Help please! Have I done something dangerous?

[FreshFancyFrogglette]

Prepared to be told off, and that I'm an idiot. Conversely I may be worrying over nothing! But need immediate advice.

Got a rodent problem. Constant scratching against a particular wall. LL been contacted, trying to chase the rent o kill people hired to sort it out.. No joy, been over a week.

Tonight got too much.. My dd is scared. The scratching against the wall is constant, and loud. She's freightend by it. Anyway at my wits end I looked up things I can do in the meantime to deter them from coming in. Found out about essential oils. I happened to have a kit id been given ages ago. So I liberally dowsed the skirting board and wall, with the whole bottle. OK, the scratching has died down a bit. BUT my dd called from her bedroom, a good few meters from where I dowsed the wall, saying her throat is itchy. I looked up essential oils online (yes, I probably should have done that first, not knowing much about them!). And apparently they are NOT entirely safe. I thought they wouldn't work to be honest. Never entered my mind that they could be dangerous.

For the first time in a week the scratching has slowed down. But I'm worried about my dd. What should I do? Have I put her at risk of breathing difficulties? She's 10, had asthma as a baby, but not since.

Is she safe tonight? Or do we need to do something? Really don't want to open the windows as they all open onto a roof space where the rodents are coming in from. Thanks.

She shouldn't stay in that room tonight. I would suggest sitting with her for about an hour to make sure she's ok and not having breathing difficulties and then letting her go to bed on the sofa or wherever you can't smell the essential oils.

Our flat is small.. Her room is the furthest from the wall with the essential oils. But it's still only a few feet away. I keep knocking to check on her, but I've told her to keep her door shut as it will keep the fumes out.

The sofa is in the room where the oils are.

Now the bloody thing is a scratching again.. Nowhere near as much as it was though..

I wish we had somewhere else to go. I've had enough of this place.

Which oil did you use? Have you googled the specific one to see what effects it might have?

Snap traps are cheap and the most humane way to get rid of mice.

No idea about the oils, but have you contacted the council about the rodents? They can send someone out and might be quicker than going through your landlord

You're meant to put lavendar oil onto cotton wool balls and put them by vents or around the room if rodents are getting in. Essential oils are irritants so too much is bad and can cause reactions. You need to open the windows I'm afraid.

Lavendar is actually a suggested treatment for lung issues though, so it's not that bad. Just too much can be irritating.

@user127819

She shouldn't stay in that room tonight. I would suggest sitting with her for about an hour to make sure she's ok and not having breathing difficulties and then letting her go to bed on the sofa or wherever you can't smell the essential oils.

This^

To think we have MLM essential oil sellers all over social media telling people they can ingest EO! They really are not that safe. I hope you find somewhere to sleep that is out of reach of the smell.

well, what did you douse it with?

To me, itchy throat suggests an allergy - i get it with hay-fever. If you have a child anti histamine she can take safely it might help?

Get her some fresh air, and @user127819 advice.

If seriously worried or no improvement call 111 and obviously if her breathing becomes impaired call 999 but as long as it was just pure essential oil im guessing shell be alright with fresh air.

Ok so it was citronella (citrus) essential oil. Ive checked on DD, she is in the room furthest from the wall. The wall which the rat is trapped in/under is the one which joins my bedroom to the living room/kitchen (open plan).Im trying to do a diagram to explain. But basically shes furthest from the essential oil in her room.

She has the door shut in her room, and a pillow against the bottom of the door to stop the fumes getting in. ive knocked on her door a few tmes, and she says shes fine now. Ive passed her a hot water bottle throguh the door. I wont be sleeping myself tonight due to the rat sitch, so ill keep checking on her throughout the night, makes sure the cough doesnt get worse. Now the essential oil is wearing off the rat has started scratching again. Im waiting on the 'Any pest'/'Rentokill' person, because the Landlord has a contract with them so has OKed them to come in, But its been over a week now, and no contact, and i keep ringing the number they gave me but they dont pick up, or reply to my messages.

We had rats recently thank god they've fucked off now. You can't really stop the scratching unless you have access to the hole they've made. But I will say once they've gone get some steel wool and block the hole up with that.

Our dog killed quite a few of ours and the rat man did the rest but we didn't realise until really late that we had them 🤮

Im thinking of getting my dads dog up here for a bit to deter them. Not really allowed dogs in here becasue its rented, but im past caring at this point. Start a new job on Monday, and im at my wits end because of lack of sleep, and anxiety.

Im glad you managed to get rid of yours :). Were they in the wall? or under the floor? i cant see any droppings anywhere, a cafe was below me and it shut down 6 months ago. I think what happened is that building work taking place underneath has pushed one up and its stuck. But i really dont want it breaking through and getting in here.

Can you escalate with LL or otherwise take advice from an independent party?

Eek at no sleep tonight, I hope you get it sorted quickly.

I had to wait over a month to get a new boiler when i had no hot water or heating. I only got it sorted by withholding rent. I rhavent got it in me to go down that route again (stressful!).. But i dont know what else i can do to get this sorted, ive rung the LL during the week, twice in one day one day, I even asked them for the name and number of the person so i could contact rentokill personally. They dont answer my calls or answerphone messages. do you think the presence of a sog in the flat will deter the rat/s?

*Dog

Are you sure it's a rat and not a bird or cat rats usually gnaw their way out of anything or die trying

Not sure what area you live in, but landlords are much more accountable now. Most councils have a law that they must have a licence. This type of complaint can hopefully be made to the council about your landlord. Losing their licence would be a big incentive for them to act now.

stoppissingonmyheather it could be a bird. Ive got a video recording of the scrabbling/scratching. Most people who have heard it says it sounds like a big rodent. I haven't heard any squawking or squeeking. Just claws against wall relentlessly. I thought it was a solid wall, but i think its come up from beneath where they have been doing building work. The essential oil, and loud noises, are the only things that stop it scraping against the wall 24/7. I don't understand why its not dead yet if its is trapped. Makes sense that its under the floor, scraping to get in through the skirting board. Im terrified that eventually its going to do it and get in!

Im with a hosuing association. They are bloody useless. Ive chased them, and chased them, and rang rentokill myself. but theyve just ignored me. I dont know what else to do!!! Council wont be open until Monday now, and i start my new job then.

I hope your daughter will be ok soon, once the smell of the oil has gone down, but I don't know anything about these potent oils at all. or how long the smell lingers.

I think having a dog in the room might well not work, if it's the kind of dog who will hear. or smell a rat, because it might well start scratching and clawing at the wall,and make things worse, not to mention barking at it as well.

One of my cats brought a rat into my kitchen a while ago, but thankfully it was dead when I saw it, and wasn't running about in any rooms.

Good luck in getting a rat catcher soon.!

Contact Living Rent or Acorn tenants union, depending on where you live . If you google them ,they will show what areas they cover
You join them and the idea is they support you with issues like this that your landlord isn't dealing with . People power. A housing association should be ashamed leaving their tenants to wait for this to get sorted . Hope the wee one is okay x

Thanks everyone for your messages! I'm going a bit mental now. Just trying to find things to put around the skirting board to stop it scratching away.

Ill do what I can. Try to get people to hold my LL to account. Just hope it's not too late and the place gets over run. I want out of this place. My new job on Monday is a step towards that, but at this rate I'm not guna be up to much cus I can't get any sleep ever.

Thanks for the help and replies though. Puts my mind at rest about the oil.

@FreshFancyFrogglette look up your local councillors, read their backgrounds and select the one who looks like they will be most helpful and ask them to intervene.

Had to do so a while ago over a housing issue and they were brilliant.

Thanx Tara. I'll have a look. I just want them to get it sorted now :(. Not got much energy to be chasing ppl. But I found some albus oil bubble bath, emptied it into the space between the carpet and the skirting board, where the sound has been loudest, and they've stopped scratching since that! I'm cautious to say they're gone, because as soon as the smell dies down am sure they will be scratching to come back in again. But I would recommend that to ppl! Essential oils, and albums oil (peppermint) bubble bath. Gone mental pouting that on the carpet, but desperate times.... Actually managed to pass out for an hr or so on the couch.