Advice needed - Carpet Beetles

Marcthemoo

Hi,

I'm hoping to get some advice, I recently moved into a flat that is absolutely infested with carpet beetles.

I contacted the council and the housing provider who passed me around till the council said it's basically my responsibility to sort it out and if they were to come out and treat the flat they'd have to charge me, normally I wouldn't have a problem with this except the fact I only moved in two months ago.

I noticed a couple of these beetles the first day I checked the flat out and just figured they were baby ladybirds or something. So they were here beforehand, before I got the keys.

These darn things are munching through my clothes, a few things including my coat are literally falling apart...

So what can I do about it?
They claimed they must've came in with my carpet but I only have 1 down, it was put down a month ago and it's 100!!!8453; synthetic so they literally can't eat the carpet. I also suspect they've been coming from the other flat in the building.

Can I sue?

Any help would be appreciated.

rach_k

Have you contacted a pest controller? I think suing is a bit of an over-reaction - it will probably cause you a load of stress when it may be really quite simple just to get them killed. Even if you do go down a legal route, you can't just leave them eating through your stuff. Kill them, then look at how you can get some money back, if you need to.

We had a modest carpet beetle infestation when we moved into our house. I never would have considered getting in touch with the previous owners about it! I have gotten it under control using diatomaceous earth but it has taken a couple of years to really work (a combination of laziness and apathy on my part I think!). I'm sure there are more effective methods if you need quick results.

Marcthemoo

When I say sue I don't mean the past tenants, I mean the council... It's a council flat.

When I contacted them they pretty much said it's my problem and to deal with it, my issue is that they clearly never checked the flat before I moved in.

I'm dealing with it but a lot of my clothes are being/been ruined, it would have been impossible for.such an infestation to manifest itself in the short period of time I've lived here.

So they were clearly here before I moved in.

One of the reasons I'm asking for advice... I'm fairly certain that I shouldn't have been given the keys to an infested building. The fact they've downright said the building was clean beforehand makes me want to make sure they are liable for any damages.

Because I believe they should be.

I guess I'll live and learn, I'm not a pest exterminator. So it's not like I should've known what to look out for ya know?

It's frustrating.

rach_k

At some times of the year, carpet beetles aren't obvious. If the place was empty and the council didn't put textiles in there and leave them for a week to check if they got eaten, there may have been no signs. The larvae are small and would probably have been hiding in cracks in the floorboards etc. I only see them just before they change into their beetle stage or in textiles that have been undisturbed for a while so unless the past tenants told the council, I don't think they necessarily should have known. Just get them killed now. I still don't think it's worth the stress of suing but even if you do, you need to stop any further damage now anyway. You can't just leave it while you sue.

Marcthemoo

Yeah... I said I'm dealing with them, again it's a losing battle since I live in a flat, meaning I don't have access to one half of the building. Admittedly I could've been more clear on the nature of the flat, it's part of a duplex.

The room they seem to appear in the most (the bathroom) had it's floor replaced prior to me moving in, I'm not jumping to conclusions but it would be a safe assumption to consider that the floor was in a state of disrepair, hence replacement.

Would I be jumping to conclusions to assume that the past damage to the bathroom floor could well have been due to carpet beetles?

They'll eat anything according to the stuff I'm reading... Except synthetic fibers, if they ate synthetic fibers we'd hardly have a big conundrum globally about what to do with our plastic waste.

Again I'm dealing with the problem, I don't feel I'm being unreasonable and I know suing is a stressful affair. But then again so are infestations. So is getting told point blank by your housing provider that you created the problem and that the past tenant didn't have pets... Like that's got anything to do with it.

Maybe I'm in the wrong forum, I thought this was a site based upon saving money and knowing/learning your rights???

Placitasgirl

Has the council really told you that you created the problem? You only mention in your original post that they said it's now your responsibility to sort it out as you're the tenant.

Would the council offer a subsidised rate to come and treat the property if you took them up on their offer?

Ultimately the most important thing is to get the problem treated and sorted and if they could arrange this and charge you a subsidised rate I'd imagine that should be your priority.

I really don't think you've a hope of winning any case against the Council as you can't prove they caused or knew about the issue before you took on the tenancy.

Marcthemoo

Unlikely.

Tbh I'm just going to move. Thread was about carpet beetles so I didn't mention all the other problems I'm having here. Yes they pretty much said that such a thing would've been checked and that they must have came in on a pet, furniture or the carpet.

Again this is a flat, a duplex flat. I'm not paying for my part of the building to be treated and then paying for the other half to be treated, should I pay for next door to be treated too? It's a semidetached.

These beetles are tiny, they will be throughout the building. Especially in the numbers I keep seeing them.

Marcthemoo

Yes, potentially I can prove they were here before I move in. The flat was empty between December to March. Carpet beetles hibernate when the temperature is too cold.

The lifecycle of a carpet beetle is 4-12 months and I've been here 2 months. I reported this problem originally 3-4 weeks ago. Apparently the larvae stage can live up to 2 years in the right conditions.

I mentioned the council replaced the flooring (not the floorboards in the room they are most seen in, the bathroom. This will have been done in the time between December and March.

Why was the flooring replaced?

Scale of damage, size of population and basic biology... Surely these things would support my case if I went down the route of proving liability?

Ahh...

It doesn't matter, I'll just move. Shame about my furniture and stuff.