Can a house make you depressed?

Fire_Fox

DiscoCat54 wrote: »

Thanks, Firefox. I'm afraid the mice issue is down to me.. They have been in the walls since day 1 but I am totally against killing them so we have humane traps dotted around the house. They get the ones that venture out in to the rooms although as I type I can hear them scurrying around in the wall between the bedroom and the bathroom.

No explanation for the flies, there is no available food source (although thinking about it, decaying mice might be filling this role) and LL just says to leave window open. He lives next-door and shares our courtyard so we haven't pushed the issue. If we had needed to use the infested room we would probably have handled it differently.

As for the bulbs blowing, the promise of a sparky has faded in to a distant memory...

The most effective things for vermin when you are in the countryside are blocking up all the holes so they cannot gain access. Also being sure there is absolutely no food source for them in your home, all human and pet food in sealed containers at all times, no pet food left down overnight, all crumbs cleaned up even behind cupboards and the AGA. Humane traps are useless unless you are taking the mice you catch far enough away from any buildings that they cannot return which is arguably more cruel than a swift death in winter. If they are getting into your home there must be traces of faeces and urine everywhere. It's also possible mice chewing are causing the problems with the electrics.

Are you prepared to address this if it is may be making you ill? Your landlord's responses are totally inadequate, he has a repairing and safety obligation towards you. Report all these issues to him in writing by snail mail (yes even tho he is next door) if you get no action contact Environmental Health? Agree you should still get a CO detector regardless of the recent servicing, no tradesman is infallible and he may have concentrated on the appliance not the venting.


"House mice carry bacteria and viruses the most significant being Salmonella and Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). Salmonella is an important food poisoning bacteria and so mice in kitchens (and they will certainly be seeking out food) is definitely taboo. Pest mice habits of feeding sporadically in many different areas makes food contamination a certainty and food surfaces, utensils and cutlery and crockery is also likely. Although mice cannot carry and transmit Weil's disease, they do carry another form of leptospirosis, which, although not fatal, can cause mild illness.

LCMV is a rodent-borne viral infectious disease that presents as aseptic meningitis (inflammation of the membrane, or meninges, that surrounds the brain and spinal cord), encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), or meningoencephalitis (inflammation of both the brain and meninges). Individuals become infected with LCMV after exposure to fresh urine, droppings, saliva, or nesting materials. Pet rodents can also carry LCMV but this is less common.

Mice can produce some 50-60 droppings per night and urinate frequently all over the place ... These tend to be scattered randomly, often on higher objects. Check at different levels inside and on top of cupboards. If you cannot decide if they are fresh or old droppings sweep them up and look again the next day. Remember never handle mouse droppings as they could contain disease organisms. Always wear disposable gloves and wash your hands thoroughly,

Once you have caught a mouse you will need to take it up to a minimum of 2 miles away to ensure it will not return. Try to find a place where there is likely to be food and shelter e.g. a thick hedgerow would be good. Release it carefully so has not to harm it and to give it a fighting chance of survival."
http://www.mousetraps.org.uk/Mouse-Traps/mousecontrol.aspx

andy.m_2

anselld wrote: »

You didn't answer the question, have you got a CO detector?
.

This is quite important, and you can silence the critics and also close out the possibility in one swoop.

Have you got a working CO detector?

DiscoCat54

Hi there. No, I don't have a CO detector... I think a trip out to get one this morning is in order...

andy.m_2

Next up, get incoming water analysed, for heavy metals etc

You can probably buy a home testing kit from homebase or b&q.

As you can probably tell, I hold no belief whatsoever in anything supernatural (Catholic) and therefore there is always a logical explanation

seven-day-weekend

Yes, I believe a house can depress your mood, especially if it is dark and oppressive.

We moved eight years ago to a remote village in the mountains of Andalucia, Spain, to a quirky Spanish equivalent of a chocolate box cottage. The house was lovely, but it had 121 exposed chestnut beams which needed continual maintenance to keep the carpenter bees at bay and was freezing in winter. The village was traditional,characterful and full of friendly people Howeevr after the first three or four years I felt as though I had stagnated. Like one of the posters above all I wanted to do was to return to my English city, where I didn't feel closed in and there was a more cosmopolitan way of life instead of the closeness of the village. It was no-one's fault, I discovered I am a towny at heart and would have felt the same in a thatched cottage in a Cotswold village.

My husband took a bit longer than me to feel like this, then we started doing half and half in each country, and returned full-time to the UK in December 2011, having sold our Spanish house.

We will still go on holiday there to see the people we made friends with (of various nationalities). We have discovered it is lovely for a holiday but not for us to live in.

To the OP, I would move somewhere that is more 'you' as soon as you can.

DiscoCat54

We are in the process of buying a new build so fingers crossed we should be moving out in 4-6 weeks. I'm sure it will come with its own set of problems but I'm looking forward to a ceiling light in every room and being able to sit where I like without the worry of insects falling through the light fittings and landing in my hair/dinner!

Saturnalia

Living in a dark and gloomy environment certainly can lead to depression and lethargy is one of the big symptoms there. Add in the vermin problem and being worried about your pets and it really won't be a healthy environment.

But the first thing you need to do is get that CO monitor and make sure that isn't the issue here.

The bulbs going so frequently is definitely not normal - your electrics definitely need a look-over. And some people are more electro-sensitive than others (and cats certainly have senses at a higher level than humans) but that usually leads to feeling tingly, edgy, nervous etc, not tiredness necessarily.

Talking of electricity, the most humane way of killing mice is with an electric trap. They sound horrible, but the shock is strong enough that the mouse is dead the second its paws hit the connectors, no chance it will be left alive but in pain and fear like other methods risk doing.

And the traps are sold in the same DIY stores where you can get CO monitors - get yourself there today.

seven-day-weekend

We had mice in our Spanish house too, and killed them with super-strong traps which just decapitated them, so they did not suffer.

However,Ii am surprised you have mice if you have cats. We didn't have a cat in Spain, but have always had them in the UK and they are forever fetching little furry bodies in. Never had a mouse problem here!

ijrwe

I had a friend who lived in a nice flat in an rather old house, and when I visited I'd always get so incredibly tired within about half an hour. Other people reported the same, and I later found out that the occupant had been, since living there, on disability benefits for supposed ME/CFS. I don't know what it was about the place - the air, the water or something else - but it made everyone so tired and weak.

My place of work is similar, you can smell and almost taste the air and I sometimes get so tired I can barely move. Any chance I have to let fresh air in makes a big difference to my mood, energy and motivation. Good ventilation is really important, I'm sure - but it's seen as a bit of a silly hippy thing to worry about. There's some reluctant acceptance that what we eat can affect our health, but water and air - both rather important - are perhaps seen as so simple and invariable that they can't be better or worse from different sources.

pinkteapot

ijrwe - please see the link I posted on p1 of this thread, which describes the differences between chronic CO exposure (long term, gradual exposure) and acute exposure (which results in the illness and hospitalisation that people are more aware of).

Chronic exposure is often misdiagnosed as CFS and other related illnesses. If your friend is still in that flat, get them to have the gas appliances and, more importantly, ventilation checked.

Agree with you about the importance of fresh air though. Even in the depths of winter I open all our windows for a few hours once a week.