rodent infestation in SFR

[Shandra S.]

Hello,

I have a rodent problem in one of my SFR. The tenants are a group of 4 men (age ranges from 20s to 70s). They've got two dogs and generally are NOT the the tidiest people.

They had a mice problem last year, and by the time we discovered it, the mice had chewed through several base boards and two dishwashers. I thought everything was fine (the exterminator closed all the small openings the mice can enter through, and we spoke w/ the tenants about closing screen doors, putting dog food away, etc.)

3 months ago, they tell me they have another mice problem, so I call the exterminator out again. The exterminator says that all the entryways are sealed, and the mice are entering either through open screen doors, and possibly through the sewers/toilets. At this point I tell the tenants that the mice are coming in due to their negligence and I will split the cost of exterminator. We’ve had 4months of exterminator service and are still catching 1-2mice every few weeks.

Not sure what I should do at this point. Aside from the mice issue, the tenants are good. They pay on time and are low maintenance. But I don’t want mice to destroy the house, and it the exterminator says I will continue to have mice so long as thees tenants live there. Any advice? The exterminator refuses to use poisons bc the tenants have small dogs, so he has been setting traps.

They're month to month now, so I can just simply not renew lease and find new tenants. But I hate having to do turnovers. What do you guys think?