Strange fishy smell around house

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ghettomaster

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#281069 28-Jan-2021 09:37

Hello,

For the last couple of days we have had a strange fishy smell around the house.

If we close the windows we can’t smell it inside but outside we can smell it all around. We did some gardening recently and have a bunch of stuff from that waiting to go to the dump but when I smell that it doesn’t seem to be it.

Anyone know what this might be? It also seems to come and go somewhat.

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#2643410 28-Jan-2021 10:38

Have you noticed any strange fish hanging around?

Handsomedan

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#2643421 28-Jan-2021 10:45

Neighbours got a compost bin they're putting scraps into? We've had this with a neighbour before and they used it as a general waste bin for a while until we complained...politely.

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trig42

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#2643444 28-Jan-2021 11:33

Your gardening didn't involve any fertilisers or such?

kiwigander

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#2643491 28-Jan-2021 11:38

Are you close to the sea or an inlet?

This is not a smart-arse question. If the answer is "yes", then you may have penguins roosting somewhere around -- or under -- your house.

Handsomedan

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#2643494 28-Jan-2021 11:44

kiwigander:

Are you close to the sea or an inlet?

This is not a smart-arse question. If the answer is "yes", then you may have penguins roosting somewhere around -- or under -- your house.

Aren't they normally very noisy? Or is that just some breeds?

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kiwigander

231 posts

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#2643510 28-Jan-2021 12:21

Little blue penguins are astonishingly noisy when they want to be; usually, in our experience, when we're trying to get to sleep.

With some effort we have managed to penguin-proof the area under our house and deck where they kept trying to hang out.

They shifted house to under the floor of one of our woodsheds, far enough from the house that their perfume was no longer an issue. But when fetching firewood I'd know that they were in residence.

ghettomaster

387 posts

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#2643518 28-Jan-2021 12:25

Thanks for the replies.

We don’t live near the sea.

As far as fertilisers go we did some spraying with weed killer that was mixed a long time ago.

I also did a google which said it could be electrical. I phoned a sparkie who said he had never heard of it.

I may well have to ask around the neighbours. I hope it isn’t something dead under the house as access under there isn’t great...

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JaseNZ

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#2643521 28-Jan-2021 12:38

Has a knock shop setup next to you with out you noticing it.

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jonb

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#2643522 28-Jan-2021 12:41

ghettomaster: Thanks for the replies.

We don’t live near the sea.

As far as fertilisers go we did some spraying with weed killer that was mixed a long time ago.

I also did a google which said it could be electrical. I phoned a sparkie who said he had never heard of it.

I may well have to ask around the neighbours. I hope it isn’t something dead under the house as access under there isn’t great...

Could be a dead rat or two under the house, used to get that in old house when one died in the roof space.

Are you urban or rural?

josephhinvest

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#2643525 28-Jan-2021 12:46

My folks had their new hedge fertilised with a fish-based product. It smelt like under a wharf, very strong. Perhaps a neighbour has done the same and its wafting towards you?

Cheers,
Joseph

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#2643569 28-Jan-2021 13:34

Could be a dead rodent.... we got rats occasionally between floors, and I must have trapped one there while sealing up holes etc to stop them getting in. Took a good solid couple of weeks for the smell to stop.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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ghettomaster

387 posts

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#2643570 28-Jan-2021 13:35

I’ll talk to the neighbours and see what I can find. I really hope it’s not something dead under the house. There goes summer waiting for that to clear up...

idle

175 posts

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#2643923 29-Jan-2021 08:38

Any cats around? We used to have a cat that liked to fish and brought home whole eels and even the neighbours goldfish! Used to leave them near the bedroom window as a sort of offering. We opted out of telling the neighbours, and they continued to wonder at the "natural" drop in numbers of the goldfish!

cshwone

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#2643934 29-Jan-2021 09:02

ghettomaster: I’ll talk to the neighbours and see what I can find. I really hope it’s not something dead under the house. There goes summer waiting for that to clear up...

We have had dead rats stuck in wall cavities. The smell does dissipate fairly quickly but is quite unpleasant initially (about a week)

allio

885 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2643955 29-Jan-2021 09:41

Can confirm that decomposing dead rats have a distinctly fishy smell to me (yuck).

The good news is that in summer the smell is around for a good time, not a long time. Should be a week of grossness and then gone. Over winter it lingers at a lower level for much longer.

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