I have been living in a rental house for 2+ years and have a recent mice problem. Once noticing the mice poo I contacted the landlord immediately and he sent around a rodent killer guy who put out some traps. However, 3 months on we are still having issues. We tidy up the droppings on a daily basis ans leave no food out and the house is minimalist (in true OzBaragin fashion). The landlord has even tried plugging the holes under sink etc but they still get in. We are now worried for our health and wanting to know whether ww should ask for some kind of compensation for now having to live with mice?
Rodents in a rental - who is responsible?
Comments
put out some traps and baits.
being proactive is an empowering exercise.
Or just take away the food.
Whoever leaves the food out, or accessible, is responsible
Your landlord has been plugging holes and they still get in?
Sounds like you need to work with the landlord by looking for holes. Stop being mean to this proactive landlord for trying to do right by you. Usually cheap landlords will say you need to buy traps, sort it yourself, etc
yes agreed!, Nice Landlords are hard to come by these days. I would be taking action into my own hands and hunting them down or atleast using one of the cameras bought from OzBargain deals to monitor Mice Movment during the night and day.
Sounds like the landlord has done a lot already. Given you have lived there for 2 years and the problem is only occurred recently I think it is more your problem than his. You should continue to work with him to identify the source. Is it freestanding or unit/apartment. Talk to your neighbors to see if they have a problem too. Do you have a compost heap or something in your garden.
https://www.realpropertymanager.com.au/post?post_id=854
Mice and rats
The landlord is responsible
if present at the start of the tenancy
The tenant is responsible
if present during the tenancy
Learn to live with the mice.
sufferin succotash!
Gain their confidence. Interbreed. Learn their ways, their routes, their contacts, and when the time is right, seize power.
thats yanks you're describing, and they have already done it
Seasonally mice can become quite large in numbers after large amounts of rain. As it become colder or there is a scare supply of food in the environment, they can seek out the warmer climate of a house, with food.
Both tenant and landlord need to be proactive. I have found some tenants who really are against baits, want something done and still leave food out!get some traps, baits and a jack russel
Then you have a jack Russel problem.
I forget about the Jack Russel problem everydamntime!
recent mice problem.
Recent - Tenant
Ongoing since move - Landlord
Pest control while living there isn't a landlord's responsibility unless the problem was there as you moved, which would be indicative of an ongoing problem. I'm surprised your landlord took it up which is great.
It's not too hard to just lay some traps down with a bit of peanut butter in your cupboards, drawers, etc.
simple solution get a cat with landlords permission.
cats eliminate vermin- fewer cats more vermin - eventually plague like diseases will return without cats….
Second this. The only mice I ever see are the dead ones my cat drags onto the lawn…or into the house if the opportunity is there. I don’t even know where she gets them from.
I cannot agree more. I used to have mice problem every winter. First winter mouse traps worked, but the second winter I tried everything from Bunnings and it was just too smart. Ever since I got cats I haven’t not seen any at all.
Depends on your luck… Or cat. My cat's hopeless. Hasn't caught one single mouse in 7 years. I need to do it while she enjoys life.
What the (profanity) sort of compensation are you expecting?
You're "worried about your health", but that worry can be eased with money??
What measures have you taken to help with problem? Traps? Baits?
You're "worried about your health", but that worry can be eased with money??
I have always found money to ease my health problems cough cough
Mate, money eases everything.
I had a huge wound on my hand and I tried everything - charms, oil of snake, I even spat on it some. Nothing worked but I got a stack o' fiddies and rubbed it on. Felt better straight away
Ratsak, traps, baits, etc.
You and the landlord need to work together on this one.
If the mice came in because there're holes in the structure (that came about through normal wear and tear), then I think the landlord has some responsibility in fixing that. If they'd merely came in through normal gaps (e.g. doors, windows, drains, etc), then it's probably the tenants' problem.
If you can't deal with the situation, you're always free to move at the end of the lease.
What in the actual hell is wrong with you mentally? After everything the landlord has clearly done to try to fix the issue and the money they have spent, when many many other worse landlords wouldn't, and you want to gouge them for compensation? Like someone else said, money is going to make your health feel safer is it? Nothing but pathetic greed. What would you be doing so differently that you think you could do a better job? And why haven't you suggested it to them or done it yourself if that's the case and you're so 'worried'? GTFO
Get those traps where the mice can crawl in but not out.
We had a mice problem a few years ago, came out of nowhere (discovered neighbour got a chicken coop and put it against the fence line to our house), we caught 2 in one night and 1 the next night. Just use some good bait and they will come.
They were also free entertainment when I got to watch my mother shriek and jump onto the couch, bring scared of a small mouse.
I just took them a few kilometres down the road to some bushland and released them.
Some good mice catching methods available in Youtube.
"Rodent killer guys" are freaking useless. Is that all they do- put out baits and traps? Why would anyone pay for that? Unless you locate and seal the entry points you've still got the problem.
Stop being a mess
OP is just a greedy money grabber
Get a cat.
Not even joking a cat or a ratting/terrier dog will sort this out in days. Third option is a snake, I have known of people to use them to get into hard areas to eradicate the problem
Pest control needs maintenance, it’s not a one off deal. Rain and moisture can also impact the effectiveness. If it’s ongoing then clearly there is a problem with the place or the area is prime mouse territory (my in-laws old house backed onto a reserve and farmland, prime mouse territory). Also a cat can help, but won’t always, mine is useless at catching mice, don’t get one if you are only getting it to fix the problem.
You need a cat from a feral bloodline for a good working cat.
RATSAK. Works for me. Permanent deep dish of the stuff concealed behind a cupboard. One comes, it eats, it goes and dies somewhere else. Clan members quickly get the message and keep well away. A year or two later, another brave soul ventures forth… it eats, it goes, it dies and its comrades get the message, etc., etc., etc.
Second this
Put all your food into sealed containers. Don't leave crumbs sitting around. Usually mice will move on if you got neighbours who leave food out. Mice is just as lazy as we are.
I'd be more surprised about some of the less understanding comments if I hadn't been through a bit of a learning curve in relation to rats and mice. We bought a house some years ago which is in a quite "natural" setting, which includes at least one tree which overhangs the house. Comments about rats or mice being prevented entry to a property by "plugging holes" wouldn't be taking into account the determination of some vermin. I've heard a rat jump onto the roof, scuttle across to the guttering and lift a concrete tile to get into the roof space.
In some ways paying for pest control is paying for expertise in how, where and when to place baits and traps. I've had experts out whenever there's been some new sort of issue, but picked their brains while they work. That's let me do certain things myself that they would have done had I gotten them out more frequently. It mostly involves trying to think like the thing you're trying to kill, understanding how the poison works and what the vermin may be seeking. eg. food, water, warmth.
There are more potent things than ratsak, some of which you'll find at Bunnings. It's also worth noting that such issues come and go, and no human is required to be responsible for it. It's all-natural! ;)
ratsak
Seems like a new mouse turns up at my place every week.
No amount of traps stop them getting in, and the cat just sits on them, whether they're Logitech, Rappoo, or Razer.
Can I get compensation from OzBargain?
You have been there for 2+ years and you want the landlord to deal with YOUR problem???
Landlord is responsible when you first enter the property and for a reasonable time afterward for you to ascertain if there was a pest problem when you first moved in…say 2 weeks to a month.
After that its the residents problem as the owner cant be held resposible for the way the resident lives and the habits and hygeine or lack thereof.
This is like saying I've got a cockroach/ant/spider problem and The landlord should be dealing with it..
Umm.. no, landlord can't control nature. I think the landlord has gone above and beyond TBH.
In winter, these critters will want to find somewhere warm and dry to stay too.At least the landlord is trying. I managed to get rid of the rats using ratsak at my previous rental but my landlord thought it was too unethical
ask landlord to adopt a cat/cats.
Mice are common even in new houses, just your luck who they pick to escape the cold… Deal with it with traps and poaiom bait..
Sounds like you need to build.a better mousetrap.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Build_a_better_mousetrap,_an…
Whats with everyone asking for compensation for everything trivial?
Man up, suck it up and deal with it yourself. Your landlord has been more than accommodating!
Boom tish.
Tenant as you have been there two years. If it was invested when you moved in landlord. Go to Bunnings buy a bunch of baits and chuck them in the roof. Sounds like landlord has gone above and beyond already.
It is a landlord’s responsibility to provide a premise in a clean and habitable state free from pests.The tribunals have found that if a tenant reported an issue very soon after taking occupancy then this would be a reasonable timeframe to place the responsibility in the hands of the landlord to affect treatment.
However, if the rodent problem appeared 2 years into the tenancy , then it is the tenant's responsibility to sort it out.
We are now worried for our health
If this is truly the case, move out.
wanting to know whether ww should ask for some kind of compensation for now having to live with mice
Nope. On what basis would you be eligible for compensation?
But I do wonder if the landlord can deduct money from your bond for pest treatmnent when you move out as he could argue that you caused the problem.
Don't forget that as the landlord has tried and by all accounts continues to try and remedy the situation you are unlikely to get compensation but they may decide the only way they can fix the situation is if the property is vacant and terminate your lease to do this
Looks like a troll post. OP hasn't responded at all.
You should be asking for it to be fixed properly or the landlord is in breach of the leasing contract.
Get some free advice from TQ https://tenantsqld.org.au/need-advice/