Did I spend money on an exterminator too soon?

[Paul S.]

Hi everyone. About 2 years ago, a tenant in a townhouse caught a few mice in the basement over a few weeks. The problem stopped, but he caught 2 more mice recently. I called an exterminator for a treatment. It will cost about $600.

I wonder if I have spent the money too soon.

I am not an expert in pest control.

What if the tenant left a door open or something, and a few rodents slipped in?

However, if there IS a nest in the house, I think it would be good to have it professionally treated soon.

What would my fellow landlords have done?

Cheers,

Paul

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Paul S.:

It's difficult to answer without knowing all the facts. Is the tenant maintaining a clean home, or do they leave food around that would attract pests? Are mice common in this area?

Hire pest control and follow them around to see what they do. They will typically look for access points where the mice are getting in and seal them. Then they will put down poison that the mice eat, scurry off, and die. They may put down a couple extra traps. It depends on the situation.

Bottom line, they won't do anything that you can't do yourself. I have a house in the country with tons of field mice. I put bait stations like this: https://www.amazon.com/Mouse-Stations-Scented-Outdoor-Indoor... and fill them with bait like this: https://www.amazon.com/Tomcat-All-Weather-Bait-Chunx/dp/B000...

As long as I keep the bait stations full, the mice never go inside the house. If I stop filling the bait stations, I will have a half dozen mice in the house within a month.