Rat/Mice in Rental Property

[trd2343]

Hi everyone, I have a rat/mice problem in my rental property and I was wondering if someone can give me some advice on how to tackle it.


The rental property is on the main floor of a house. There's currently one tenant (a family of four) living there.

There is confirmed sighting of rat droppings, but I have no idea where they are coming from, in, hiding etc.

I dealt with rat/mice in my own garage before with sticky trap, and I was scared to death when I had to deal with it.

Should I call a pest management company, and do you guys have anyone in mind?

I figure if I laid mouse traps or sticky trap, it may frighten the tenants living there when they see a dead or live mouse (I'd be scared for sure).

Thanks

[fliptuner]

Call an exterminator

[stewie]

similar question - My neighbors house is a rental house and they've what seems to be a rather large rat problem living in their attic. There's 6 traps in my parents back yard, those black box ones where they go in but can't get out, and there's a new rat in there at least every 2-3 days. We've seen the rats come in and out of their roof through the old soffits, jump down to their deck railing, jump into a giant tree on their property which hangs well into our yard,goes to the top of the fence and from there they jump into my parents apple tree. The tree is kept clean all apples that fall off are picked up that day, but their tree is a gong show...we've even had an arborist come in a month ago to clean shit up which wasn't cheap but still everyday we find them in the yard. They've talked to their landlord but he hasn't done shit all in years. We've tried talking to him in the past but since he doesn't live there (or speak english that well) it's not easy to get it through to him.

With the amount we've killed it's kind of frightening to even estimate how many rats are living in their attic and the damage they're doing inside there.
what steps can we take to solve this peacefully?

[Acura604]

i had an issue in my brand new home ... so what I did was :

1. go through every nook and cranny, under the sink, every area in the home where there is a good size gap or hole leading to who knows where... so under sinks, baseboard heaters, corners, furnace rooms, behind oven, etc.

2. i purchased some crack filler spray that expands into a tough foam and filled the small holes/cracks with it. this helped solve the issue ... for now.

Keep in mind, as winter approaches - these rodents are going to make every effort to find some place warm.. LIKE a house!!! so get on it asaP! if they get into the walls, you're hooped - call an exterminator!

[fliptuner]

Originally Posted by stewie

similar question - My neighbors house is a rental house and they've what seems to be a rather large rat problem living in their attic. There's 6 traps in my parents back yard, those black box ones where they go in but can't get out, and there's a new rat in there at least every 2-3 days. We've seen the rats come in and out of their roof through the old soffits, jump down to their deck railing, jump into a giant tree on their property which hangs well into our yard,goes to the top of the fence and from there they jump into my parents apple tree. The tree is kept clean all apples that fall off are picked up that day, but their tree is a gong show...we've even had an arborist come in a month ago to clean shit up which wasn't cheap but still everyday we find them in the yard. They've talked to their landlord but he hasn't done shit all in years. We've tried talking to him in the past but since he doesn't live there (or speak english that well) it's not easy to get it through to him.

With the amount we've killed it's kind of frightening to even estimate how many rats are living in their attic and the damage they're doing inside there.
what steps can we take to solve this peacefully?

Have you checked to see if there's anything the city can do, in terms of talking to the owner?

[trd2343]

@stewie That must have sucked when the problem spreads to you

@Acura604 Do they usually hide inside the house? Would it be a problem if I trap them and they rot and die (or that doesn't happen and they will eventually just find a way out and leave?)

I realize that there was a similar thread posted, but I guess our situation is different because the mouse are inside a building, wish it was outside.

So does anyone have any exterminator that they call?

[tiger_handheld]

call this guy:

Rid All Pest Control Services Business Review in Surrey, BC - Mainland British Columbia BBB

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

Have you checked to see if there's anything the city can do, in terms of talking to the owner?

my guess is if their rat problem is inside nothing city can do. know of a situation where someone was essentially hoarding in their backyard where it was basically a garbage dump that housed rats and the city issued them a warning to clear it out or they'll take action (can't recall if it was clean it up on owners dime or get the home condemned)

but if trees are over hanging on to your property i think you're within your right to clear the branches. it's their responsibility so i don't know if you can stick them with the bill if you do it but i think it's a civil matter at that point?

[m3thods]

Originally Posted by trd2343

@Acura604 Do they usually hide inside the house? Would it be a problem if I trap them and they rot and die (or that doesn't happen and they will eventually just find a way out and leave?)

Well, anything that decomposes will smell. So if it's in your house, you'll be dealing with the smell of death (literally).

Worse, if you use sticky traps and leave them they will try everything they can to get out. That includes gnawing at their limbs to set themselves free. So not only will you likely need to find the mouse if it's not in the trap, but also the mess left behind from its struggle.

Please don't use sticky traps. It's a lot less jarring to deal with a dead mouse/rat in a snap trap than a struggling dying one in a sticky trap.

[kross9]

Originally Posted by trd2343

@Acura604 Do they usually hide inside the house? Would it be a problem if I trap them and they rot and die (or that doesn't happen and they will eventually just find a way out and leave?)

In my parent old town house we had a rat die by getting stuck in between the outside side vinyl siding and the wooded wall. I guess the fresh air vent carried the smell into the house. for the longest time we couldnt figure what it was.

year or so later dad and myself were cleaning the side yard found what i thought a branch was going into the side vinyl pulled the 'branch' and out a dead rat corpse!

[Traum]

Originally Posted by kross9

In my parent old town house we had a rat die by getting stuck in between the outside side vinyl siding and the wooded wall. I guess the fresh air vent carried the smell into the house. for the longest time we couldnt figure what it was.

year or so later dad and myself were cleaning the side yard found what i thought a branch was going into the side vinyl pulled the 'branch' and out a dead rat corpse!

This is the exactly the reason why I do not favour using rat poison. The little bugger is not going to die right away after eating up that meal of death, and then who knows where it'll die when the poison eventually kicks in. If it is anywhere in the house, it'll likely leave a smelly mess. And then there is the fact that a poisoned rat corpse might get eaten by other wild life (coyote, owl, etc.?), and it'll end up harming those guys as well.

[4444]

Originally Posted by Traum

This is the exactly the reason why I do not favour using rat poison. The little bugger is not going to die right away after eating up that meal of death, and then who knows where it'll die when the poison eventually kicks in. If it is anywhere in the house, it'll likely leave a smelly mess. And then there is the fact that a poisoned rat corpse might get eaten by other wild life (coyote, owl, etc.?), and it'll end up harming those guys as well.

usually these poisons should be harmless to larger animals, and they make the rat / mouse extremely thirsty. they are meant to work by making the rat / mouse search out water and drink itself to death... humane? maybe not, but it generally makes it not your problem.

if you have rats in your house, a) cut back any trees (usually rats can jump, so a good couple of feet is needed), Norwegian climbing rats do just that (climb), so even tree cut back may not be good enough
b) get in the attic and close up any small hole, literally anything the size of a dime can be a starting point for a mouse / rat (field mouse will get through a dime sized hole).

use regular old school traps, never use the sticky pads (incredibly inhumane) and the poison isn't really the best either - quick death is what is needed - yes you have the clean up the dead body, but just deal with it (or pay someone to deal with it). do get the big ones (the ones that could break your hands), Norwegian climbing rats are usually about 1 foot long (body) - add another foot for their tail... i once had a big trap, didn't kill the rat right away... i wasn't happy about this, rats in lower mainland are BIG! (blame the ports for bringing the big ones over from Europe)