I have a couple straw bale buildings, one small 8'x14' and another cabin 16'x16' The small one is just storage. The square building is a living cabin. It always smells of old straw, not moldy but just old straw. It also has mice and squirrels in it. they can't make it into the living space just the straw. Due diligence needs to be take to enclose the whole cavity to prevent access of vagrants.I have heard some are dipping the whole bale in a clay slip then stacking. I would give this a go next time.