Rats and wood lice - our rights?

Skiddaw1

Can't help on the responsibility question but 'furry friend' looks like a mouse to me rather than a rat. Doesn't make much difference I know, but it's not uncommon to get a mouse issue especially at this time of year when they're hunkered down for the winter. I'd agree with the other advice- check for obvious entry points, make sure there's no accessible food, etc, check the backs of kitchen cupboards and if you see any signs of additional mice set some traps.

[Deleted User]

buel10 said:

Lover_of_Lycra said:

If you had just moved into the property and there was a rodent problem then I'd say it's down to the landlord to sort it but since you've been in the property for over a year I'm not sure it is the responsibility of the landlord to get rid of the furry friends.  Unless your landlord is the cause of the infestation, for example, not making certain repairs to your home or your tenancy agreement says your landlord will be responsible for pest control then it might be down to you to get pest control in.  It could be something one of your neighbours is doing to attract rats to the area.  An environmental health officer might be able to help you pinpoint the cause.

Wow, I'm surprised at this. I thought it would be totally the landlord’s responsibility? 

There are two main things that attract rats and mice to your home, food and shelter.  Your landlord isn't responsible for sources of food made available to rodents.  If your home is messy then it gives rodents lots of places to hide which again isn't your landlords responsibility.  So as I said, whoever is responsible for the critters visiting in the first place is responsible for getting rid of them.

trex227

A cheap way we found for my mother in law to get rid of mice was using peppermint oil. Put a few drops on cotton wool balls and put them behind the sofa, back of cupboards, basically anywhere out of the way. (I wouldn’t recommend this if you have pets and don’t put it anywhere near food).

Apparently the mint smell is so strong to rodents they can’t smell anything else and as their sense of smell is so important to them it drives them away. Worked for my MIL.

bouicca21

There are threads elsewhere on the site about getting rid of mice.  And that is a mouse.

It really is hard to get rid of them. Peppermint oil didn’t work for me, nor did traps.  If at all possible you need to find out where they are getting in - and a hole as small as the diameter of a pencil is big enough - and block it with steel wool.  They will bite their way through anything else.  I have always suspected that borrowing a cat or Jack Russell would be quicker and more efficient.

As for the wood lice, as others have said, that’s a sign of damp and possibly rotten wood.

Silvertabby

Mice leave an almost constant dribble of urine behind them, so I would make cleaning your carpets the next priority after dealing with the little b*ggers. 

notrouble

Hard to get perspective on size from the picture; is that a mouse trap or a rat trap? Rat traps are much bigger- as are rats! But looks like a house mouse. See pictures here.Or could be a black rat (rarer than brown). Responsibility depends on cause. If there is a defect in the property, or you've just moved in (and the issue pre-dates your tenancy), or the LL has done something that attracts the vermin, then it's down to the LL.

If it is caused by the tenant eg leaving food available, bird food in the garden etc then it's down to the tenant.

As for timescales - well to start with it's nothing to do with the agent. The agent can only do what the LL instructs them to do. No instruction, no action.

If it IS down to the LL, he should take action in a 'reasonable' timeframe, as with any issue. There's no spectific legal definition beyond what a reasonable person would expect.

Start by checking if mouse or rat. If rat, report it to the landlord, in writing, at the proper address. And ring EH at the council. And buy some more traps (of the appropriate size).

buel10

notrouble said:

Hard to get perspective on size from the picture; is that a mouse trap or a rat trap? Rat traps are much bigger- as are rats! But looks like a house mouse. See pictures here.Or could be a black rat (rarer than brown). Responsibility depends on cause. If there is a defect in the property, or you've just moved in (and the issue pre-dates your tenancy), or the LL has done something that attracts the vermin, then it's down to the LL.

If it is caused by the tenant eg leaving food available, bird food in the garden etc then it's down to the tenant.

As for timescales - well to start with it's nothing to do with the agent. The agent can only do what the LL instructs them to do. No instruction, no action.

If it IS down to the LL, he should take action in a 'reasonable' timeframe, as with any issue. There's no spectific legal definition beyond what a reasonable person would expect.

Start by checking if mouse or rat. If rat, report it to the landlord, in writing, at the proper address. And ring EH at the council. And buy some more traps (of the appropriate size).

Thanks for this. It is a mouse trap (yay!).

notrouble

buel10 said:

Thanks for this. It is a mouse trap (yay!).

In that case I'd just buy several additional mouse traps. Forget cheese - use chocolate or peanut butter..... Keep the kitchen floor etc clean from crumbs and keep food in sealed containers ie no opened cereal packets with attractive smells and easy access!.

£3.00 each and these work well:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/pest-stop-sure-set-plastic-mousetraps-2-pack/70203

Crumble2018

notrouble said:

.Or could be a black rat (rarer than brown).

There are no black rats in mainland Britain.  That is a mouse, no question about it.

orangecrush

We had mice, woodlice and slugs in our last rental property.  It was an old stone cottage and whilst the landlord usually approved pest control measures when we reported it, the pests kept returning as he didn't want to spend the money to sort the routes of entry.  We stopped reporting it eventually, then moved.  I know mice are bacteria-ridden horrors but I still think coming downstairs and standing on a huge slug in bare feet will go down as my worst house-pest nightmare.