Mice in Air BNB

[Oneglassisnotenough]

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 .

A rural property will have mice around it. It's just come in from outside what do you park coextendí them to do?

Your complaint is that they failed to respond

No response at all only from Airbnb asking us to leave a review.
I am quite pissed off that the owners haven’t replied. I feel it’s rude and like they’re avoiding it and, as you say, they are hoping I will go away.
Going to put together another email to them and also get in touch with Airbnb.

I don't know why so many posters have been snide and unpleasant to the OP.
I'd be pissed off too.

Also not sure why people are assuming it's a field mouse. I'd guess it was a regular mouse as they smell and field mice don't. I'd also guess a regular mouse as I think it's more common even if it's in the countryside.

I'd be grossed out and I would expect compensation. Why wouldn't you?

That's really bad OP ! I trust you'll be covering the lack of response along with the mice problem in your review.

Write the review, stick to the facts but make it clear what your concerns are and that the owners aren’t responding to you.

Also please do escalate through the proper Airbnb channels, if only to prevent someone else finding themselves in the same situation.

Good luck and keep us posted!

There are some strange replies on here. I live in a rural property and we don't regularly have mice in the kitchen. We do sometimes leave packaged food items out on the worktops!
It's clear that a lot on here have no idea what a mouse infestation looks like. For a start, the smell is a dead giveaway. If Op smelt that nasty, musty smell as soon as she went into the kitchen then there were a lot of mice about. Visible droppings is another clue. Everything points to an ongoing infestation. That means mice getting at any food they can, weeing frequently as they go.
Mice aren't lurking outside houses constantly, waiting for the one night when a sealed pack of crumpets is left out in the kitchen and then diving in. 😂
So Op, personally I would leave a review saying that you are getting no response after highlighting serious concerns about the kitchen. I'm sure you won't be getting any refunds but maybe you can help future renters.

All this fuss over a little mouse.

I daresay the owners of the property have gone round cleaning and put rodent deterrents in place, they will contact the op eventually.

As the above poster says, a mouse infestation is a different matter altogether and the owners would have known if they'd had that. When single I rented a place that had endless mice and they chewed through the skirting boards!

This doesn't sound like an infestation. Things happen, nobody died, move on.

Write about mice and lack of response in your review to warn others.

I was actually saying that this has the signs of an infestation and I think it's unlikely that it was just a "little mouse". 😅
The kitchen was stinking. That's not one little mouse visiting for one little night.

We get the odd mouse visiting. It’s just one of those things. We’ve got a lot of measures in place to deter them, but they still get in occasionally. In rural cottages, it’s par for the course unfortunately.

Those posters who are saying they sometimes get a mouse indoors (which I completely get ) do you all have 4 little piles of droppings on the floor and that distinct mousy smell when you open the door to your kitchen ?

I can't believe some of the replies the OP is getting! I feel really sorry for the OP, I'd be chasing some sort of refund to be honest if it was me, I'd accept a partial refund but would not be fobbed off on this. It's completely unacceptable! You should be able to leave packaged food on a kitchen counter, and how disgusting that there were mice in your son's room at night! I can't believe they haven't even had the decency to reply to you, that shows what sort of people they are so I wouldn't hesitate to chase some sort of refund.

It is impossible to believe that the place had been cleaned before your arrival given there were droppings on the floor and the smell you described.

It is not your fault that the mice arrived and it is not to be expected in a rural property that is rented out.

I hope they respond and that you are compensated.

Biggest problem with air B and Bs is that they are in no way regulated or inspected unless they need a food and hygiene certificate.