Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Holiday cottage ant invasion

29 replies

AntsAntsAntsAnts · 04/05/2022 10:21

Sitting here in our ££ holiday cottage in overpriced seaside down/honeypot/theme park set up to fleece tourists* and coming to the end of our week where we have been plagued by ants. We noticed them the first morning and reported it and to give the letting agent their credit they were prompt in dropping ant traps round etc etc but we have been plagued night and day with ants all over the kitchen and dining area.

We have had to eat out for almost every meal because even having scrubbed the kitchen, wall and floors the ants keep coming back and it’s disgusting to be eating with ants wandering round. We even resorted to tcp as it was all I could find in the cottage so the place now stinks.

In addition, the place is very tired now with peeling paint and plaster crumbling, random stains on walls, kitchen cabinets, and something that looks like blood on one windowsill.

The rental company are taking the position that the contract is with the owners and that it’s not their problem. It’s really ruined the holiday for us, it’s been so stressful. I’m not talking one or two ants, I’m talking hundreds, multiple times a day.

I’d really like a partial refund, but it doesn’t seem likely. And most of all I’d just like to be at home. Which is a shame because it’s actually a really lovely cottage, or was one once before it became run down.

*delete as appropriate

Holiday cottage ant invasion
Holiday cottage ant invasion
OP posts:
AntsAntsAntsAnts · 04/05/2022 10:22

Ugh accidentally made everything bold 🙄

OP posts:
hedgehoglurker · 04/05/2022 10:32

Ant powder probably would have been effective more quickly. Traps take a while to work and I find less effective.

Good luck with a partial refund. As you said, you probably won't get it but I understand how gross and off-putting ants are.

AntsAntsAntsAnts · 04/05/2022 11:00

The ants are totally not bothered by the traps - I think they have not even been inside them!

OP posts:
womaninatightspot · 04/05/2022 11:05

Do you know where they are coming in? A kettle of boiling water washes away the ant trail scent markers. Ant powder for the ones left inside.

Carpediem15 · 04/05/2022 11:07

Try Talc powder - we use it extensively in Asia and it works. Sprinkle liberally where they come into the property and they won't cross it. We also use chalk sticks on white walls to stop them moving up it.

AntsAntsAntsAnts · 04/05/2022 11:08

I suspect they are living in the walls/coming through a couple of cracks. The kitchen is in a basement so vulnerable I guess

OP posts:
bigbluebus · 04/05/2022 11:25

We had an ant infestation in our kitchen a few weeks ago. A generous squirt of ant powder on the gravel border outside the kitchen window (near the sink outlet pipe) got rid of them overnight. Not seen a single ant in the kitchen since then.

AntsAntsAntsAnts · 04/05/2022 16:08

Thanks for the recommendations for ant powder, that’s really good to know. The tcp seems to have helped for now, but we won’t really know until tonight as they seem to be most active at night

OP posts:
AntsAntsAntsAnts · 04/05/2022 17:30

Omg! I’ve just seen that the rental company are advertising this cottage for next week at late availability for half of what we paid!! It was so tempting to comment on their Facebook post warning everyone about the ants but I was very restrained and screenshotted instead

OP posts:
Testina · 04/05/2022 17:37

Why shouldn’t they offer it half price given that it’s a last minute availability and your week presumably includes a bank holiday so would be a higher price anyway?

They’re just ants. Having to eat out all the time? Don’t be such a melt!

Powder better than traps and definitely the holiday company should act instead of you - but did you tell them the traps weren’t effective?

Chamomileteaplease · 04/05/2022 17:41

But why should the OP have to be out shopping for ant powder etc on her expensive holiday??

I think you should definitely get a refund - sounds stressful and not a proper holiday!

Testina · 04/05/2022 17:44

She doesn’t have to be. One more phone call (hardly onerous) to the management company to say the traps aren’t working.

I don’t think it’s fair to get to the end of the week and then tell them the traps weren’t effective, and angle for a refund 🤷🏻‍♀️

As for saying it’s stressful… huge wasp nest, maybe. Ants? Nah.

AntsAntsAntsAnts · 04/05/2022 17:48

To be honest @Testina I would probably be inclined to agree with you, except I’ve seen the scale of the ant infestation. This is not just a few ants, it’s a seething mass of hundreds of ants that requires cleaning several times a day as they are all over the dining table, walls, floor, and kitchen surfaces. Ants carry salmonella and E. coli so there is a risk from their presence in the kitchen.

and I’m not saying that we should be paying the same, late availability and all, but a £20 voucher on a £1k cottage seems a bit inadequate tbh

OP posts:
AntsAntsAntsAnts · 04/05/2022 17:49

Err, we have been emailing photos daily. We haven’t waited until the end to complain!

OP posts:
Crackercrazy · 04/05/2022 18:15

That sounds awful. I would continue to push for a partial refund.

MrsMigginsCat · 04/05/2022 18:36

I work for a holiday letting agency. We would offer a partial refund in this situation. Your contract is with the agency so they should sort it. In our case, it would just reduce the money that the owner earned for that week which might make them realise that they need to sort it urgently for future bookings!

Blarting · 04/05/2022 18:57

I think a bit of a refund, but certainly not 50%. But to be honest, I would've just dealt with it the same way I would treat an ant infestation at home.

Hot water and ant powder.

ThreeLeggedCat · 04/05/2022 19:16

Ants are not a public health risk and don’t carry E. coli or salmonella.

DilemmaDelilah · 04/05/2022 20:00

Just for future information - smearing peppermint toothpaste into the cracks that the ants are using to get in should stop them getting in. Ants avoid peppermint and the toothpaste acts as a temporary block in the crack. It worked very well for us in a holiday flat in Malta!

Whulfc86 · 04/05/2022 20:10

I manage short term rentals, we would have had pest control round asap. Not fair just to drop some traps off and let you deal with it!

AntsAntsAntsAnts · 04/05/2022 20:33

I had forgotten how much I love MN for the really random but really useful advice. I will never again travel without minty toothpaste and talc because ants are a pest in self catered seaside cottages. But this is on another level!

thanks also to those who have professional knowledge of this area, it’s really nice to know that other people would sort this out. It seems that it’s a legal grey area regarding who has the responsibility and some agents use this to shirk responsibility around cleaning and pest control.

I’m not expecting a 50% reduction, just something (significantly) more than 2% would be nice. I was more astounded that considering they know there is a significant ant situation here (they have photo and video) they are still pushing for new occupants the moment we leave!

OP posts:
SeekingBalance · 04/05/2022 20:43

Op I think it's disgraceful you've been expected to just put up. I wouldn't and would want at least 50% refund, your on holiday. The whole idea is to relax, not be putting up with an infestation. I cannot believe previous posters not thinking this is a big deal.

If prospective holiday makers saw those pictures of the ants, do we really assume they wouldn't be bothered and would continue to book? So why should you have to accept this situation because you had no prior warning. The management company have dealt with this terribly.

chatterbug22 · 04/05/2022 21:03

Oh just reading that makes my skin crawl. It’s not acceptable is it. We once had beetles on holiday, found them at the bottom of the weetabix packet on the last day. Dread to think how long they’d been there as they were crawling inside the biscuits!! Sorry no help.

AntsAntsAntsAnts · 04/05/2022 21:23

The other alarming thing about this cottage is the loud footsteps on the landing at 9.30 each night. The ones that are not made by any member of this family 😱

OP posts:
Bumblefuzz · 04/05/2022 22:03

AntsAntsAntsAnts · 04/05/2022 17:30

Omg! I’ve just seen that the rental company are advertising this cottage for next week at late availability for half of what we paid!! It was so tempting to comment on their Facebook post warning everyone about the ants but I was very restrained and screenshotted instead

I wouldn't just be commenting about the creepy crawly welcome party, I'd be attaching photos!

Swipe left for the next trending thread