When it needs to be fumigated (apartment, rent, how much)

[mags15]

I currently rent a small dwelling and recently I have noticed that I hear mice in the walls, and have seen roaches and spiders throughout my little apartment.

Can anyone help me with my rights to get it fumigated? Do I pay that out of my own pocket or does my landlady pay for it? And if she pays for it, do I have to get a prior authorization and a set amount of how much she is willing to pay?

[Charles]

If it were me, I wouldn't wait for someone to do something (though I'd still pursue it).

We had mice in our basement our first year. We used V traps with peanut butter. Worked great. We tried the sticky pads with peanut butter: I saw a mouse run on to it, grab the peanut butter. He looked at me and flipped me off, and ran away with the peanut butter. The sticky pad didn't work.

The V trap looks something like this:

http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store.com/shop/shop_image/product/eec521c0e39094e7ec8fbd8d8da95eeb.jpg (broken link)

The blue poison (D-Con) for mice works pretty good too. It is an anticoagulant. I think it dehydrates the dead mouse too so I think there is less worry about dying mice in the walls....not totally sure about this...but if you have pets or kids, you might not want to use this.

You can use those fumigating cans for the insects. In a small apartment they'd be effective and easy.

You can get all this stuff at Home Depot or Lowes.

http://www.hattaways.com/img/scared.jpg (broken link)

Your problems could be resolved in a couple of days.

[bhcompy]

well, typically you dont fumigate for those problems. instead i would contact your landlord about pest control to see if she will do anything. i would also check your contract for stipulations regarding pest control. interior pestcontrol is typically the responsibility of the renter. the exterior is another story.

if you notice mice outside, you will need to contact the local vector control district to setup bait stations. inside your dwelling, pest control companies will setup traditional traps, glue paper, etc for mice and rats. poison is not advised because if another animal eats the rat/mouse, it could kill that animal as well.

for roaches they'll do a crack and crevice treatment and will retreat the residence until they are eliminated. if your neighbors dont participate or they keep the conditions that already exist to draw the roaches you might not have great luck. you may be able to keep them out of your apt to some extent though through effective pest control. bug bombs arent terribly effective in eradicating roach infestations and i dont suggest it. i have seen it where they will do structural fumigations for roaches, but it takes a higher concentration of vikane gas to kill roaches, which increases your cost drastically. this is only on the whole structure though, so they cannot just fumigate your apt unless it is a standalone structure. i've only seen this done on a commercial level

control of spiders is difficult. they will clear up webs and such, but its more about controlling where they are coming from(by sealing up cracks and such) and making sure flies and such are under control.

you could contact the local housing authority regarding the pest problem if the landlord doesnt agree to anything, but im not sure how far it will get you.