quick lime
posted by hortense at 2:47 PM on March 29, 2016

I dispose of dead rodents frequently. Double bagging does not wholly stop the decomp smell in hot temperatures (like the inside of a snakeroom). Neither does double Ziplocking. If I was super desperate, I'd double bag it and try to slip it in a neighbourhood dumpster.
posted by Nyx at 9:45 PM on March 29, 2016

Bag it and dump it in a public trash can in a busy park or downtown since those usually get emptied at least once per day.
posted by Jacqueline at 3:02 AM on March 30, 2016

Check to see if your town government has a page like this with guidelines for what to do about dead animals, and contact them. Ours specifically says "Please do not place a dead animal in the garbage cart or recycling bin" in the Dead/Dangerous Animals section, and gives a number to call (it's not clear if they'll make a special trip outside of normal collection, but calling would clarify).
posted by mediareport at 8:14 AM on March 30, 2016