The stench of bat feces has forced a New Hampshire elementary school to close eight classrooms and work on repairs.

Nashua's The Telegraph newspaper reports a teacher first noticed the odor around Nov. 21 at the James Mastricola Upper Elementary School in Merrimack.

Maintenance crews thought it was a dead mouse and called in a company that found bat feces in a cavity between an exterior brick wall and an inside block. Crews have tented off the outside wall, removed bricks and sealed off affected areas.

Matt Shevenell, the Merrimack School District's assistant superintendent for business, says classrooms are being cleaned and the air tested to make sure there are no spores from bat poop. Students are expected back in the classrooms by February.

No bats have been discovered.