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Property/DIY

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Original poster

Aaahh..Mouse spotted in house, shall I wait for landlord to act?

23 replies

youngadult109 · 08/05/2015 16:36

Hello all, I spotted a mouse in my bedroom last night and totally freaked out. Didn't even sleep in there and moved to my living room. I contacted my letting agent first thing in the morning and before lunch, they confirmed they've passed the message to the landlord and are waiting for the landlord's reply. I haven't heard from them since then despite calling and sending email. Shall I still wait for them to reply or shall I make my own arrangement for pest control to come tonight? I'm very tempted to make my own arrangements but £120 for three visits isn't cheap as I'm still a student.

Also, I've called a few pest controls and received their quote. Shall I go with the one who uses bait and trap or shall I go with the one who uses poison?

OP posts:

Pantone363 · 08/05/2015 16:38

My LL would laugh his arse off if I expected him to deal with mice.

Try the council, they sometimes come out for a reduced fee

LettuceLaughton · 08/05/2015 16:40

It's good that you've informed the landlord but I can see how you could think it's their ptoblrm to sort

CallMeNancy · 08/05/2015 16:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mysteryfairy · 08/05/2015 16:42

If you're considering bait and trap/poison being humane is not high on your agenda. Go to a hardware store, buy spring mousetraps for a couple of pounds each, bait with peanut butter and trap them yourself. Be prepared to throw the traps away with mice still in them so you keep contact to a minimum.

Original poster

youngadult109 · 08/05/2015 16:42

@pantone363 So are we not supposed to expect landlord to deal with this or have them to arrange pest control? It's their property and I'm sure the mouse came in from cracks of wall etc as I do keep my place tidy without leaving food everywhere.

I did call the council but will have to wait for two weeks!

OP posts:

Akire · 08/05/2015 16:42

If it's one is buy your own bate and put down. If you pay for a company to come that's all they will do unless your totally over run. What's the house like? Is it kept clean? Are there lots of you sharing?

AnguaResurgam · 08/05/2015 16:46

You can buy mouse poison (the sort that's little blocks) for under a fiver.

And it's much quicker to just get on with it yourself.

EhricLovesTheBhrothers · 08/05/2015 16:46

I got LL to deal with mice when the house was infested soon after I moved in, it ad been empty for a while and they were out of control. Now I deal with stray mice with snappy traps which whilst not always humane are generally swift and effective. I know what a mouse infestation is like and I haven't had more than a handful at a time since then. If you live in a mousy area you will have to accept it as part of the package.

Original poster

youngadult109 · 08/05/2015 16:47

I'm not ready to trap and dispose the mouse by myself cries

It's just weird that it's not in my kitchen but my bedroom!

I've lived here for almost a year it'd be devastating to know that I actually invited them in. :(

OP posts:

ltk · 08/05/2015 16:52

You have already been given good advice: set traps, store all food in plastic containers and not packaging (so empty cereal/flour/sugar into Tupperware), never eat anything in the bedroom, clean up immediately after preparing a meal. The only person who can sort this problem is you.

UniS · 08/05/2015 16:54

You can wait while LL considers it and then books someone to come at some unspecified future date. While mouse grows older, has litter of babies and invites a few friends over.
OR
Go to shop, buy two little nipper type traps. Bait them with peanut butter or whatever and deal with the mouse quickly. If you use plastic gloves or even bags you don't have to touch the mouse and can reset the trap in case there is another one.

I live rurally , I constantly and steadily trap mice in the woodshed. Never yet had one make its way into the house.

HirplesWithHaggis · 08/05/2015 16:54

If you can fit a pencil through a hole, a mouse can fit too. It's not so much that you've "invited them in", they spot an opportunity and off they go. Agree with pp that buying cheapy snap traps and diy is going to be the fastest way to deal with them. Have you a neighbour who would do corpse disposal?

SisterMoonshine · 08/05/2015 16:57

Landlord? ...it's your mouse.
I agree about the little nipper traps.

Bohemond · 08/05/2015 16:59

Woman up and buy some traps fgs.

LottieMumofWilfJenkins · 08/05/2015 17:05

I had mice in my garage recently and bought the little boxes with green poison in them. Within a day i had a dead mouse in the box! Under £10 for two boxes!

HelenF350 · 08/05/2015 18:01

Unless you've very recently moved in it's unlikely to be up to your landlord to fix. Check your tenancy agreement but usually pest control is a tenant responsibility unless you can prove the problem existed when you moved in.

specialsubject · 08/05/2015 18:51

everyone in the real world will get mice in the house at some point. Put down some traps and deal with it. Check all food is securely stored in plastic containers if not in tins.

if you use humane traps, you need to take them a mile away before release.

household management issue so yours, not the landlord's. Doesn't mean you are sloppy, it just happens sometimes.

Spickle · 09/05/2015 09:11

Do you have a cat or are you friendly with a neighbour's cat, who might have brought you a gift?

I would be a little surprised if my tenants wanted me to deal with a problem such as this but they have been there quite a while.

Thymeout · 09/05/2015 18:36

Sorry to say it's unlikely to be just one mouse. They travel in family groups. Don't wait for the landlord, who may well say it's your problem anyway. I only had them a couple of days and they'd already started nibbling my sofa to make a nest.

Have a good look round to find where they're coming in. Skirting boards, gaps where pipes have been fitted? Block with wire wool - a brillo pad will do.

Then trap the ones you've got. They run round the sides of rooms so put the traps flush with the skirting. Snappy traps are best. The trouble with poison is they tend to go off and die under the floorboards and smell revolting.

Good luck!

NorahDentressangle · 09/05/2015 18:48

I use these as they are cheap and bin them with the mouse in them rather than try to remove the body (use tongs).

They are a bit fiddly but work. Buy, say 8 to start with.

trickyex · 09/05/2015 18:56

Just use a humane trap with bait and then release the mouse far away from the house.
I have to say when I did this I let the mouse go in the garden and it never came back.

pressone · 09/05/2015 22:43

You won't have a mouse, there will be a mouse spouse and little meecies.

Mrs Mouse can have 5-10 litters a year with about 7 babies a time. Offspring can be ready to start breeding in less than 2 months.

Do not wait or you will bwe overrun with the wretched things

Sunnyshores · 11/05/2015 21:10

unless there's a whopping great hole that mouse came in through, then as a LL I wouldnt help Im afraid!

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