Dealing with them has been smooth.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, consider consulting a local property manager who can help you plan for the deferred maintenance and set up rental operations smoothly.

My client used to have a property-management company, and we found, once we took over managing his properties, that things actually ran more smoothly and the tenants are happier. 

A few examples:PMI if you put down less than 20%HOA fees or budgeting for your own maintenance costsZillow Estimates: I found Zillow can underestimate costs, so I add a bit more to their numbers to get a realistic idea.Hope the process is going smoothly for you!

I have another long term tenant in a different property and that runs smoothly.

What specific responsibilities does the previous manager have to ensure a smooth handover?

If you start communicating before things get all legal, then that shows everyone in the neighborhood that you are willing to work within the regs and with the neighbors in order to fix issues.If you aren't the problem, things are smooth with your STR, then you want to convince them that they should let things continue and penalize the problem properties and not yours.My 2 cents as per usual.

You delegate tasks to free yourself up, you don’t give them ownership over your key business assets.Property managers are ultimately just administrative assistants to help your business run more smoothly, you are the CEO, the one in charge and you need access to everything at all times.

If you think the mulch is somehow attracting these pests, maybe because it's wet from the sprinklers or something - perhaps swapping the mulch out for smooth rocks would help.

Keeping tenants informed and satisfied during the process ensures smooth occupancy transitions.