Renting & mice problem!

joleen100

Hi, if you have a mice problem whilst renting & wish to call out rentokil who is responsible for payment? The tenant or landlord?

I am single mum (working full time and not claiming anything )) with two kids! I have learned to deal with a lot but this is one thing I cannot manage and just want rentokil to come out and lay traps etc ...

Whilst the landlord is a nice guy & will get things fixed eventually when required this is not something I can live with while he figures out which member of his family can come look at the problem:)).

Thanks for any advice j

Nomis21

I live in an old cottage and the day I moved in, the whole property was infested with mice. The next day I googled the local cat sanctuary and they bought round two of their homeless cats. Goodbye mice.

Three years on, and all I occasionally see is a bit of dead mouse.

newacc2015

OP I imagine you would be liable. Getting rentokil to deal with a mice problem is like getting an electrician to replace a light bulb. It is something you can do yourself, you just are choosing not to do it. The only time I would consider rentokil justified is with a serious ant problem, as they use a chemical which is not available to the general public.

Dealing with mice is a simple, although unpleasant for some people. I dont think the Landlord should have to foot the bill, as you dont want to set traps yourself. Louth CoCo makes its tenancy responsible for pest control, so I guess it is the norm of most councils in Ireland.

http://www.louthcoco.ie/en/Services/Housing/Estate_Management_Tenant_Participation/Tenants_Handbook.pdf

joleen100

I'm a private tenant. I don't want to get a cat (but thanks for the suggestion ). The lease says the house should be fit for purpose so surely its the landlord responsibility??

I really cannot deal with laying traps & clearing dead bodies especially with two small kids! There is a lot of things I have overcome since living on my own with two kids but this is not one of them.

Thanks

athtrasna

If you want to get Rentokil without giving the landlord a chance to remedy the situation you are entirely liable for the cost. As another poster said, it's an extreme solution.

Contact your landlord and stress the importance of dealing with this in a timely manner if you can back up the origin of the mice being due to structural issues and not something your lifestyle may have caused. I would ask for it to be dealt with by the end of the week.

joleen100

Thanks all so far )

What do you mean by this problem is down to lifestyle choice? The house is clean & tidy, bins collected regularly, no unopened food that I'm aware of, and no pets. Not sure how it could of got in to be honest. Have noticed a kick board in kitchen now seems to be lose. I have being living here 2 and half years with no problems!

Thanks j

Atlantic Dawn

How are the mice getting in? Is there openings in the house or from a neighbouring property they are getting in from or are they getting in from doors being left open in the house?

newacc2015

joleen100 wrote: »

I'm a private tenant. I don't want to get a cat (but thanks for the suggestion ). The lease says the house should be fit for purpose so surely its the landlord responsibility??

I really cannot deal with laying traps & clearing dead bodies especially with two small kids! There is a lot of things I have overcome since living on my own with two kids but this is not one of them.

Thanks

Fit for purpose is a broad, generic term. I would assume that covers general repairs and fitting the standards set by the council etc. If a council makes its tenants responsible for pest control. I imagine by law private landlords dont have to pay for their tenants pest control.

I'm sorry, but I dont see why the LL should have to pay a private firm to do something that you are uncomfortable with doing it. If you dont want to do it, you should be the individual to foot the bill.

joleen100

I don't think it is the door being left open especially at this time of year & the weather. Not sure where it has got in as I cannot see anything obvious, hence why I thought rentokil would be able to check all this out for me.

If the landlord won't pay I will Prob just take the hit myself for peace of mind if anything!

joleen100

I'm sorry, but I dont see why the LL should have to pay a private firm to do something that you are uncomfortable with doing it. If you dont want to do it, you should be the individual to foot the bill.[/quote]

I get you and wish I was able to overcome this one!!!

However when I rented many years ago in the uk the landlord did take care of it! I also thought the council & private landlords where totally different And had different responsibilities to their tenants.

I am going to contact landlord in the morning and see what he says about getting rentokil out. He is a nice fair man and I do think I'm a reasonable tensbt who rarely contacts him so hoping we can come to some arrangement.

strandroad

Rentokil uses chemicals you don't want around your kids...
You can get a humane trap like this:
http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/tincatb.JPG

Our mice left never to return after we rolled out a combination of peppermint oil soaked pads, chilli powder and these plug-in electric yokes. Can't say which was the deciding factor... but something worked and worked well.

pablo128

If you know anyone who keeps ferrets or are near a pet shop, ask for some ferret droppings. Put them around the place and bye bye mice. (And rats.)

housetypeb

You can get a device from most hardware stores that plugs into a electric socket, it emits a high pitched noise that can't be heard by humans but apparently it'll drive the mice away as they can't stand the sound.
It cost's around 25 euro but cheaper than Rentokil and no dead mice to clear up.

eladnova

Tell the landlord what going on. It's up to him to find and pay for a solution.
What I'd do is get a quote from Rentokil so at least you can give him options. It needs to be sorted out quickly for health reasons.

salamanca22

housetypeb wrote: »

You can get a device from most hardware stores that plugs into a electric socket, it emits a high pitched noise that can't be heard by humans but apparently it'll drive the mice away as they can't stand the sound.
It cost's around 25 euro but cheaper than Rentokil and no dead mice to clear up.

As an adult I can hear these devices and they drive me mad :P

Also I believe they are only really useful at deterring mice from entering the house, once they are already in all they do is annoy the mouse but he won't go anywhere. It's a case of putting up with the noise or the cold for the mouse.

nuckeythompson

Place talcum powder around all the floor edges, you will see how the enter the house and then you can block it up

newacc2015

eladnova wrote: »

Tell the landlord what going on. It's up to him to find and pay for a solution.
What I'd do is get a quote from Rentokil so at least you can give him options. It needs to be sorted out quickly for health reasons.

Where exactly does the law state that the LL is responsible for pest control?

The health risk associated with mice are very minimal. Definitely nothing that justifies a private company to deal with some mice.

Arbiter of Good Taste

eladnova wrote: »

Tell the landlord what going on. It's up to him to find and pay for a solution.
What I'd do is get a quote from Rentokil so at least you can give him options. It needs to be sorted out quickly for health reasons.

And the LL will probably (rightly) show up with a half a dozen mousetraps.

If the tenant wants to go with rentakill, then tenant will probably have to pay

Dial Hard

mhge wrote:

Rentokil uses chemicals you don't want around your kids.

Rentokil know what they're doing and won't place bait anywhere a child might be able to get at it.

However, what would make me caution against using them is that the mice bring the bait back to the nest and usually die there. If this is in an inaccessible area (and they usually are), you'll have to put up with the stink of the bodies decomposing and believe me, NOTHING stinks like a dead mouse returning to the great beyond. Multiply this by however many mice may be in the house and it's not a road I'd recommend going down, tbh.

OP, you're either going to have to bite the bullet and get traps, in which case get good quality ones with a very strong spring (there's very little more distressing than having to deal with a mouse in a trap that didn't quite finish the job), or borrow a cat off someone for a week or two. Tbh, I think that might be the best option for you. Then figure out where they're getting in and block it up, otherwise more will find their way in and you'll be back to square one.

joleen100

Traps laid and plugs in. Had someone take a good look around and found some very small droppings and nibbled chocolate bits in playroom (probably from Christmas family party even though i had thought I had cleaned up properly). Could not find anywhere where it might have got in so that is a bit of a worry.

I spoke with Landlord and he said if that didn't solve the problem I can go ahead and call Rentokil and take it out of next month's rent.

Leaving house for 24 hours and hopefully when we get back their will be some dead mouse for my son to dispose of )

Thanks all for the advice.

Mattie500

Mice can be terrifying for some people (Mrs Mattie for one)... 9 years in a row we had mice every September.... Kids leaving the door open etc (saw one mouse climbing up the step to get in)... I was not a cat lover but we got 2 (always outside) and have not seen a mouse in the last 4 years).
Well done on the LL sorting it. Pest control might not be quick though but hopefully it will. (friends got them and it took a couple of weeks).

Galadriel

Dial Hard wrote: »

However, what would make me caution against using them is that the mice bring the bait back to the nest and usually die there. If this is in an inaccessible area (and they usually are), you'll have to put up with the stink of the bodies decomposing and believe me, NOTHING stinks like a dead mouse returning to the great beyond. Multiply this by however many mice may be in the house and it's not a road I'd recommend going down, tbh.

I thought this as well but a friend of mine has had to get rentokil out a few times (mice coming in from neighbours attic) and the stuff they use apparently mummifies (or something like it) the bodies so no smell.

salamanca22

Galadriel wrote: »

I thought this as well but a friend of mine has had to get rentokil out a few times (mice coming in from neighbours attic) and the stuff they use apparently mummifies (or something like it) the bodies so no smell.

Yeah it dehydrates the animal and they kinda just turn to little mice rocks.

nuckeythompson

Correct, they won't smell, the sticky pads of glue work great but not sure if they are legal here anymore. After day one of the talcum powder you will know where to lay them. But blocking up the entry point is the only way to go. If the droppings are in the kitchen most likely from the back of the press or behind the oven. They love those crumbs from the grill. And bacon rind and chocolate is the best bait.

pablo128

The plug-in things don't work. Trust me. You would have more luck throwing them at the mice.

L1985

Hi OP we used to have problems with mice as well as lived in an old house and they kept getting in. I got an electronic rat trap off amazon it's around 40€. Found it brilliant.best thing is you bait it with peanut butter walk away come back and if the light is on u have one but u don't need to look at the mouse. It electrocutes them u can turn it upside down and he's gone.really simple no mess no worries about bait or poison and no icky stuff:). Worked great here.

solargain

joleen100 wrote: »

Traps laid and plugs in. Had someone take a good look around and found some very small droppings and nibbled chocolate bits in playroom (probably from Christmas family party even though i had thought I had cleaned up properly). Could not find anywhere where it might have got in so that is a bit of a worry.

I spoke with Landlord and he said if that didn't solve the problem I can go ahead and call Rentokil and take it out of next month's rent.

Leaving house for 24 hours and hopefully when we get back their will be some dead mouse for my son to dispose of )

Thanks all for the advice.

By your own admission there was chocolate in the play room after the children , mice can get in anywhere & there will be more than one, How is this the landlords problem????

Daisy78

Hi OP

I don't want to alarm you but I moved out of a property a couple of months ago due a rat infestation problem (we caught 5 of the buggers in the end). Initially we thought we had mice until the exterminatiion company set us straight. The landlord to their credit took full responsibility for it and paid for all of the rentokil visits (there were many). There is no way I would have paid the cost associated with this, as another poster said the property should be fit for purpose and its obvious its not. They may have a route into the house that needs to be investigated further ...worse case scenario this is a structural issue that requires renovation if the property.

nuckeythompson

Rats are a landlords problem not mice. Rats pose a very different threat to property and people as opposed to mice. Rats will destroy a property if not dealt with. If you have mice you are unlikely to have mice. But if you dont deal with the mice the rats will follow.

Find the source with talcum powder as suggested and you will be able to block up the entry points. Do not under estimate how smal;l of a hole they can get in. As a kids I bred them ( by accident) and the will get in or out of anything. If you have carpet pull it up at the sides. The cupboards are another and the smallest of corner hole the usually get in. The have a fantastic sense of smell.
I dealt with my sisters mice problem with the above and it worked.
Keep us posted on how you get on.

colm_c

DIY mouse trap:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4PaGvAhV9I

joleen100

solargain wrote: »

By your own admission there was chocolate in the play room after the children , mice can get in anywhere & there will be more than one, How is this the landlords problem????

A very minute piece of chocolate behind a shelving unit - I had a Christmas partner with 10 kids!!!! I can assure you the rest of the house is spotless and I normally don't allow the kids eat anywhere but at the kitchen table! The playroom has since being emptied and scrubbed cleaned along with all the shelving units. Nothing caught in traps so far and no further sightings or noises heard.

I am hoping they are gone but if not I will be calling rentokil with the landlords permission! I think I have done everything I can to catch them or prevent occurrence.

Thanks all.