Hi moms!
This is my first time posting and I am desperate for advice. We moved into a rental house about a month ago and found out the previous tenants had mice. The landlords have agreed to let us out of our lease but we need to let them know NOW of our intent to move.
My husband doesn't believe it is a good idea to move. He says there are no gurantees the next house we move into will not have similar issues. He also thinks the landlords are doing all they can and that we should wait a year. We moved into this house to be close to our family. My main concerns are that these creatures were traveling in the air vents and that my 2 year old is breathing in yucky toxins. The landlords have exterminators coming out and have plugged up the visible holes but when the fall comes I am convinced they will try to sneak back in. My son has allergies and eczema and I am really disgusted with the situation. I lived in a condo for 6 years and never had any issues so I am a little out of sorts.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks to all the suggestions. The landlord has agreed to have a professional clean out the air ducts. They are also replacing carpeting in the bedrooms and having the exterminator come out once a month. They have plugged up obvious holes but have agreed to have a second inspection done. We are also going to adopt a cat. Thank you again for the advice!!
I would move.If they are bad now, they will be worse in the fall when they are really trying to get in. They usually come back every fall if you have places for them to get in . If you have them now there is a problem.Hope it gets better:)
We had a mice problem when we rented and our son had bad allergies also, first we also got a cat, got rid of those mice very quickly. We then bought our own home and also had a mouse problem due to the house being empty, we also purchased the ultrasonic plug-in mice repellents, they do work. We also had the ducts cleaned to help with the allergies. It worked out fine, it is just a process until they are all gone. We now have my MIL living in the basement apartment and she is a mouse magnet due to her not being very "clean", so we have now added those to repellents to her apartment and I have not seen one since. My husband has plugged all the holes we can find and bought a rumba to clean the floor down there to keep up with her, lol!
What if you tell them you'll stay IF the do air duct cleaning and hire an exterminator? I mean, IF you like the place.....
Move! With the allergies and eczema, you want to limit exposure too allergens as much as possible since he's at risk for asthma.
I'm there with you on feeling out of sorts. Or I was. Truth is I was absolutely terrified of mice. I kind of conquered it (still don't want them in my house) when I had to do a job (was a sub teacher) and it was racing live mouse day (REALLY). Back to reality. We live across from some woods so there are field mice. I couldn't believe when we moved in. Well, got rid of those, husband patched up little wholes everywhere and WE GOT A CAT. Some have more than one cat. Ours is a pill to humans but seems to do his job.
There are toxins everywhere. If you have ever been in a public restroom with your child you will know this. What you walk on, breathe, etc. It's amazing any of us are alive. So hang in there and if you can get a cat it would be worthwhile.
If the mouse issue is really bad, the amount of poop present could be high enough to cause serious health problems. What happens is that the poop breaks down and gets into the air. When it gets to this state, a combination of concentration and exposure time will cause blindness... no joke, and it is not reversible, seriously. If you are seeing mice every day, or hearing them, and you see poop or smell their mousey pee smell when you come in to the house from being in the fresh air outside, you are in danger. If the house has holes in it, lots of them that you can see, it is shot. Move.
I would move for the sake of your kids and his allergies, eczema, especially while the offer is still on. You might decide to stay there and next thing you know, you see those mice coming back, your son gets sick and you are stuck in the lease for a year or two, then you have to find money to get out. Your husband said he doesn't know if the other house will have similar issues - well all houses do, but one thing is sure, you do know what issue THIS house has. You can worry about those other possible issues when they come up.
I actually have a suggestion on dealing with the mice. When we had mice in our old house, we purchased a bunch of the ultrasonic plug-in mice repellents. You can get them at home improvement stores. We figured it was a long shot, but they worked wonderfully, with no chemicals! First we figured out where they were coming in, then plugged one in furthest from the hole. They every day we added another one, moving closer to the hole. Eventually, we had one in every room of the house, plugged the hole, and honestly never had a problem again. We left them in to prevent the mice returning. No mice traps, no scary chemicals or poison and no more mice!
Good luck!!
I was with your husband until you said your son has allergies. What kinds of allergies does he have? This could be very important, and so I would move. It's not going to be any easier to move later if the problem continues. Good luck.
I can empathize with you. After years of being squeaky clean M., we moved into a rental house and the landlord refused to do anything about bug problems. I took matters into my own hands and thoroughly sprayed and dusted around foundation to control bugs. Things changed when one night I walked in from the garage and as I walked past the kitchen sink, observed a mouse floating on my dishsponge in water I had neglected to drain before running an errand. scooped the mouse up in two cups and released him outside. The landlord said I could buy traps and he w/reimburse me. Big deal. We went around house and located holes in floor where they were coming up from basement. I could not sleep at night for fear of one running across our bed! After cleaning, sealing and checking walls, mattresses, etc, I went to Target and purchased a package of electronic pest controls. They plug into the electrical outlet and emit a sound the mice do not like. I placed at least one in each room including one on counter just to be sure and we never saw mice or evidence of them again. Now, I w/say that I became paranoid about keeping food in closed containers and cleaning floor of any crumbs, etc, cleaned out floor heating vents, but we never did see them again. Obviously they worked. We never found one in traps we had placed in basement. I and my son have allergies so I was very careful. It may not be the permanent answer but may buy you time to find a good place before you move. I w/suggest you get the landlord to put it in writing that you can move when you find a place and he w/not hold you to lease. Landlords can be nasty.
