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Pest infested property

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  • motorman99
    motorman99 Posts: 123 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    The landlord should sort this out, it’s the right thing to do. 

    Different if rubbish etc, left everywhere encouraging rats and mice.
  • Slinky
    Slinky Posts: 11,003 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    We had ants start getting in around the skirtings in our dining room all of a sudden one summer when we'd been living there for years. Could not work out where they were getting in. Tried those Nippon traps with no success, didn't want to be putting ant powder down inside. In the end we got a load of silicone sealant and sealed all the gaps between the skirtings and the floors we could find. Never had a problem with them again.

    Our neighbour had problems with them getting in their kitchen coming in through an airbrick.
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  • ReadingTim
    ReadingTim Posts: 4,081 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    The landlord should sort this out, it’s the right thing to do. 

    Different if rubbish etc, left everywhere encouraging rats and mice.
    Unclean kitchens are what primarily encourages ants, so it's exactly the same as rats and mice, and the tenant's responsibility to prevent / deal with.  If the previous tenant didn't have a problem, perhaps it's because they kept the place a bit cleaner.  
  • motorman99
    motorman99 Posts: 123 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Maybe. Who knows ? 
  • MultiFuelBurner
    MultiFuelBurner Posts: 2,928 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 24 May 2023 at 4:53PM
    We have quite an ant nesty garden (used to be an orchard so comes with the territory.

    Lots of ants nest and some close to the house. The do get in we think through the air bricks and appear between the wooden flooring and skirting boards.

    However they appear to just be scoping the area out for food and because the house is clean and tidy and nothing for them to eat no infestation.
  • ReadingTim
    ReadingTim Posts: 4,081 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    We have quick an ant nesty garden (used to be an orchard so comes with the territory.

    Lots of ants nest and some close to the house. The do get in we think through the air bricks and appear between the wooden flooring and skirting boards.

    However they appear to just be scoping the area out for food and because the house is clean and tidy and nothing for them to eat no infestation.
    Exactly - they're not there because they like the interior décor or the OP's music collection...
  • Mr.Generous
    Mr.Generous Posts: 3,965 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Like Slinky I've also found sealing the gaps between skirting and flooring stops them. I had a tenant complain about ants once, I offered to do this and put and traps down and they said they had done it themselves and were just informing me.
    Mr Generous - Landlord for more than 10 years. Generous? - Possibly but sarcastic more likely.
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 49,504 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Name Dropper
    We have quite an ant nesty garden (used to be an orchard so comes with the territory.

    Lots of ants nest and some close to the house. The do get in we think through the air bricks and appear between the wooden flooring and skirting boards.

    However they appear to just be scoping the area out for food and because the house is clean and tidy and nothing for them to eat no infestation.
    Agreed. General rule is what came first, the tenants or the pests? If the pests were there first the landlord should deal with. If the tenants lifestyle attracted the pests then it is tenants responsibility. Grey area for anything in between.
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  • ThisIsWeird
    ThisIsWeird Posts: 7,935 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    Exactly - they're not there because they like the interior décor or the OP's music collection...
    OP, if you are adamant that you'd rather not involve the LL and their masking tape solution, and are tempted to use a sealant between the skirting and floor, then perhaps use clear silicone, with a fine nozzle, and inject it a good half-way in under the skirting board so it isn't visible from the room.
  • Aj_newbie
    Aj_newbie Posts: 69 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Thanks everyone. Here's what happened over the past couple of weeks - 

    I sent out a detailed note with pictures & videos to the Landlord, and regular follow ups. (I would use these to go to the council if he took no action, so was building a case with evidence and impact)
    (If it were crawling ants, was not much of a pain, but flying ants inside the kitchen, dining room, and living room,100s of them, for weeks, is a problem)

    I did some research online, took suggestions from here (thank you all for that), and found some products/ways to seal the gaps. I even found some local builders and forwarded their details to him. In our whatsapp comm, I replied to the videos of those ants coming out from the gap, from last summer, so it again reminded him of the severity. Eventually, he gave up, and organised a visit with a builder.

    The builder suggested to fill bigger gaps with sealant, followed by beading.

    He has done what a reasonable and responsible landlord would do, even though it took me lots of efforts and regular follow up.
    Fingers crossed for the season. 
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