Who is responsible for pest control? Landlord or tenant?

taranjs

Sorry if this is not the correct forum (also tried my best to ensure this has not been asked earlier).

I got mice in the flat second time. First time landlord got the holes in the bathroom covered with expanding foam but now the mice have dug up more places to get into the home.

Now the landlord tells me the tenant is responsible for sorting this out (but really, if the property is not well built enough that even mice can make their way in, is it tenant's problem?)

Also, who should pay if we decide to call council for the pest control?

Please share your opinion.

Thanks

Sally_A

It's in the interest of the landlord for the premises to be vermin free, as damage caused is usually an insurance exclusion.

However, if you are enticing them in, by say, leaving food uncovered I think it is unfair to put the problem at the landlords feet.

We got mice....couldn't understand why they were in our roof, until we remembered a sack of grass seed up there, it was left with just husks and mouse poo. Once that was removed the problem went. We do occasionally hear scratching under the floorboards, but living in the country it's near on impossible to block every hole up.

Invest in a sonic repeller (about £10), but not if you have small animals as pets.

I reckon it's best that you first of all think if you are encouraging them, discuss it with the landlord......agree on a 50/50 as to be rid would be beneficial to both.

pigpen

According to our council, the tenant though if there are rats or bees the council will kill (rats) or remove (bees) them.

suki1964

Think if you were the home owner

What would you be doing to stop mice?

Now we were over run by the critters a few years back and we had to look at our lifestyle. All food was put away and packaged as securely as possible

Food was only eaten in the kitchen and it was cleaned before during and after meals

no food or snacks were eaten any where else

We soon identified where the critters were coming from and it cost us around £20 to eliminate them


You need to identify where they are entering the house then stop them

Tehy will eat through expanding foam - no bother

Find the gaps. Fill with wire wall and cement over.

Ours were fallowing the oil pips from the garage up to the tank on the first floor


The rule of thumb is, if you can slide a 50p piece through a gap - a mouse can get through

TiredTrophy

Our pest man suggested a gap you could push the end of a pencil through!! Air bricks can be an access point. Dont block them up but glue a fine steel mesh over them....A previous job was at an educational site.....we had hundreds of Victorian air bricks which had this treatment....

tiredwithtwins

is it documented in your tenancy agreement who is responsible? not sure where you stand legally if its not, but ring the citizens advice bureau (or whatever they are called now) and im sure they will be able to advise you,
sue

zippychick

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G_M

Landlord has a duty to maintain the fabric of the property. So should fix holes etc.

Tenant has a duty to behave "in a tenant-like manner". So should keep the floor free from crumbs/food, store food in proper containers etc

I never found the sonic things work, but worth trying.

And put down several of these (with peanut butter NOT cheese):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rentokil-Advanced-Mouse-Trap-Pack/dp/B000T5N0JE

Madbags

G_M wrote: »

Landlord has a duty to maintain the fabric of the property. So should fix holes etc.

Tenant has a duty to behave "in a tenant-like manner". So should keep the floor free from crumbs/food, store food in proper containers etc

I never found the sonic things work, but worth trying.

And put down several of these (with peanut butter NOT cheese):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rentokil-Advanced-Mouse-Trap-Pack/dp/B000T5N0JE

Those traps work a treat we had a similar problem in a rented property last year. We killed about 10 of the little !!!!!!s with the one single trap using Peanut Butter. Once we even found 2 dead mice in the single trap "Double Kill".


Trouble is they kept coming back and it didn't help we had our own pets such as budgies making a mess with their food.


Our landlord tried to help by providing those poison traps but they weren't 'visibly' working and it never seemed like anything inside them was eaten so we invested in one of these.

AdrianC

You will NEVER stop mice getting in to a property if they think there's something for them. Often, they'll start coming because they've been disturbed somewhere nearby - we had them in our old place when we demolished a shed, and then again when neighbours were doing some work.

Don't leave food out for them, and leave traps out. Use humane traps if you want, but make sure you release them at least a mile away.

It's one of the hazards of life - there are rodents etc around. For your landlord to do anything about it, he'd be round and checking traps at least daily - isn't it just easier for EVERYBODY involved for you to DIY it?

thesaint

Expanding foam isn't going to stop mice entering a property.

If vermin cannot enter, it doesn't matter if you give the kitchen floor a thin layer of peanut butter topped with grated chocolate. They will be outside with their little noses pressed up at the window salivating.

The landlord needs to do the correct work to ensure vermin cannot enter the property. Once he has done that, his duty is discharged.