Mice in a rental.....

This house has been stinky since we moved in and I told DH I suspected mice..... Then the neighbours told us that the owners had problems with mice a while back - had people out to fumigate or whatever they do and I found one of those large bait things outside as well....

Well they are still here :sick: I saw one in the kitchen the other day and we have set some traps but haven't caught any and just now I can hear scratching in the roof.

Anyway we are more than likely moving out in about a month (again :rolleyes:) but there are lots of things I hate here and won't stay here long term but wondering if we are responsible for the mice or if we can call the agent to get the owners to do something about them?? I don't want to spend huge amounts of money on exterminators if we are moving anyway but also don't want filthy animals running around the place with kids and us here either. Uggghhhh so gross.

I think pest control falls to the tenants to be responsible unless you could prove an infestation is somehow the fault of the owners (which would be hard to prove at a guess - unless maybe they had stuff stored at the property that caused the problem or something)

I think it's one of the downfalls of country living. Everything seems to stir them up and drive them inside. Too much rain, not enough rain (looking for water), development nearby.... We have a vacant block nearby and if the owner leaves it too long between slashing the block, when he eventually does well see evidence of move. Drives me nuts! Poor dh has me randomly telling him to set traps just cos I've noticed the slashes block or something.

It's nowhere near as bad here as our last place though...

Thanks hun, I figured that might be the case - just annoys me because the neighbours said the place had a serious issue with mice a while back and I have hated this house since we moved in haha it's old and stinks and I can't wait to move out. Will call and see what the agent says JIK tomorrow and then will see if we can set up some serious bait traps.

We are landlords and our tenants notified the real estate agents that they there were rats in the roof, we paid for the pest control to be done. I would contact the agents and find out. We are always very prompt in fixing anything that comes up, want to keep the tenants happy and we also plan to move into the house in about a year!

Generally the tenants responsibility. We had what we thought were termites in a rental & the owners dealt with that, but I assumed they would since that was something that could destroy their property if not dealt with.

If you'd called with in a few days of moving in they would probably cover it, since you aren't really to blame if they're already there.

I live across for the wheat bins. Mouse central. They spray before harvest & after any length of time not being over there & out come the mice :doh: Last year they were in my roof, so far this year only seen one in my house & heard none in the roof.

No idea about responsibility Tan, but use peanut butter in the traps. Sure fire way. Traps and the end results can be bloody awful though so make sure A is around to deal with it and the kids aren't ;-)

General pest is tenant responsibility in qld but I wouldn't think mice were. Check with your state real estate people.

I just chuck a few blocks of bait up in the ceiling when they get bad.

I would say generally tenants' responsibility, but I would also go to/call the real estate to let them know, especially what neighbours have said, re previous infestations. I would also do what I could to affordably get rid of them myself.

That said, we have them in our new rental, and (just having a little vent here, don't mind me!) due to lack of shelving and storage, we have lots of boxes stacked up in the house and carport, and I suspect there could be a nest in the dining room :wall: . I put out a trap last night with peanut butter, and the little blighters just licked all the peanut butter off and the trap didn't go off! And it's those awful traps that will nearly take your finger off. Waaa. Have reset both traps today, smooshing the peanut butter under the little spike thing. :fingerscrossed:

slivers of jelly bean work really well too...

we have a lot of stuff in storage - very little of it is in cardboard any more because of my hatred of mice getting in to stuff - we have so many plastic tubs! but it works for us...

I think it would depend on the severity of the problem. If it's more than just a mouse or 2 in the pantry every night or they're causing damage to the property, then I'd say it's the landlord's job to have the house fumigated.

I've heard them in the ceiling space Tinks so wiring worries me too.

My friend had a problem with roaches at hers and her landlord came and done an inspection to see how bad the problem was in comparison to how they kept their house. They then deemed there was a bad problem with the roaches and the house was kept in a tidy and clean state so fumigated instead of the tenants. I'll also add that my friends had tried baits and bombs as well.

Roaches are also the biggest issue in my area. I live in units and there are some pretty dero people about. Each time they get done, I get roaches and they take months to drive out. Because it is units, it is the owners responsibility and on the lease it says they will fumigate all the units to avoid infestation and spread but so far are only doing one at a time. Mine hasn't been done by them as it isn't bad enough apparently

Definitely talk to your real estate agent about it.