I just moved to basement house this month and I’m paying expensive rent for just having a private room and sharing bathroom and kitchen with couple others. Yet, I keep finding mice and mice droppings on the electric stove, in my room and around hallway which is a serious sanitation issue. This isn’t just seeing a mice once but it’s ongoing contamination in a food preparation area. It’s stressful, unhygienic, and honestly unacceptable when rent keeps going up but basic living standards like a clean, pest-free kitchen aren’t met. I’ve documented everything, but it’s frustrating that tenants even have to fight for something as basic as not having rodent droppings where we cook our food. I will be sending an official email to my landlord to address this issue and arrange pest control to fix this issue. A week ago my housemate caught a mouse using a trap which indicates it’s an ongoing rodent issue which wasn’t informed me to me before I signed up for lease. My only question is after I ask her to arrange pest control to look out for access and exit points of mice and fix it , if she denies or asks me to buy my own trap what actions I can take? I am really concerned about this as it involves my health
Edit- just FYI, me and all my housemates thoroughly clean the kitchen, bathroom, common areas and our room included every single week and before someone comes at me saying “perhaps you don’t keep the space clean” , we make sure our living space is spotless and pristine. I have OCD and keep washing hands every 5 minutes once huh!! And this mice issue has got me depressed and exhausted
You would need to file with the RTB for dispute resolution for an order for the LL to comply with the act and deal with it. Do not withhold rent, and I would avoid paying for pest control yourself in hopes of being reimbursed.
Pest control is generally the responsibility of the LL, especially in a shared unit, since everything outside the bedrooms are "common areas."
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I’ve never seen a mouse in my rental I was in nor in the place I bought. Both were high up in towers though. I’m sure mice get up there, but they’re maybe less likely?
So you are calling me nuts? Let me guess u r mostly a landlord with ur house having bunch of rodent issues?
Yes I am calling you nuts if you believe rodent issues are somehow tied to the amount you pay for your house. There are mice in some houses in West Van. British properties. There are mice in some houses in shaughnessy.
No my rental properties don't have mice. For now. But it has happened before. And it took a very long time to finally get rid of them. I hired an exterminator but it's not like they can work magic and get rid of all the mice in a day. It took months. Those little buggers are smart and they can get through the tiniest cracks. Cracks that you didn't even know existed. And they reproduce super fast too.ita like you trap 5 today but tomorrow they birth 10 more.
Good luck with your rodent situation. Take a deep breath too.
I’ll ignore the personal insults for a moment, but I asked fellow Redditors for practical advice because I’ve lived in Vancouver for a long time and have never dealt with rodent issues before. That’s a reasonable concern, not something to be mocked. Calling someone “nuts” instead of addressing the actual issue says more about one’s manners than mine. I haven’t been rude to anyone here, and I’m entitled to raise concerns about my living conditions just as you’re entitled to your opinion. Mice and rats are known to spread diseases, damage property, and affect health. Being concerned about that isn’t paranoia, it’s common sense. When I pay higher rent, I reasonably expect a place that’s safe and fit for living. Pest control is a basic landlord responsibility, not an unreasonable demand. If you think people should just accept living alongside rodents, that’s your view but dismissing legitimate concerns with insults doesn’t strengthen your argument.
In my own rental I caught 3 mice in 24 hours in traps. If there is droppings on the stove. There is a chance that the mice have made tunnels in the insulation and are living in the stove. You might want to ask for a new stove.
Even pest control will not magically eradicate all mice instantly. In Vancouver they are limited as to what poisons they can use, so really they just use sticky traps. Lots of mice are too smart to fall for sticky traps or other types of bait.
It’s also frustrating the government banned the poison that was effective in controlling them and allowed the rodent population to flourish.
Why do you think the government banned the poison? It was killing of our large birds of prey. Use traps, they work
Yea I know, the secondary poisonings were small and concentrated, the rodent problem scales horrible with humans. I acknowledge the trade off but I think this is one place where we should try to minimize human suffering, it also disproportionately impacts the poor and the elderly as well.
I think using inside of the house is fine, just not putting it outside.
Most Vancouver rentals have mice. Betcha if you tell your land lord they’ll bring some traps
Maybe I am particular about it but I have not had mice. It would traumatize me.
I have lived in many places around Vancouver never had mice.
Rooming houses usually have rodent problems.
If you want to be right, then fight and take the landlord to the RTB to get him to pay to fix the problem.
But if you don't necessarily care about being right and just want the mice gone, then spend $20-$30 on a mix of glue traps and spring loaded (traditional) traps, and l.ay them yourself.
Go all out on a really cold night and put all the traps everywhere where a mouse might enter from outside. The cold weather will entice the mice inside that night, and all the traps will be waiting for them. You want to get them all at once, or as close as you can get to that, because mice are very very clever. In no time at all they will teach their young to avoid both those types of traps, so don't give them a chance.
And make no mistake, many if not all the mice you see inside are pregnant females looking for a safe warm place to have a litter and if you don't get it under control now, it will quickly become exponentially worse as the babies keep coming. Females can have 15 litters a year (yes, 15) and an average mouse litter is 10 -12 pups. And if a pup is female, she can have her own babies at 8 weeks old. There's a reason for the saying 'so and so breed like mice'.
I had this exact problem and it sucked big time. It is stressful and disgusting. The trapping method as I describe above i had to learn over 3 bitter winter seasons. Finally a winter came with hardly any, then I got 2 cats for good measure and Mickey hasn't dared to cross my threshold since. Good luck to you!
Thank you 😊
This is a serious health issue as you’ve pointed out. Humans can catch a virus called the Hanta virus and it has killed people. Please wear a mask and gloves when cleaning up the feces.
In the meantime, look up what the RTB says about rodent infestations.
And being a farm kid, if you see one mouse, there’s always more than one. ALWAYS.
Thank you I agree with you!!
I’ve had mouse issues before in a rental, I know how stressful it can be.
Take care.
Thank you for understanding , I am rushing to Walmart now to get door draft stopper.
The only thing that stops mice is steel wool. They can’t chew through it as they can basically chew through everything. Still get draft stopper. Fill any holes with steel wool, even if you think the hole is too small for them to fit though, fill it as they can fit through the smallest of cracks!
Good luck! You got this
Will work on it and thank you for your kindness 🙏🏻
NP 😊
Rooming houses usually have pest problems like rodents, bedbugs, etc. Hard to deal with unless the place is kept spotless, which rarely happens.
Me and housemates clean the house every single week. In my opinion the kitchen and other common areas are indeed kept spotless on the outside. Trust me mice sucks!!
If all the food is kept away and there's nothing for mice to eat, they won't stick around. Usually its a mix of opportunity and warmth that keep them in a home.
Mice eat just about anything. Had this issue before with grass seed and pet food. Seal everything away.
LL can do their part by sealing cracks with foam. I'd take a walk around the house and see where they might be getting in and just sealing it up if the LL won't do it. That will probably help. However, ongoing issues are another thing. As another poster mentioned, mice multiply very fast, you really need to get on it before it gets worse.
I live in a house with private room and shared common areas and kitchen. Yes, I have OCD and hundred percent sure I never keep food exposed outside. I do see sometimes my roommates keeping food exposed outside and I have warned them about mice and subsequent contamination of food. However they still do it sometimes like left overs pasta and noodles huh!!! I can’t wait to find a better job and find my own place to rent.
Yeah its hard when you have roommates, it really only takes a few opportunities for mice to get in and comfortable. Its so hard to keep them out after.
Rents are dropping in Vancouver but it is expensive to move. If you can find another rental, move. Ask all the right questions before you move in. Now you know. I’m sorry this happened to you. I have a phobia for mice and I feel for you a lot.
Totally agreed. It was my bad that I signed up for three months lease and these greedy landlords try luring you in talking sweet and it’s after you move in you will realize you just got fucked up!!!
I heard a mouse in the wall, trying to get in. It was the middle of the night, so I could hear it well and locate the noise. I sprinkled some peppermint oil at the location, and the noise stopped. It really did work.
Sprinkle some cinnamon behind the/ sides of stove
Ya they knew before you moved in it was a problem. Your landlord isnt going to care or do anything. Now you know why last person moved out unfortunately