All Forum Posts by: Robert T.

My lease states that I provide pest control twice a year and that rodents, roaches, and fleas are not my responsibility (as these are drawn in by nastiness or pets). 

Wasps can't be controlled? What? You can get what Nathan mentioned or I've even had carburetor or brake cleaner handy and shot them with success. The tenant suggesting getting a gardener to get rid of it is just lol. 

Deal with this all the time. It's typically the most sober individual of the group that wants to move in on behalf of the others. I find most times these are just a big waste of time. I'm a busy guy...like really busy. I always find time to take care of things. Mama working a 6 hour part time shift at dollar general and needing her afternoon nap cuz she's tired and I'm looking for her doesn't pull at my sympathy strings like they think it will 

Quote from @Jessica Young:

The AC was in perfect working order when we left it - worked flawlessly for the month after closing and was part of the inspection when we purchased obviously. We're putting a high end unit with maintenance plan in place in an emergency turnaround time, plus had the company leave them a portable unit for now, so we did the max we could other than hopping in a time machine.

We are out of the state so we need to rely on a handyman.

They went through in the walk through and everything was noted as-is. 

Dramatic is the perfect way to put it. They could just say "this is broken" or such but they make it into a whole day of texting or more.

There is no need for you to be texting them all day. It's a simple text like you mentioned. Acknowledge the issue, offer a solution, once it's agreed upon set up whatever that solution is between the tenant and service provider and deal with the service provider from that point on. 

Why are you dealing with this person? Some rando approaches you and starts shooting the breeze and now you feel some obligation to them? 

Your property will be ready when it's ready and they can fill out an application like everyone else. Don't get involved with people's BS. I went through this when I was remodeling a house. I work a full time job, married, kids, etc. I'm one of those people that does not like to be bothered when I'm busy. I ran off several just like you described with my natural crankiness. It rented in no time once it was ready.

They're Swiss? Remind them of who saved their *** in WW2..

The AC going out twice is kind of ridiculous. That's something that should be addressed in my opinion for the sake of keeping your property in good condition. I don't understand the wire shelf...you need a handyman to fix a wire shelf or is it a property that's not near you (I skimmed your post)? I like to have my properties in ready to rent condition with all of those things addressed. This should have been done during the walk through. Follow what your lease says. If they're supposed to be doing things they aren't doing then you need to address that immediately. It's unreasonable for them to be complaining about issues and then when you set up a time to have them corrected they act dramatic like they can't be bothered. If they can be bothered to complain to you they can also be bothered to have the issue fixed for them.

Tell them to get off their lazy *** and take the trash to the curb. If you feel like you can't deal with them, get rid of them, fix your issues during your vacancy and get someone else in the property. Or ride it out for the next 5 months.

Quote from @Henry T.:

Craziest, communistic, most unamerican thing I've ever heard? Watching the government tell landlords they can't evict someone for not paying rent. 

 You left out "while holding YOU , the landlord, strictly to the letter of your lease with the tenant (s)" i.e. 24 hours notice to enter, timely repairs, any maintenance/pest control agreements you had in place, etc.

Rabbits sneaking under the fence and "burning his (you mean 'your') backyard" and "pooping all over the place"? I would make sure this tenant isn't doing drugs on your property.. 

Good luck 

Quote from @Dan H.:

Quote from @Nathan Gesner:

Quote from @John Morgan:

I always get at least a couple texts from tenants during spring time about rodents in the house or attic. My pest control guy uses bait boxes and they seem to work every time. I’m going to start doing it myself. What bait has been effective for you guys? I use the Tomcat bait and boxes from Home Depot, but it doesn’t always work. Whatever my pest control guy uses works 100% every time and I can’t get a hold of him anymore.

Bait stations with TomCat have worked well for me. You place them around the house or under the house, not inside the house. Mice are attracted to the bait, they nibble on it, then they die. It should be attractive enough that they won't even bother going inside the house. The problem is that you have to keep them full. I have a vacation rental in the country and have to add bait every 1-2 months.

I bought these: https://www.amazon.com/Extermi...

And you can buy the bait blocks in buckets. One bucket lasts me a year and that's in an area with a lot of mice.

 Do you know that the poison does not transfer to animals that eat the rodents?  I do not use the poisons because of the fear of the poisoned rodent being eaten by another animal that ends up being killed by the poison.

 Nathan is correct. The "dosage" is typically not enough to kill a much larger predator. But in my experience these predators typically don't go after prey that is sick or dying anyway. We're talking snakes, owls, hawks, etc. There is also bait that isn't necessarily a poison, but it works the same as Neem Oil does on insects. It tricks them into thinking they're full and they don't eat. I believe with rodents it makes them think they aren't thirsty. 

I don't understand the issue with "squatter's rights". I own a property. If I show up and someone is there who doesn't have permission or shouldn't be there, and the police are "backed up for months", then conscious or unconscious they're getting out of the house. 

Quote from @Nathan Gesner:

Quote from @John Morgan:

Thank you, I will buy this! I end up paying $100 every time for my exterminator and this is probably what he’s using. Lol. I’ve had a lot of large rats at rentals in the last few years. These boxes look big enough for fat rats. 

I like my pest control guy, he's a good friend and does a great job. However, sending him one time to throw out bait blocks is the same price as me buying six bait stations and keeping them full for a year. Definitely worth the price.

@Robert T. the problem is that you are letting the mice inside, which then creates an odor/health/removal problem. I prefer bait stations because they are safe to leave outside or under the house (dogs, cats, and kids can't get into them) so the mice can die outside and never enter the home.

The other bad thing with snap traps: you can typically only kill one at a time. Unless you're a super hunter like my son (15 years ago). He managed to catch two mice in the same trap, twice in the same month!

 The problem with the bait stations is they go off and die...in your walls, attic, etc. I'd rather "catch them" then let their little corpses rot in places I'd rather not have them. And putting traps in the house doesn't entice them any more than their natural instinct to be pests to humans. 

The traps I was speaking of are in my shop anyway where there is no food source, yet they still like to come in and nibble on spark plug wires, rubber hoses, etc. I've used them in rental houses during vacancies only because I'm not sure (unless I find clues) of their presence. When the tenants move in, my lease specifically excludes rodents and roaches as these are things typically brought in by nastiness. I pay for the bug guy twice a year at my places. If they're leaving trash and food around the house and attract rodents and roaches, that's for them to take care of, and if they are doing that, I will find out and take care of them.