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Original poster

Mice in Air BNB

115 replies

Oneglassisnotenough · 09/04/2023 16:45

Hi there … we stayed in an Airbnb and discovered a mouse in the middle of the night after hearing rustling in the kitchen. We went into the kitchen and saw a mouse in a carrier bag we had put down that had food in it. As soon as we opened the bag it was gone as quick as a flash- so unable to take any photos or even see where it went.
We have emailed the owners . No reply as yet but just wondering what , if anything, we can expect from them regarding this?
For context: the kitchen smelt “off “ and weird when we first entered the property and I opened a kitchen window- but my husband told me to close it as it was cold. I have no evidence as proof as such and no photos.
It was a rural property and we are home now.

Any advice would be appreciated please .

OP posts:
IAcceptCookies · 09/04/2023 18:13

Droppings wouldn't be "all over the floor", they'd be in a pile behind the cooker or a cupboard, or at least at the edge of the room.

It is unpleasant, you're right, but there's not much that can be done about it now.

Original poster
Oneglassisnotenough · 09/04/2023 18:20

IAcceptCookies · 09/04/2023 18:13

Droppings wouldn't be "all over the floor", they'd be in a pile behind the cooker or a cupboard, or at least at the edge of the room.

It is unpleasant, you're right, but there's not much that can be done about it now.

They were in four different places on the kitchen floor.
why do I feel that I am having to justify that there was mice/a mouse in an Airbnb accommodation that we had paid a lot of money for.
Jeez. They were there . And it was gross .

OP posts:
Original poster
Oneglassisnotenough · 09/04/2023 18:21

Agree not much can be done about it to be honest. We did try to call the maintenance manager twice but there was no answer or voicemail so unable to leave a message and he never got back to us either. All a bit pants really

OP posts:
Redebs · 09/04/2023 18:25

There shouldn't be mice in a house. Even if you don't come across them, they will have peed on surfaced everywhere.
You deserve a refund and an apology.

People saying 'field mouse' are wrong. These aren't a bit of harmless wildlife that's accidentally wandered in. These are pests that need to be kept out of places where people live.

Lemoncurd · 09/04/2023 18:27

Just got back from staying in a cottage for 4 nights. Didn't see any evidence but every night once in bed and in the early hours we could hear something running around and scratching in the ceiling above our heads. Our room was below the living space and kitchen so we made sure everything was put in the fridge/bread bin etc.

Plan to let the agent know so they can keep an eye out but didn't expect anything back.

Daughter was convinced there were bedbugs in her room but I'm a bit on the fence over raising that in case they were just other bites. She had the tell tale signs of rows of bites in the mornings (when skin hadn't been exposed during the day) and there were a couple of little blood-like/dark spots on her bedding. Taking precautions with our stuff now back home, just in case!

Georgiepud · 09/04/2023 18:30

I'm not sure the Airbnb owner can be held responsible for visiting wildlife, especially if the property is rural. Was there anyone in the week before you. Did you have to pay a cleaning charge, £60 or so?

SlipSlidinAway · 09/04/2023 18:35

Oneglassisnotenough · 09/04/2023 18:21

Agree not much can be done about it to be honest. We did try to call the maintenance manager twice but there was no answer or voicemail so unable to leave a message and he never got back to us either. All a bit pants really

I'd add that to your complaint.

SlipSlidinAway · 09/04/2023 18:38

Daughter was convinced there were bedbugs in her room but I'm a bit on the fence over raising that in case they were just other bites. She had the tell tale signs of rows of bites in the mornings (when skin hadn't been exposed during the day) and there were a couple of little blood-like/dark spots on her bedding. Taking precautions with our stuff now back home, just in case!

What other sorts of bites do you think they could be at this time of year?!!

SlipSlidinAway · 09/04/2023 18:40

Georgiepud · 09/04/2023 18:30

I'm not sure the Airbnb owner can be held responsible for visiting wildlife, especially if the property is rural. Was there anyone in the week before you. Did you have to pay a cleaning charge, £60 or so?

No? You don't think they should have bait boxes outside? And perhaps a notice in the kitchen reminding guests to be scrupulously careful about putting food away? And perhaps a contact number that is answered if guests have concerns while they are there?

ReadersD1gest · 09/04/2023 18:52

BungleandGeorge · 09/04/2023 18:07

If you’d recognised the droppings (if that’s what they were) and acted then they could have done something about it. There’s no proof that you didn’t let a mouse in through the open window so there’s not much can be done now. Apart from report it so that they can check it out before new people arrive

Do mice really enter houses by climbing through windows?!

EyesOnThePies · 09/04/2023 18:52

OK, well old houses / cottages are almost impossible to make completely mouse proof. And in rural areas mice do come in.

But, yes, it sounds as if there were mouse droppings on the floor, and the musty smell could well have been a dead mouse decomposing somewhere. It is an odd and very distinctive smell. Almost chemical, musty and a bit cardboardy.

And evidence of mice in more than one room and on worktops is a bit of an infestation.

Scottishskifun · 09/04/2023 19:05

How long are you staying?

Personally I would just get a few traps and set them with peanut butter (mice love it!)
Yes it's not ideal but if it's rural then mice are an ongoing issue especially over Winter as they tend to come in. It's nigh on impossible to stop them and if there wasn't people in before you then the owner is probably not aware of the additional guests.

They are most likely field mice (brown/tan colour with a white belly).

L3ThirtySeven · 09/04/2023 22:58

SlipSlidinAway · 09/04/2023 18:40

No? You don't think they should have bait boxes outside? And perhaps a notice in the kitchen reminding guests to be scrupulously careful about putting food away? And perhaps a contact number that is answered if guests have concerns while they are there?

Show quote history

Why on Earth would you put bait boxes outside a house to attract field mice to said house? I realise these have poison in them, but mice are social creatures. They forage in family groups. The bait boxes would get one mouse and the rest would just pop into the house.

Air BnB hosts shouldn’t be responsible for imparting common sense regarding basic food storage to town folk or even foreign tourists.

You don’t need a phone number when you can message them online. It’s an Air BnB not a hotel or cottage company. You’re getting what you pay for tbh and that doesn’t include a 24/7 concierge service.

SlipSlidinAway · 09/04/2023 23:06

@L3ThirtySeven - um, well we had mice in our attic. We'd hear them scurrying across the attic floor. Very old house, rural location, restricted access to parts of attic, electrician found chewed wiring in accessible part of attic so something had to be done.

Local pest control advised bait boxes outside. No problem for last two years. We've never seen/heard any evidence of mice in any rooms.

L3ThirtySeven · 09/04/2023 23:10

SlipSlidinAway · 09/04/2023 23:06

@L3ThirtySeven - um, well we had mice in our attic. We'd hear them scurrying across the attic floor. Very old house, rural location, restricted access to parts of attic, electrician found chewed wiring in accessible part of attic so something had to be done.

Local pest control advised bait boxes outside. No problem for last two years. We've never seen/heard any evidence of mice in any rooms.

In your case the mice were living inside, and the bait boxes were to lure them outside. Surely you can see that is the opposite of the OPs issue where a field mouse has come in from outside for a forage?

SlipSlidinAway · 09/04/2023 23:18

@L3ThirtySeven - mice don't need to be lured outside. They have to go out to find food! We're surrounded by fields so there are plenty outside as well!

Bibbetybobbity · 09/04/2023 23:25

MN is weird sometimes. Apparently the OP is unreasonable not to expect mice and also to blame. Random. I’d be upset too OP and I’d want a partial refund. The fact that you couldn’t get through to anyone/maintenance isn’t great either and I think the home owner would have a much stronger case if they/someone had been contactable. Bet you’re glad to be home!

L3ThirtySeven · 09/04/2023 23:35

Bibbetybobbity · 09/04/2023 23:25

MN is weird sometimes. Apparently the OP is unreasonable not to expect mice and also to blame. Random. I’d be upset too OP and I’d want a partial refund. The fact that you couldn’t get through to anyone/maintenance isn’t great either and I think the home owner would have a much stronger case if they/someone had been contactable. Bet you’re glad to be home!

OP left a plate with cheese on it out overnight. How is that not begging for a mouse in the house?

MrsSkylerWhite · 09/04/2023 23:37

Mice in a rural property isn’t unusual.

SlipSlidinAway · 09/04/2023 23:40

@L3ThirtySeven - sounds like there was already a mouse/mice in the house, which would have been the case whether or not cheese was left out. Or are you suggesting that there was a mouse outside the house one night that sensed there was some cheese available in the house and broke in to get it? Confused

Jonei · 09/04/2023 23:43

You're not at fault op. The mice were clearly there before you. There's probably a gap or hole somewhere that they've squeezed through and moved in. I'd flag it up with airbnb.

Original poster
Oneglassisnotenough · 09/04/2023 23:47

Appreciate all the comments though can’t quite see how I am to blame!!
For information, as upthread someone said “you get what you pay for”.. felt that implies they thought we were paying to stay in a shack.
It was almost £300 per night and certainly not a cheap or rundown place. At all.

And as for me leaving a plate out with cheese on.. it was in another room quite a distance away from the kitchen and was a very very small piece of cheese which my 12 year old had left on the side table before he went to bed. I did not know about this until the next day.

As for the black things on the floor - they clearly were droppings and the smell in the kitchen was horrible. Very musty and weird as I said already- It hit me hard every time I entered the kitchen and even when we first got there it was there.

I just cannot see how this is my fault 🤷‍♀️

OP posts:
ShortSilence · 09/04/2023 23:48

Mice do not materialise in uninfested houses overnight purely because someone puts down a plate with cheese on it Hmm

And if a property is infested, yes most droppings would be in semi-hidden places, but a few might well be visible here and there on the floor of the kitchen.

The hay-like smell won’t be a decomposing mouse; that has a nastier edge. The basic hay-like smell is their piss, which gets everywhere.

ShortSilence · 09/04/2023 23:50

Crossed posts op, yeah I wouldn’t be happy either.

Jonei · 09/04/2023 23:50

I just cannot see how this is my fault

That's because it isn't your fault.

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